Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones,
CVO (born 1940) is a
long-serving officer of arms at the
College of
Arms
in London
.
He is the
current Garter Principal
King of Arms, the senior English
officer of
arms.
Life and career
Gwynn-Jones was born in 1940, the son of
Major Jack Gwynn-Jones, of Cape Town
. He was educated at Wellington
College
, and Trinity College
, Cambridge
, where he obtained an MA. In 1970 he joined the
College of
Arms and became assistant to Sir Anthony Richard Wagner, who was the
Garter Principal King of Arms, and in 1973 was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in
Ordinary. In 1982 he was promoted to herald, and served until 1995 as Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary and as
House Comptroller of the College of Arms. In 1995 he was appointed
Garter Principal King of
Arms.
Honours and appointments
Gwynn-Jones was
Inspector of Regimental
Colours from
2 October 1995, and Inspector of
Royal
Air Force Badges from 1996. As Garter Principal King of Arms he
was also appointed in 1995
Genealogist
to the Order of the Bath,
Genealogist of the Order of St
Michael and St George, and
Genealogist of the Most Venerable
Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. He was
Secretary of the
Harleian Society
from 1981 until 1994, and non-executive Vice-President of
The Heraldry Society from 1996.
Gwynn-Jones was made a
Lieutenant
of the Royal Victorian Order in 1994,
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
in 1998,
Knight of Justice
of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of
Jerusalem in 1995.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Peter
Gwynn-Jones
Gwynn-Jones's
coat of arms was granted
on
8 May 1971. The
blazon for the shield is
Argent goutté
Gules a Fret engrailed and molined at the mascle point Sable.
At the same time, Gwynn-Jones was granted the crest of
A
Coati sejant Sable collared and lined Or.
This coat of arms represents the first effort at heraldic design by
Gwynn-Jones. Gwynn is
Welsh for white
and his ancestors bettered themselves through careers in the army.
Thus, the red drops on a white field are an allusion to both his
name and his ancestry. The crest is derived from the fact that his
paternal ancestors came from
Coity. This
allusion is apt because Gwynn-Jones also had a particular liking
for the animal.
See also
Bibliography
- Gwynn-Jones, P. Ll. (1998) The Art of Heraldry : origins,
symbols, designs, London : Parkgate, ISBN 1-85585-560-7
References
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