Flag of Guernsey of England to give way to William. The new flag's design was to symbolise that the islanders were of Norman descent but loyal to the English (and later British) Crown. In 1985 Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Normandy, granted a Royal Warrant for the flag to become the official flag of Guernsey. Unveiled on 15 February 1985, the flag was flown for the first time on Liberation Day on 9 May, the 40th anniversary of the Channel Islands' liberation from German occupation during the Second World War. Thereafter, the Guernsey flag was used in the Grosse Rocque ceremony, replacing the
Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service enjoyed by St John Ambulance (England and the Islands), the organisation of which Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service was formerly a constituent part. On 1 July 2012 St John Ambulance in Guernsey ceased to be part of the Priory of England and the Isles, and was established as an autonomous Commandery of the Venerable Order of St John. Thus both St John Ambulance (Guernsey) and the Guernsey Ambulance and Rescue Service (as sister organisations) remain under the umbrella of the Venerable Order of St John, but through independent local control, rather than the English Priory. Operating 24 hours a day,