THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE HERALDRY SOCIETY No. 59 SEPTEMBER 1974

NEWS & VIEWS Apart from looking after savings of some £ 1 6 , 0 0 0 mi l -

l ion and enabling over four mi l l ion people to buy the roofs over their heads, Building Societies are also enthusiastic users of coats-of-arms. Below we feature two typical ex-amples of Building Societies symbolising their function and territorial associations in heraldic form.

CHELSEA BUILDING SOCIETY Blazon: Gules, a fess wavy argent charged with a bar wavy azure, over all a winged bul l rampant argent, armed unguled gorged with a crown and holding between the forelegs a mul-let Or. Crest: On a wreath of the colours on a mount vert a wall gules masoned argent, surmounted by two keys in sal-tire wards upward and outward pendent from the wards by the strings Or, a purse per pale gules and sable tasselled Or . Supporters: On either side a l ion reguardant argent, resting the interior hind leg on an anchor that on the dexter in bend sinister the stock resting on the cable coiled to the sinister Or that on the sinister in bend the stock resting upon the cable coiled to the dexter Or.

Granted in 1970 to the then Chelsea and South London

Building Society, these arms demonstrate the Society's links wi th the Chelsea area. One of the supporters in the arms of the Roya l Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a winged bul l — symbol of St. Luke , patron saint of Chelsea parish. The arms of both of the former Metropolitan Boroughs o f Chelsea and Camberwell had red fields and charges of silver. Doubtless the blue bar and the anchors represent the Thames and its users.

The crest seems to sum up everything that a Building Society stands for: the security of houses, of their tenure, and of the investors' savings. A silver l ion rampant, used here as supporter, featured in the former Chelsea Borough's arms and was thought to have been derived from the Cadogan fam-ily 's l ion . The Cadogans, Lords of the Manor, derived the manor by marriage wi th a daughter o f Sir Hans Sloane, the physician, Mayor and antiquary whose collection formed the origins of the Brit ish Museum.

We are grateful to the General Manager of the Chelsea Building Society for permission to reproduce these arms. EASTERN COUNTIES BUILDING SOCIETY Blazon: Per pale gules and azure, in chief two eastern crowns and issuant in base a demi sun in splendour Or, a border em-battled argent masoned sable. Crest: on a wreath Or and gules in front o f a portcullis chained sable two keys in saltire the wards upward and outward Or . Supporters: O n the dex-

31

THE H E R A L D R Y

G A Z E T T E

ter side an owl azure and on the sinister side a seahorse the foreparts argent, the tail proper crined and finned Or. Badge: Upon an oval Or enclosed by a wreath of laurel proper a representation of the head and shoulders of a cen-turion in the army of imperial Rome accoutred azure.

Since these arms were granted in 1972, the Eastern Counties has become part o f the Leek Westbourne and Eastern Counties Building Society. The arms are presumably now obsolete; their interest lies in the helm and in the badge. Un t i l now, it has been conventional for Building Societies and other corporations to display tilt ing helms in slight pro-file, as esquires do: here, the helm is shown in an almost af-fronty position, as for a baronet or a knight.

The badge derives from the emblem previously used by the Society. As far as we are aware, only two other Building Societies - the Co-operative (now Nationwide) and one other — to be published in a future Gazette — have had bad-ges incorporated in their grant of arms.

Most o f the symbolism of these arms derives from the Society's territorial associations. The two eastern crowns and the rising sun reflect the name of the Society: mediaeval heralds attributed to the ancient kingdom of East Anglia a field of blue, charged with three crowns. The rising sun also appeared in the arms of the Borough of Lowestoft; the gol-den tinctures represent riches and prosperity. The division of colours, per pale red and blue, follows that of the arms of the Cinque ports wi th which Ipswich, home of the Building Society, was closely associated in mediaeval times. The sea-horse as supporter is also derived from the arms of that County Borough. The silver masoned and embattled border refers to the work of a Building Society; the owl is a symbol of wisdom; the portcullis and crossed keys in the crest sym-bolise saving and security.

Our thanks go to the Manager and Secretary for his k ind assistance and for providing the illustrations; and to member Malcolm Wykes, who first drew the 'Gazette's' attention to this achievement. G . B .

C I V I C T R A D E M A R K S - Y O U R C O M M E N T S In 'Gazette' N o . 58 we asked members to comment on the

recent trend among local authorities in adopting trade mark like emblems. Not many members confined their remarks to 25 words, but often wrote at length, putting forward some interesting thoughts, which are condensed here. But first we give Mr Brendan Murphy , head of Stockport 's public rel-ations office a chance to reply to our criticism of his coun-cil's logo:

' . . . may I assure your readers that it is not Stockport 's intention to abandon the use of the official coat of arms. Indeed, we believe that our arms wi l l be enhanced by its dis-creet use on appropriate occasions rather than scattering it all over the town — on the side of ancient refuse vehicles, dilapidated wooden huts, public conveniences and weather beaten posters left on street side notice b o a r d s . . . It is therefore our intention to use the coat o f arms on all civic regalia, mayoral stationery, furnishings and decorations i n

Committee Rooms and Counci l Chamber, the official l im-ousine and flag, and wi l l be used for all occasions of civic ceremony.'

Mr Murphy goes on to say that 'one quarter o f the new Stockport acreage is green belt. We have three country parks, three rivers and direct access to the Cheshire and Peak canal system. We have six hundred red deer within our boundaries, a boating marina and several first-class hotels.

So perhaps our colours o f sunspot orange and scorched earth brown are not so pretentious after a l l . '

Returning to logos generally, member P.J . from Middle-sex says: 'Logos are a pictorial language which is a repeated recitation of cliches without redeeming finesse . . . but have a modishness — the in-thing — to prove that one is 'wi th i t ' . Unlike the badge, the logo has no taint of aristocratic exclu-siveness, or political odour of right-wing adherence. Heraldry can be too bland, detailed and esoteric, often lacking vitality and imagination.'

But W.H.C . from Kent says the difference between a logo and a badge is l ikely to be one of endurance, because that which is artistically fashionable today, is almost certainly to be d é m o d é in ten years time. This trend is unlikely to affect well-designed badges, because of their simplicity and as an ex-ample gives that o f the London Borough of Lewisham: with-in an annulet a Saxon crown Or .

M . H . from Shropshire gives his opinion neatly in exactly 25 words: 'Heraldic devices have become too expensive, too limited by unnecessary rules and lack of distinctiveness of early heraldry — which lack a well-designed logo supplies.'

Incidentally, quite a few members are of the opinion — erroneously we suspect — that a professionally designed logo is cheaper than a grant o f arms or badge.

H.P. from Devon comments that much co rpora t e herald-ry is perhaps too elaborate for every day use, too complex for instant recognition, so that corporations in search for a distinctive mark turn to the logo, which in some ways at least has the historical essence of armory: cognizance.

W.G.C. from Cheshire says this o f civic trade marks: 1. Being often based on initials they are not very distinctive: an H , however cunningly dressed up, could still stand for Hounslow, Hampshire, Huddersiield or Heckmondwide. 2. They are ephemeral: here today and gone tomorrow ac-cording to the fashions in graphic art, whereby certain type-faces become trendy for a while, and then hopelessly démodé .

T H E Q U E E N ' S G A L L A N T R Y M E D A L

By Royal Warrant dated 20 June 1974 Her Majesty in-stituted a new medal, designated "The Queen's Gallantry Medal" , to be awarded a "for exemplary acts o f bravery" performed by either men or women. It is intended primarily for civilians but may be won by members of the Forces, of any rank, for actions for which purely military honours are not normally granted.

Although not stated i n the Warrant, it was made clear by the Prime Minister when he announced the creation of the Q G M in the House of Commons that its purpose was to recognise a degree of civi l gallantry lower than that for which either the George Cross or the George Medal is awarded, but above the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct. It therefore replaces the British Empire Medal for Gallantry and other awards within the British Empire Order, which wil l now no longer be used for this purpose.

The Order o f the British Empire and its associated Medal were instituted in 1917, originally to express the Nation's

32

gratitude to those civilians who had contributed in an exemplary way to the war effort. The following year it was extended to include a military division; and in 1922 the medal was divided into two classes, one for gallantry, which became known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , the other for meritorious service. The E G M was superseded in 1940, when King George V I established the George Cross and the George Medal, and former recipients o f the E G M were required to exchange their medals for the G C .

However, many acts o f civil bravery came up for conside-ration which were not o f a standard sufficient to justify the award of either the G C or the G M , and it was decided once more to make use of the British Empire Medal for this pur-pose. In 1957 a revised warrant was published, laying down conditions under which the medal, and any grade of the Order, could be given for heroic acts, and ordering a device of two crossed oak-leaves to be worn on the ribbon to denote such an award. While the G C and G M could be given to civil-ians and military personnel o f all ranks, the B E M could only go to "other ranks"; officers and civilians in positions of higher responsibility must be given the M B E , O B E , or even C B E , depending entirely on their seniority and not in any way representing a higher level of bravery. This anomalous and invidious distinction is now abolished by the institution of the new medal.

The medal is silver and circular; it bears on the obverse the crowned effigy of the Sovereign and on the reverse a design of laurel leaves and the words "The Queen's Gallantry Medal" surmounted by the Crown. It is suspended from a ribbon 1 ¼ inches in width of dark blue with a central vertical stripe o f pearl grey bearing a narrow stripe of rose pink at the centre.

John Bedells Chairman, Orders of Knighthood Committee

PERSONAL ARMS(l) Thank you, readers, for responding so well to the

'Gazette's' appeal for details o f personal grants of arms. As a result we shall be able to publish many examples of modern heraldry - starting with the two shown here (Mr Patrick Hobson did the drawings). They are not featured in any part-icular order.

James Frederick Huxford Per chevron sable and gules, a chevron between in chief

two falcons close argent, beaked and legged gules, belled jes-sed and vervelled argent, and in base an acorn stalked Or.

Crest: on a wreath argent and sable and gules, a falcon rising Or, beaked legged and gorged with a mural crown gules, belled jessed and vervelled argent, in the beak an oak sprig fructed Or.

These arms were based on those of the grantee's matern-al grandparents: E ld of Seighford and Spedding of Summer Grove, Cumberland, and were granted on 21 June 1968. Major Huxford suggested the design of these arms himself and and was very pleased when the Kings of Arms were able to accept the design with only a minor modification.

Iain Ball Per chevron azure and argent, a pale counterchanged, in

the azure three organ pipes argent garnished Or and each en-filing a crown vallary of the last and in the argent as many roses gules barbed and seeded, slipped and leaved proper.

Crest: on a wreath of the colours on a grassy mount prop-er a l ion rampant Or, tortelly, supporting by the forepaws a torch gules, banded and chained Or, enflamed proper. Man-tled azure, doubled argent and Or.

These arms were designed by Windsor Herald. They illus-trate the grantee's interest i n history and allude to the coun-tryside in which he lives - near Stockton. The organ pipes are appropriate to Mr Ball , who is a musician. In the crest the lion supports the torch of Learning and the chain is ar-ranged to form the outline of the letter ' B ' , although this is not mentioned i n the blazon. A further reference to the sur-name is provided by the red roundels scattered on the l ion.

COMPUTER ORDINARY Member Mr John Al l en from Henley-on-Thames reports that a heraldist there will shortly have completed the transcript-ion of Balfour-Paul's 'Ordinary of Scottish arms' into a computer-readable medium.

Initially the work wi l l be on paper tape before transfer to disc or magnetic tape and in this form the contents wil l be capable of computer manipulation into any form the operat-or decides on.

HONOURS 'MONEY-OFF' OFFER From correspondence initiated by an advertisement in the personal columns of a well-known Sunday paper, it appears that titles said to originate from former European kingdoms are still available. The Chancellor of the Royal Norman Household of Hauteville, working from Monte Carlo has 'a Baron, a Vicount (sic) and two Count titles to be conferred.' The suggested donations are £ 2 , 5 0 0 , £ 6 , 0 0 0 and £ 8 , 0 0 0 res-pectively, but impecunious readers may be comforted to know that these figures are open to negotiation! H . J . A .

33

ROWER DISTRICT COUNCIL'S COAT OF

ARMS

The Courier, June 7, 1974

T H E REPORT in the Courier, of May 17, that the Rother Dis-trict Council propose to "adopt" an ox head for their arms, reminds me of Nicholas Upton's famous treatise on heraldry. De studio militari, written in 1446. It was very popular and widely read at the time and remained one of the m o s t quoted treatises on heraldry for the next century.

In writing about the ox as a charge in arms he says, "the oxe is a common beeste and is gelded"; from which it follows that "to bere therefore oxen or their heddes it betokeneth that the bearer of theym firste was geldyd or maymed so in his privi partes that he was unable for generation. And it was my chance on a time (i.e. 1424) to give to a certain gentilman and squyer of my lord (the Earl of Salisbury)

three black oxe heddes to bere in his armes in a field of silver, bycause at the batell of Verneuil (in northern France) he was stryken with a spere through the privi partes and so thereby made unable to generation."

The pitfalls of do-it-yourself heraldry are many and the

advice of professional heralds can sometimes be helpful. For a district council, w h o s e powers have been extended rather than diminished, a less emascalated creature would seem more appropriate. Better also avoid partridges — but they can look that up for them-selves. At the best of times, and with the closest collabora-tion between the petitioners^ and the College of Arms, com-mittee heraldry has its snags. The camel has generally been t h o u g h t (though not by heralds) to be a horse de-signed by a committee.

By the way, one can adopt a trade-mark or l o g o , but armorial bearings can only be granted in England by the Kings of Arms, acting under the authority delegated to them by the Sovereign. A trade-mark for a local author-ity puts them on all fours with property developers.

RODNEY DENNYS Somerset Herald of Arms

Rotherfield.

(above) It is good to see that whilst insisting on the need for arms

to be properly granted Somerset can yet enjoy the lighter side of heraldry, nevertheless it would be unwise to suggest there is a meaning in every charge or heraldic device. Some recent reports seem to imply that arms are a k ind o f sign lan-guage to be read only by the initiated and were this to be-come accepted practice it could lead to the unnecessary clut-tering of shields and lose the sheer blazing beauty and life o f earlier and simpler coats . . . Lions are rampant with fierce delight not with hidden meaning.

From the "Da i ly Telegraph" we learn that Somerset has been appointed first heraldic adviser to the Football League for whom he has designed a new coat o f arms viz. Argent a cross gules charged with a lion passant guardant between two lions' faces or. This wi l l replace the three lions used hitherto and which Mr Dennys rightly deplores as being too close to the Royal Arms of England. M . R . H .

H E R A L D I C S T A N D A R D S (see 'Gazette' N o . 58, p.27.) To date four members have re-ported on heraldic standards they have seen flying from a flag pole or, in one case, capable of being flown. Mr T . H . Mor ton Baker reports that a standard is flown from Castle Rising Castle when L t . C o l . H . R . G . Howard is in res-idence and M r James Blundell o f Congleton has seen the standard of Mr Raymond Richards of Gawsworth. Mr Spencer from Leeds has handled a standard made for the former C i ty and County Borough of Bradford. Mr Henry Hebdon of Torquay saw and made a note of the

standard of the Ci ty and County Borough of Exeter in 1971. flown from the Guildhall there. The fly of this flag is divided into four white and green stripes, colours quite unrelated to the arms.

According to 'Badges on battledress' by L t . C o l . Howard N . Cole , in 1945 a need was felt for a flag for units of the Royal Art i l lery. A design was produced by the Heralds' Co l -lege and approved by King George V I . As an example an act-ual flag is illustrated in the book and this conforms in shape and design to a heraldic standard.

These flags seem to be rare birds indeed!

R E A D E R ' S Q U E R Y A member has recently seen an elegant gilded chair, the seat and back of which are covered in petit-point. The back has worked into it an elaborate coat of arms. The shield bears ermine, a cross azure, above the shield is dexter a mitre and sinister a crozier, above these is a (?) French ducal coronet and above all is a green hat with ten tassels on each side. The seat of the chair shows only an oval panel of ermine. Can any reader help our member identify these arms? Please contact M r Edward M . K a n d e l , The Gate House, 8 Lancaster Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 8 T Y . B I R M I N G H A M E X H I B I T I O N

Mr Robert Mosse reports that the Midland Arts Centre wil l be holding an exhibition of the work of Truda Eloise Lane, at Foyle House, Cannon Hil l Park, Birmingham from 18 September unti l 19 October.

The exhibition includes a considerable number of heraldic pieces, he writes, examples of privately commissioned herald-ic work and panels illustrating historic or literary subjects. M A C C L E S F I E L D N E W S

The Macclesfield Heraldry Society has announced its 1974-5 winter programme. For every month, from Septem-ber to A p r i l , lectures or meetings have been arranged. Herald-ry Society members are welcome - for full details contact the Hon. Sec. o f the Macclesfield Heraldry Society: Mr Harold J. Storey, 2 Orchard Close, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire S K 8 7ET L E A M I N G T O N SPA L E C T U R E S

Mr Anthony Hobson, A T D , F R S A , H o n F H S , wi l l be giving a series o f lectures this autumn, entitled 'Introduction to heraldry'. These wi l l be on Wednesday evenings under the auspices of the Southam Adul t Centre at the High School . Southam, near Leamington Spa, 7.30 to 9 pm for ten weeks commencing 18 September 1974.

Enrolment takes place at the school on Thursday evening, 12 September or later, by arrangement.

The course provides a good grounding in the subject and uses a wide and interesting range of slides for illustration.

Correction to N o . 58 The 'Gazette' regrets that it was well out o f tune in its ex-

planation of how a Jew's harp should be played (Gazette 58, Overseas news). Members who remembered the instrument from their youth wrote in and described how it was done. One of the many writers, Mr L . Nash from Truro, said: 'The instrument is held horizontally between the teeth by the two arms (not the rounded end). The blade is struck with the thumb and the pitch is varied by shaping the lips and moving the tongue on the blade.'

Correspondents also quarrelled with the suggested deriv-ation of the words 'jews harp' and asserted that it is a cor-ruption of 'jaws' harp. Let's end the controversy be echoing 'Larousse encyclopedia of music' and say: 'Jew's harp or trump - derivation unclear

34

Heraldry Society News

17 th A G M For the benefit o f those members who were unable to

attend the A G M , here are one member's impressions of the proceedings.

The meeting began promptly at 6.30. M r . Brooke-Lit t le , Chairman of the Counci l o f the Society, took the chair, and said that due to an engagement later that evening he would have to leave the meeting at half past seven. So to speed up the proceedings the formal notice convening the meeting and the apologies for absence were taken as read. Those Council members present were: L t . Cdr. Beddells, Messrs Chesshyre, Humphery-Smith, Potter, Turner and Verhoeven.

Before the first item on the agenda was considered, the Chairman drew the meeting's attention to a number of printing errors in the balance sheet. But, he continued, the balance sheet was really 'o ld news', because since it was drawn up a big improvement had taken place in the finan-cial position of the Society. It was hoped that in future more up-to-date figures could be put to members at the A G M . Mr . Ballard (who later in the meeting was to be appointed auditor to the Society) agreed that this was essential and should be possible. The wish was expressed to have a further A G M later this year, perhaps in November.

As the discussion developed, further discrepancies were pointed out from the floor. The Chairman agreed on behalf of the Counci l to look at the Society's Financial and General Purposes committee's recommendations regarding covenanted subscriptions.

However, give or take a few pounds in printing errors in the circulated balance sheet (the original is correct) it reflect-ed the position of the Society in March 1973 and on a show of hands it was accepted.

Next the Council 's report was considered. This too has been overtaken by events. The new Secretary was now well established and doing an excellent job for the Society. The difficulties experienced with 'The Coat o f Arms ' were ment-ioned and here the Chairman wished to put right any impression that the former editor, Miss Leete-Hodge, had been unfairly criticised at the last A G M . He did not recall any crit icism, indeed she had been praised for reducing the backlog o f issues. The Chairman announced that in the near future Mrs Margaret Jones would be taking over from Mrs. S. Greig as editor o f the magazine.

The report had accidentally omitted to say that M r . H . L . Gandell had been appointed chairman of the Library com-mittee. M r . Brooke-Little apologised for this oversight.

Put to the meeting the Report was accepted. F rom the floor M r . Turner spoke briefly, saying that the

upsurge in the fortunes and activities of the Society was largely due to the hard work o f the Society's officers and active members, mentioning in particular Mrs. Biermann — the Secretary, M r . Potter and M r . Verhoeven. (applause)

The next item was the election of Counci l members. Mr. Potter and M r . Wood had offered themselves for re-

election and there were two further candidates: Mrs. Grace Grant and M r . Peter Spurrier. It was then realised that there were only three vacancies — not four as stated in the notifi-cation — so a ballot would have to be held. While 'ballot papers' were quickly prepared and distributed, one member asked the Chairman to give details o f attendance to Counci l meetings by the retiring members. In reply M r . Brooke-Lit t le stated that from his experience all attendances at Counci l meetings were high. M r . Potter had attended virtually all meetings, including those of Committees which he chaired. Mr. Wood had attended most meetings, although living a considerable distance from London .

Another member asked i f the Chairman could tell the meeting of the merits of the candidates. As M r . Spurrier is well known for his work for the Society in connection with heraldic exhibitions, Mrs. Grant was given the oppor-tunity to say a few words about herself. She told the meet-ing she was associated with the Bath Heraldic Society and mentioned her lectures and other work. Mrs. Grant said she would be able to attend the Council meetings and felt she would represent the interest o f members in the South-west and country members generally.

Votes were then cast and the meeting suspended while they were counted. Some discussion took place about A G M minutes, 'The Coat o f Arms ' and other subjects, which were noted and wi l l be considered by the Counci l .

The votes having been counted the Chairman announced the result: Mrs. Grant and Messrs Potter and Wood had been elected.

The appointment of a new auditor followed. As stated earlier, M r . Norman Ballard had been invited to fi l l this post and was appointed. He seems eager to get to grips wi th the Society's financial problems — the Society is fortunate in having a keen member as it auditor.

It became clear during the discussion that an active member is a specialist in taxation, who wi l l no doubt prove to be of great benefit to the Society.

Now all the items on the agenda having been dealt with, Mr . Brooke-Litt le closed the formal meeting and took his leave. The senior Counci l member present, M r . A . G . L . Turner, took the chair. Further questions on a variety of subjects were debated: on book reviews, Society publications, the Library and on publicity material sent out with the Society's mailings. In the latter connection one member mentioned that he had received from the Society a leaflet advertising a book which he considered to be a bad one. He wondered whether by sending the leaflet the Society was tacitly in-dicating its approval o f the book. Those who spoke on this subject seemed to agree that the Society sent such leaflets for information only and that it would be wrong to assume that every book thus advertised had received the official ' imprimatur' o f the Society.

M r . Turner answered the remaining questions to the satis-faction of the membership present and Mrs. Biermann, Mr . Humphery-Smith, M r . Lee - the Society's librarian, and Mr . Verhoeven also spoke in reply.

There being no further questions, M r . Turner closed the meeting; the gavel came down and all adjourned to the next room where drinks were served. Here members chatted to each other in small informal groups for about an hour. It was just getting dark when the meeting dispersed.

35

H E R A L D R Y T E S T S R E S U L T S The following passed the Elementary Heraldry Test 1974

and w i l l , in due course, receive certificates:—

Mrs. J . Adnams Mr . V . Aldridge Mr. D. I . Asman Mr. G . A . Bishop M r . W.S. Evans Miss. J .M.W. Hurrel Miss S. G i l l

M r . P . J . Lankester M r . A . G . Mettam

Mr . B . Mills M r . P. Roberts

Mrs. F . A . Robson M r . J .R .S . Yates

Miss J .M.W. Hurrel and M r . P . J . Lankester passed wi th distinction.

The following passed the Intermediate Heraldry Test:— Mrs. G.W. Grant, M r . A . T . Hopkinson and M r . J . Hugi l l .

Unsuccessful contestants should not be unduly dispirited but attempt the next test, having checked on their weak points vis-a-vis this test. It is hoped that the Examiners may be able to give brief reports on individual papers i f requested.

In response to a request they state that wi th regard to the Elementary Test, Paper I, Q.8. , the remark "(three words including the indefinite article)" was intended to be helpful but was ignored by most entrants. The answer hoped for was: — (a) A gyronny Coat, (b) A quarterly coat, (c) A n impaled coat.

Corrections. In the list o f passes in the Elementary Test of 1971 which appeared in the Gazette N o . 54 the two following amendments should be noted: M r . M . Collins should have read M r . R . T . Collins and for M r . J . Godberg read M r . J . Goldberg.

X M A S C A R D C O N T E S T R E S U L T The Counci l thanks all those members who put forward

ideas for the Society's 1974 Christmas card. A total of eight submissions were received. Al though the design by associate member Iain C . Steward was commented upon favourably the card finally chosen was that by M r . Eric Cooper. It is hoped to enclose wi th this 'Gazette' an order form showing the winning design.

Last year the cards sold out very quickly , so members are advised to order early.

Heraldry Society Exhib i t ion H E R A L D R Y '74

Last two weeks of September Roya l Exchange, London

W A N T E D : A S S T . H O N . T R E A S U R E R As a result o f increasing membership the burden of work

falling upon the Hon. Treasurer wi l l soon be too much for one pair o f hands to cope wi th . It is. therefore, necessary that Mr Hatcher should get some assistance at the earliest possible moment. If any member has the time to give to this task then the Chairman and Counci l wi l l be most grateful. A retired member who has had some experience i n the financial field would be ideal. Please write to the Secretary i f you are wi l l -ing and able to help.

P R O G R A M M E P R O B L E M S Summer visits still present a problem. A n y member who

would care to volunteer to take on the organisation of this side o f the Society's activities wi l l be a welcome addition to the Programme Sub-Committee. However, Mr Potter hopes that it wi l l be possible to organise two visits to the Society of Antiquaries early i n 1975, details of which wi l l be announ-ced. The fortnightly informal meetings at 28 Museum Street wil l also continue during the summer of 1975. Dates wi l l be given later.

A U S T R A L I A N B R A N C H We have received the first Annual Report (1973-4) o f the

recently reconstituted Australian Branch of the Society. We learn that that distinguished Australian, Sir Robert Menzies, K T , has accepted the office of Patron o f the Branch and Dame Mabel Brookes (an old and valued friend) is the Chair-man. The Executive Vice-President is M r J . C . H . Wright.

We note wi th pleasure that the Branch, which has over fifty members, is now firmly on its feet. Meetings have been held and a library is being formed. A n y member who would like to help the Branch by donating books or cash should send it to Mrs Biermann in Museum Street for onward trans-mission.

The Counci l of the parent body wishes the new Branch every success and w i l l , o f course, give it every possible sup-port.

B O O K B A R G A I N S 'English heraldic manuscripts in the British Museum' by C . E . Wright. British Museum Publications L t d , 1973.

This is a small book of 30 pages of text which offers a brief survey of the English heraldic material in the British Museum manuscript collection. It describes the various kinds of manuscripts and examines the Department's collection.

This publication is a must for the serious student, but beg-inners too wi l l benefit from studying this attractive little book.

It has four excellent plates in colour and sixteen in black and white. Obtainable from the Society, price 60p, plus 5p p&p.

One book, thought worthy enough to be in the company of many famous and expensive books in the heraldic book exhibit ion at the V & A earlier this year, is 'The colour of heraldry', published by The Heraldry Society. This book measures 9 " by 11", has thirty-two coloured plates of the effigies o f mediaeval knights and ladies, and a succinct text treatment of the heraldry. It was published in 1958, but the Society still holds a small stock of them for sale to members at the '50s price of 25/- ( £1 .25 ) plus 23p for postage and packing.

Ladybird Books have added an attractive little book to their range: 'Learning about heraldry'. It was produced wi th the help of the Society and would make a fine gift to a bud-ding young armorist. It is colourful, accurate and fun. Avai l -able from the Society at 18p plus 6½p p & p .

S O C I E T Y C U F F L I N K S In addition to badges and ties, the Society now has cuff

links for sale to members. They are about the size of a new penny piece, and show the Society's badge in a golden colour on a blue enamelled background. The cuff l inks are packed in a shaped plastic box wi th a transparent domed l i d . The price is £ 1 . 6 2 , which includes V A T . Postage and packing is 5p.

36

Pub

lish

ed

by

The

Her

aldr

y S

ocie

ty,

28

Mus

eum

S

tree

t,

Lon

don

WC

1A 1

LH

Pri

nted

by

P.D

.C.

Cop

y S

ervi

ce,

129

Hig

h H

olbo

rn, W

C1