Flag of Malta source of the Maltese colours, inspiring the red and white shield used during the British colonial period. The George Cross originally appeared on the flag placed on a blue canton (see List of flags of Malta). The flag was changed on 21 September 1964 with Malta's independence when the blue canton was replaced by a red fimbriation the intention being that the Cross appear less prominent. The civil ensign shows a red field, bordered white and charged with a blank Maltese cross. Flag of Malta The flag of Malta () is a basic bi-colour, with white in the hoist and
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement decided to promote officially the idea that the Red Cross flag had been formed by reversing the federal colours of Switzerland, although no clear evidence of this origin had ever been found. The Red Crescent emblem was first used by ICRC volunteers during the armed conflict of 1876–8 between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. The symbol was officially adopted in 1929, and so far 33 states in the Muslim world have recognized it. In common with the official promotion of the red cross symbol as a colour-reversal of the Swiss flag (rather than a religious symbol), the red