https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/local/2019/01/17/prime-location/6235741007/Prime Meridian Article Published OK
2017AUGUST 9th
Shortened Version NOT FULL
Prime location
Lansdale man designs flag for prime meridian
![Christopher Maddish, right, and a staff member from the Royal Museums Greenwich unfurl the Prime Meridian flag at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, on Aug. 9, 2017. [COURTESY THE FLAG INSTITUTE]](https://www.phillyburbs.com/gcdn/authoring/2019/01/17/NINT/ghows-PA-800046a8-062e-42ae-e053-0100007f235d-4b352317.jpeg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
For a brief time on a rainy August day in 2017, a flag designed by a Lansdale man waved atop the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England.
Christopher Maddish, 44, said he designed the flag as a symbol of unity among the nine countries and three continents along the prime meridian — a banner beyond nationality.
Similar to the equator, the Prime Meridian is the 0 degree longitude line dividing Earth's east and west hemispheres, which is historically considered to run through Greenwich.
Maddish is part of a community of vexillologists, who study the history, symbolism and impact of flags from "an objective point of view."
"A lot of flag organizations tend to be patriotic in nature ... but vexillology tries to make it more academic," Maddish said.
To Maddish, flags like the one he designed help solidify an abstract idea.
"Making a flag makes it real, concrete ... it brings more meaning to that imaginary line," Maddish said.
People all over the world take a certain kind of pride in unique geographies — even man-made ones, Maddish added, pointing to areas like the Four Corners Monument where the borders of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah converge at a single point.
The Prime Meridian is a similar area, with the exception that several countries in Europe and Africa share this common line. Maddish said he hoped the flag could someday become a kind of shared symbol for those
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