The man who designed the Saskatchewan flag, but never got to see it fly in person, is being recognized in the legislature.

Anthony Drake, who is from England, was in Saskatchewan to teach in the 1960s.

In 1968 the Saskatchewan government announced it was holding a competition for a provincial flag and Drake's 13 designs were among 4,000 submissions.

But by the time the flag was adopted in September 1969, Drake had moved back to the U.K. He did not see the flag in-person until arriving at the Regina airport last week.

The upper half of the flag is green to represent the northern forest and the lower half is gold for the wheat fields.

The flag also features the coat of arms and the western red lily.

--- with files from CTV Saskatoon