Sir Anthony Richard Wagner KCB KCVO FSA (6 September 1908–1995) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was one of the most prolific authors on subjects of the heraldry and genealogy of the 20th century. Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ... The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society, based in the United Kingdom, concerned with the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries. This includes archaeology, architectural history, art history, conservation, heraldry, anthropology, and ecclesiastical studies. ... This article is about the day of the year. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Conrad Swan, while York Herald, one of thirteen officers of arms at the College of Arms. ... The Colleges own coat of arms was granted in 1484. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital of the United Kingdom and England. ... Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. ... Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. ... Heraldry is the art and science of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats-of-arms (also referred to as armorial bearings or simply as arms). Its origins lie in the need to distinguish participants in battles or jousts, whose faces were hidden by steel helmets. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...

Early life and education

Wagner was born to a family of Saxon origin. His ancestor, Melchior Wagner, came from Coburg in 1709 and became hatter to George I of Great Britain. At an early age Wagner developed a taste for genealogy, and invented an imaginary realm which he could people to taste. His father ran a day-school in London. Scholarships took Wagner to Eton College and then to Balliol College at Oxford. Eventually he entered the College of Arms as Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1931. The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen; Sorbian: Swobodny Stata Sakska) is at a land area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... Castle Ehrenburg Coburg is a city located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Central-West Germany. ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... George I (Georg Ludwig) (28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) from 23 January 1698, and King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 1 August 1714, until his death. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a prestigious and internationally known independent school for boys. ... Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... The Portcullis Pursuivant is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms named after the portcullis which is a symbol of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ...

Wagner did not marry until he was 44, but in 1953 made an happy alliance with Gillian, daughter of Major H.A.R. Graham. In addition to taking over his father's house in Chelsea Square they acquired a country cottage at Aldeburgh, Suffolk. He was survived by two sons, one of whom is a distinguished artist, and a daughter. 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ... Map sources for Aldeburgh at grid reference TM4656 Aldeburgh is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England; it is located on the Alde river at 52° North, 1° East 1. ... Suffolk (pronounced SUF-fk) is a large traditional and administrative county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ...

Professional career

Wagner joined the College of Arms as Portcullis in 1931: he became Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1943 and Garter Principal King of Arms in 1961; in 1978 he retired to the subordinate position of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was a firm believer in the view that appointments to the college were for life. As a herald he enjoyed a very large practice and was able to train up a number of skilled and well-qualified assistants who later became officers of arms. His professional library was enormous, but he was also able to build up an important collection of early heraldic manuscripts from the Clumber and other sales. Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms of the College of Arms. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... A hierarchy (in Greek hieros = sacred, arkho = rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things. ... Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. ... Henry Edgar Paston-Bedingfeld, Her Majestys York Herald of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms. ...

During World War II he served in the War Office for four years, and then moved to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, where he rose to be Principal Private Secretary to a series of ministers. Although he contemplated remaining in the Ministry, he returned to the College of Arms in 1946 and took over the extensive practice of Alfred Butler, Windsor Herald. Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II... Old War Office Building, Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Windsor Herald is an officer of arms of the College of Arms, named after the Barony of Windsor and the town of Windsor. ...

One idea, which he pursued persistently, was the establishment of a museum in which to display the treasures of the College of Arms itself. Initially it was hoped to erect a building adjacent to the college, and a most interesting design was commissioned from Raymond Erith; this became impossible because of the increasing financial demands of repairs to the college itself. For it has to be remembered that the Heralds, as a body corporate, receive no subvention from any national source; their own stipends were fixed in the 17th century and have not been raised since. But in 1981 the Heralds' Museum was at last opened in part of the Tower of London. To those who wish to gain some idea of the resources of the college, Wagner's own Records and Collections of the College of Arms (1952) is an invaluable short guide. A museum is typically a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and of its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits, for purposes of study, education enjoyment, the tangible and intangible evidence of people and their environment. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the film with this title, see Tower of London (1939 film). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Wagner continued to visit the College of Arms and attend meetings of its chapter. With his departure the world of heraldry and genealogy lost a scholar of majestic stature, though His numerous works keep his memory alive.

Personal

Wagner had many interests outside the world and work of the College of Arms. He belonged to the Vintners' Company, serving as Master from 1973 to 1974, and was a member of a number of important dining clubs including the Society of Dilettanti, the antiquarian Cocked Hats and the bibliophilic Roxburghe Club. The Dilettante Society or Dilettanti was a society of noblemen and gentlemen founded in England in 1734, and which contributed to correct and purify the public taste of the country; their labours were devoted chiefly to the study of the relics of ancient Greek art, and resulted in the production... The Roxburghe Club was formed in 1812 by leading bibliophiles when the library of the Duke of Roxburghe was auctioned. ...

A number of large projects engaged his attention and enthusiasm. One, which arose from the Harleian Society, was an endeavour to list and describe the surviving English Rolls of Arms: to this series (CEMRA) Wagner contributed the first volume. Another project, connected with the Society of Antiquaries of London, was a revised edition of the Ordinary of Arms originally produced by Papworth. The first volume appeared in 1992. The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society, based in the United Kingdom, concerned with the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries. This includes archaeology, architectural history, art history, conservation, heraldry, anthropology, and ecclesiastical studies. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

Publications

It is fair to say that through his life genealogy occupied the foremost place in Wagner's affections, but his earliest publications made highly important contributions to the study of heraldry. Issues of State Ceremonial took third priority. His Historic Heraldry of England (1939) derived initially from an exhibition of panels in America, but drew a stern and scholarly line between those great men who were truly armigerous and those who were not. On the other hand, his Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages (also 1939) shed new light on the development of the functions of the earliest officers of arms. Many years later he traced the whole story of the College of Arms in a massive volume entitled Heralds of England (1967). 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Of all Wagner's genealogical writings, his English Genealogy (1960, and since revised) is standard reference in any well-conditioned public library and on many private shelves. Many of his conclusions were rehearsed and reinforced in Pedigree and Progress (1975), where an important group of essays is annotated and brought up to date. Always he stressed the mobility of social life and class in the course of English history, and in maintaining this view ran contrary to the opinions of some professional English historians. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

His office had been highly mechanised from an early stage, but, making every use of the aids of modern science, he bore his affliction with patience and dexterity. His autobiography, A Herald's Way (1988) he dictated. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Honours and Appointments

• Appointed Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary (1931)
• General Editor, Society of Antiquaries Dictionary of British Arms (1940-1995)
• Appointed Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary (1943)
• Secretary of the Order of the Garter (1952-1961)
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1953)
• Registrar of the College of Arms (1953-1960)
• Joint Register of the Court of Chivalry (1954-1995)
• Appointed Garter Principal King of Arms (1961-1978)
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1961)
• Knight Principal, Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor (1962-1983)
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1978)
• Appointed Clarenceux King of Arms (1978-1995)
• Director, Heralds' Museum, Tower of London (1978-1983)

The Portcullis Pursuivant is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms named after the portcullis which is a symbol of Parliament and the Palace of Westminster. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society, based in the United Kingdom, concerned with the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries. This includes archaeology, architectural history, art history, conservation, heraldry, anthropology, and ecclesiastical studies. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms of the College of Arms. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Garter is the most recognizable insignia of the Order of the Garter. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Victoria founded the Royal Victorian Order. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Court of Chivalry is a civil court in England. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The silver Anglia knight, commissioned as a trophy in 1850, intended to represent the Black Prince. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

See also

• The College of Arms
• Heraldry

The Colleges own coat of arms was granted in 1484. ... Heraldry is the art and science of designing, displaying, describing and recording coats-of-arms (also referred to as armorial bearings or simply as arms). Its origins lie in the need to distinguish participants in battles or jousts, whose faces were hidden by steel helmets. ...

External links

• Obituary from the Independent