Flag of West Yorkshire, as designed by Michael Faul, Director of the Flag Institute. REF: This new flag for the English region of West Yorkshire was designed by Michael Faul, Director of the Flag Institute. It shows the cross of St. George, the historic symbol of England, with the vertical band off-centre to the left, in the format adopted by most Scandinavian countries. This reflects the fact that Yorkshire is part of England, but also that it has close ties with Scandinavia, having been settled and ruled by Norwegians and Danes in the eighth and ninth centuries. The white rose is shown on a blazing sun, called "rose-en-soleil" in heraldry, which is the Royal badge of the Royal house of York, the last member of which to rule England was Richard III (1483-1485).