BLAZON - ARMS: Bleu Celeste on a chief wavy Gules fimbriated Or a Cherub between two Martlets respectant and in base a Crwth (Bowed Welsh Lyre) palewise Gold stringed Sable.

 

CREST: Upon a Helm with a Wreath Or and Gules issuant from a bed of Wattle flowered a Leek proper between two Dragons Wings Argent each charged with a Rose Gules barbed and seeded proper.

 

Mantled: Gules doubled Or.

 

BADGE: In front of two horns addorsed bells downwards and outwards Gold banded Bleu Celeste and linked by an endless Cord looped in chief and in base and on either side Gules a Trefoil slipped Bleu Celeste.

 

STANDARD: In the hoist the arms in the fly Azure between two transverse bands Gules fimbriated Or each bearing the motto Persevere three representations of the badge the whole fringed Or and Gules the sleeve Gules.

 

DESIGN RATIONALE

 

Arms:  The red and sky blue field allude to my Army and Air Force Service.

The red also represents jointly the colour of the Welsh Dragon and the Cross of St. George, the Patron Saint of England.

The sky blue a rare armorial tincture is generally reserved for institutions or persons associated with aviation and is a reference to my service in the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.

 

 

 

 

 

The Gold Martlets come from the Arms of both Brighton and East Sussex in England, the Town and County where I was born.

 

 

 

Its appearance is like a House Martin, Swallow and Swift however it is always shown with its legs ending with two tufts of feathers and no feet or claws. 

During medieval times it was thought that they spent their whole life air borne having no need for feet and thought to have none.

It is also used as a mark of cadency denoting the fourth son.

Martlets are in the Arms of East and West Sussex and also in the City of Brighton and Hove.

 

The Cherub comes from the Arms of Trinity College of Music, London where I was admitted as a Fellow in December, 1973 and the wings can also be seen as relevant to my Air Force service.

 

 

In the 6th century it seems to have been considered specifically British and was used in England, Ireland and on the continent but its home was Wales.  Clearly an instrument for accompanying the Welsh bards the Crwth lingered on longest in Wales being heard in Caernarvon as late as the start of the 19th century.

 

The English name for the Crwth is Crowd, the Irish name is Crot or Cruit and the Medieval Latin name is Chorus.  Other forms of the word are Croud, Crowth and Crouth.  It is said that in remote parts of Wales a violin is still called a Crwth as in England a fiddler was long called a crowder.

 

Crest:  The Leek, (Allium porrum) known as Cennin in Welsh in the Crest is a national symbol of the Principality of Wales.  It is a member of the onion family and is thought to be native to the Mediterranean area and Asia.  Leeks have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years and have long been popular in Europe.

In 640 A.D. King Cadwallader of Wales, at the suggestion of St. David, is said to have ordered his men to wear leeks in their battle caps to distinguish themselves from the enemy during the battle against the Saxons.

Shakespeare, on the other hand, believed it to have originated at Poitiers (1356) "the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing in their Monmouth caps, which your Majesty know, to this now is an honourable badge of service" (Henry V).

REEKING LEEKS IN WALES

March 1st is the festical of St. David, the patron saint of Wales and it used to be customary among Welshmen to celebrate the day by fixing leeks to their hats.

 

'Why on St. David's Day, do Welshmen seek To beautify their hat withy verdant leek Of nauseous smell?  For Honour 'tis heard say, Dulce et decorum est pro patria', - Right, Sir, to die or fight it is, I think, But how is't Duke, when you for it stink?'

Diverting Post, 1705.

 

The dragon's wings can be seen as a reference to the dragon on the Welsh flag and Welsh badge.  The red roses refer to Bootle in Lancashire, my father's birthplace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 23rd August, 1992 His Excellency the Governor General of Australia, William George Hayden, proclaimed that the 1st of September of each year shall be observed as "National Wattle Day" throughout Australia and in the external Territories of Australia.

 

The motto "PERSEVERE" comes from the Arms of the London College of Music where I was admitted as an Associate in December, 1965.

 

BADGE:  The two horns in the badge are simply a symbol of music and the cord can be seen as a baldrick linking the two horns, rather in the way that the Tudors linked their initials with a decorative knot.  The trefoil in the centre of the badge is a reference to the Arms of the late Most Hon. the 7th Marquess of Bristol, in whose family the Lordship of the Manor of Holdingham was held for around 300 years before I succeeded to the Lordship of the Manor in 1991.

 

 

ARMORIAL REGISTRATIONS.

 

My Armorial Bearings are registered in the "Rolls of Arms" of:

 

The Royal College of Arms of Georgia.

 

The International Heraldry Society.

 

The Register of Feudal Lords and Barons of The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

The Armorial Register - International Register of Arms (formerly Burke's Peerage & Gentry International Register of Arms).

 

  The Manorial Society of Great Britain.

 

  The Armorial and Heraldry Society of Australasia.

 

   The Company of Armigers (Australian Chapter).

 

  The Victorian Scots.  

 

 The Honourable Association of Scottish Armigers Australia Inc.

 

  The Legaults Australasian Armorial CD.

 

 The United States Heraldic Registry.

 

  L'armorial de rec heraldry. 

 

                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

BOOKPLATES.

 

Armorial bookplates commenced in the mid 15th century in Germany and in less than 50 years other countries in Europe were also using them.

A bookplate may consist merely of the owner's name or it can be a fine work of art created by a designer and produced by different methods such as copper engraving, etching, lithography, lino or woodcuts up to the latest developments in computerised reproduction.

 

Prior to 1484 the King and many of the nobility employed heralds to carry out duties in connection with Tournaments and as messengers in Peace and War.  The senior heralds came to be called Kings of Arms.  On the 23rd March 1484 King Richard III incorporated the Heralds by charter to form what was known at the time as the College of Heralds, and gave them a house named Coldharbour for their work.  A year later his successor cancelled the Royal warrant and acquired the building used by the College for his own purposes.  On 15th July 1555 Queen Mary I reformed the College with a new charter and gave them Derby House which is the site on which the present College of Arms now stands.  The College of Arms is a department of the Royal household and is situated within the City of London and is operating under the Earl Marshal who has a number of officers of Arms (q.v.) to carry out all the duties in connection with issuing and recording armorial bearings.    Until 1943 one of the Kings of Arms also supervised the whole of Ireland but in that year the Irish government established its own state Herald who still works in close co-operation with Norroy King of Arms who now supervises Ulster.

 

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As part of the 500th Anniversary a set of Postage Stamps were issued.

 

The Arms featured on the stamps are those of:

 

The College of Arms (16p) 

Richard III (20 1/2p)     

The Earl Marshall (28p)

The City of London (31p).