British Protectorate of Cyprus, 1878
In 1878, in the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish war, the British Empire took over the administration of the island, while the island de jure remained an Ottoman territory. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, it was formally annexed by the United Kingdom. The flag used, dating from 1881, was a blue British Ensign, displaying on a white badge the letters “CHC”, Cyprus High Commission.