Everything in life must start somewhere, including the symbol for peace. The world renowned symbol of peace was designed today in 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a British artist and designer.

Now more commonly know as the peace symbol, the symbol was originally created for and known as the logo of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

Did you know that incorporated into the design is two semaphore letters N and D?

Definition of semaphore signalling – used mainly in the maritime world, it is the use of two hand-held flags used to communicate across a distance, spelling out their message letter by letter in visual signals.

The semaphore signal for N is formed by a person holding two flags in an upside down v shape and the signal for D is formed by a person holding one flag straight up and the other straight down.

Simply put the shapes in the middle of the circle actually spell out the purpose of the symbol – Nuclear Disarmament.

*

*

*

*

*

*

Sources and to read some more:

• CND UK – https://cnduk.org/the-symbol/

• Wikipedia Semaphore – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore