Grant of Arms to the Aberdeen Association of Civil Engineers

The Lord Lyon has granted arms to the Aberdeen Association of Civil Engineers which has given permission for them to be displayed. The painting is by David Allan. The blazon is "Per fess Argent and Gules a roundel counterchanged and chief enarched of the second."

Death of Lyon Sellar R.I.P.

The Lyon Court has just tweeted the following intimation:

"It is with great sadness that we announce the death of William David Hamilton Sellar, MVO, LLD, MA, LLB, FRHistS, FSA Scot, Lord Lyon King of Arms from 2008-2014."

We send our condolences to Susan and the family. 

Lyon at Bridgeton Burns Club

On the 25th January in Glasgow the Lord Lyon proposed the Toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns at the 149th Anniversary Dinner of the Bridgeton Burns Club.

Arms of the Robert Burns Federation

Death of Former Garter

We are all very sorry to have heard of the death of Conrad Swan at the venerable age of 94. Conrad was Garter from 1992-1995, a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John and a Knight of Honour and Devotion in the Order of Malta.

Sir Conrad wrote, ‘The arms are of my Polish-Lithuanian line and are of the Herb (i.e. Arms) Jastrzebiec (i.e. Sparrow hawk) as seen in my crest. Long used by my family, Poland did not have any official central regulation of Arms before the final and third Partition of Poland Lithuania, came under the Russians. The Arms and Szlachta status (literally noble, but probably best translated as gentry)of my family was confirmed by the Department of Heraldry, St Petersburg on the 26th July 1811 and re-matriculated on various occasions down to 1860 – soon after which the family came into the British Empire.

Granted(Confirmed) 7th January 1967 (College of Arms)

Antti Matikkala R.I.P.

We are sorry to hear that Antti Matikkala, the distinguished Finnish armorist, has died. We extend our condolences to his family and friends. R.I.P.

First Public Lecture of 2019

On the 21st January the Lord Lyon gave his first public lecture of 2019 in the Royal Tay Yacht Club to the annual united meeting of the Dundee and area 41-Clubs on the topic of “Understanding Scots Heraldry."

The arms of the Royal Tay Yacht Club, founded 1885, were recorded in 1984. The blazon is:

Or a lion rampant Gules surmounting a bendy wavy Azure charged of a bendlet wavy Argent in centre chief a ducal coronet of the Second.

From Our Files - 100 years ago today

From our files 100 years ago: the arms of Rev. Samuel Martin Johnstone, Rector of St John's Church, Paramatta, New South Wales.

The blazon reads:

Argent a saltire Sable between an acorn slipped proper in chief and in base, a chief indented Vert three cushions Or.

Crest: a winged spur Or.