Happy International Heraldry Day, and welcome to my annual batch of 24 lgbt+ coats of arms.
I won’t give an introduction to explain all the rules, terms and formats this time. Last year’s list, and previous ones, may give any information you need. Several things do need to be emphasised:-
1) Arms with a black surround are of people who have passed away in the past 18 months;
2) A diamond next to a letter indicates the arms are of an unmarried or divorced woman, used specifically in English heraldry;
3) Not everyone is aware they may be entitled to a coat of arms.
A) Max Adrian (1903-1973) – real name Guy Bor, Irish actor. Family arms. The Bors originate in the Netherlands and these arms appears on the tomb of Cornelis Bor (d.1561) of Dordrecht. His son moved to Ireland in the 1620s and gained Irish citizenship. His grandson registered these arms with the College of Arms in London on 17th February 1718. They were transferred to the Dublin Record Office on Irish independence. Max’s ancestor Humphrey Bor of Dublin adopted these arms though he had no direct link to Cornelis. The arms are still used by Humphrey’s descendants. The star indicates that Max descends from Humphrey’s third son.
B) Andreas Bruce (1808-1885) – intersex Swedish aristocrat. Family arms. The Swedish Bruce family are of Scottish origin and lairds of Lymlyn, Fifeshire. They bore the red and yellow Bruce arms to which they added a white cross. They moved to Sweden in the 1600s, and in 1668 were given Swedish nationality and created non-titled nobility. Andreas descends from them.
C) Dr. Tonya Chaffee – Professor of Paediatrics, University of California San Francisco. Family arms. The Chaffees originate in Exeter, Devon, England. These arms have been used by the family since the 1570s. One member of the family, Thomas Chaffee, migrated to New England in the 1630s. He used these arms on a seal on legal documents. Dr. Chaffee is one of Thomas’s direct descendants.
D) Maria Dulebianka (1861-1919) – Polish artist and women’s suffrage campaigner. “Clan” arms. Maria’s family coat of arms was adopted by ancient association rather than blood descent and are part of a “herb” (clan). The Dulebianka’s are believed to belong to the Alabanda herb whose arms are illustrated here. The design dates back to emblems used by an Italian bishop who was appointed to what is now Poland in 993 AD. The crescent was added before 1584 when the full design was included in a book on the arms of Polish knights.
E) Michael Ebling (b.1967) – Mayor of Mainz, Germany 2012-22. Arms of office. This is the coat of arms of the city of Mainz. There are several theories about how and when the design originated, ranging from being the emblem of St. Martin, the patron saint of the city, to that of a 10th century archbishop whose father was a wheelwright.
F) Sir John Finch (1625-1682) – English Ambassador to Constantinople 1672. Personal arms. The male line ancestors of the Finches were the FitzHerberts in the 12th century. Their arms of three lions were used by them from the 14th century. After the marriage to the Finch heiress, this branch of the FitzHerberts used both surnames for several centuries. Vincent FitzHerbert/Finch is recorded as the first to use the black and white arms. By the 16th century the family used the Finch name alone though retained the Fitzherbert arms. The crescent indicates that Sir John was the second son of his father.
G) Julian Gibbs (1932-2021) – English financial adviser. Family arms. Older brother of Christopher Gibbs (see Heraldic Alphabet 2025). Like his bother, Julian inherited a couple of cadency marks which would make the shield look cluttered, so they are omitted. Both were sons of a second son – Julian the 3rd son, and Christopher the 5th.
H) Hon. Esmond Harmsworth (1967-2025) – English literary agent. Personal arms as the 2nd son (indicated by the crescent) of the 2nd Viscount Rothermere. Esmond’s grandfather, the 1st Viscount, was a prominent newspaper mogul and pioneer of tabloid journalism. These arms were granted in 1904 when the 1st Viscount was created a baronet (hereditary knight). Although the meaning behind the design is not recorded we can make some guesses. The rolls of paper may represent newspapers, but also legal documents (as they are tied in red tape) because the 1st Viscount’s father was a barrister. The bees are often used in English heraldry to represent industry, reflecting the Harmsworth dynasty’s dominance in early 20th century British press journalist.
J) Sir Barry Jackson (1879-1961) – English entrepreneur, founder of Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Personal arms. Sir Barry’s father, George, was granted these arms on 10 February 1917 by the College of Arms. The meaning for the design is unknown, but I guess the jackdaw is a pun on the family name.
K) John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes (1883-1946) – English economist. Personal arms. Granted by the College of Arms in May 1944. The design is a modified version of the arms used by the Keynes family of Winkleigh Keynes, Devon, since the 12th century. John had no known descent from this family so wasn’t allowed to use their arms, but because of the similarity in name he was entitled to modify them. He just added two fleurs-de-lys.
L1) James Lees-Milne (1908-1997) – English author and historian. Marital arms for the duration of this marriage to Alvilde (see L2). They both had same-sex affairs before and during their marriage. The main shield quarters the arms of Lees (the red and white arms) with the Milne arms (yellow and back). The white object in the Milne arms represents the iron brackets around the hole in a mill wheel and is a pun on their name. The Milnes also built and ran several mills. In 1890 the last of the Milnes died childless and left his fortune to his nephew, James Lees-Milne’s grandfather, on condition that he added the Milne arms and name to his own. The Royal Licence which confirmed this is dated 31 May 1890. The small shield is that of Alvilde’s family and is placed there because she was an heiress.
L2) Mrs. Alvilde Lees-Milne (1909-1994) – English landscape garden designer. Marital arms for the duration of her marriage to the 3rd Viscount Chaplin. Alvilde was the only child and heir of Sir Tom Bridges, Governor of South Australia. As the heraldic heir she could place her arms on top of her husband’s. The main shield shows the arms of Viscount Chaplin, which had been used since his ancestor became Lord Mayor of London in 1672. Alvilde was married to the Viscount when she met James Lees-Milne. They divorced and she married James.
M) May Morris (1862-1938) – English designer. Personal arms. May was one of the daughters and coheirs of Victorian artist and designer William Morris. Like Alvilde Lees-Milne (L2 above) that meant she could have placed her arms on a little shield on top of their husband’s (if he had a coat of arms), but before her childless marriage her arms were placed on a diamond lozenge. The arms were granted by the College of Arms to May’s grandfather on 15th April 1843. May spent her last years living with her romantic companion Mary Lobb.
N) Ilmari Nurminen (b.1991) – Mayor of Tampere, Finland, since 2025. Arms of office. The arms were officially approved by the city council of Tampere on 30th March 1960. They are a simplified version of the city’s previous coat of arms. The “T” represents the city’s name and also a blacksmith’s hammer symbolising industry. The caduceus (wing staff with snakes wrapped around it) symbolises commerce. The thick wavy like represents the river Tammerkoski which flows though Tampere.
O) Mark Ogilvie-Grant (1905-1969) – Scottish diplomat. Hypothetical arms (arms of the Earls of Seafield, Mark being a great-grandson of the 6th Earl). Scottish arms are not automatically inherited and must be registered with appropriate differences with the Lord Lyon King of Arms in order for them to be legal. In about 1437, an Ogilvie (whose arms are the red lion) married a Sinclair heiress (the black cross). In 1811 the Grants (three gold crowns) inherited the Seafield title and adopted the Ogilvie name and arms. The arms illustrated would have formed the basic design had Mark chosen to register any arms with Lord Lyon.
P) David Hume Pinsent (1891-1918) – RAF test pilot. Posthumous personal arms. David’s uncle was created a baronet (hereditary knight) in 1938 and was probably granted arms at the same time. As is customary, the arms could be used by descendants of the baronet’s father (i.e. David’s grandfather). Unfortunately, David was killed in an air accident a decade earlier. I show his arms as they would have been in 1938 had he lived. As the eldest son and heir of his father, David would have placed a label (the yellow device) to his arms to indicate this. The birds, by the way, are chaffinches, a much-loved bird in Europe.
R) John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647-1690) – English courtier poet, and blatant Libertine. Personal arms. Lord Rochester’s family arms (Wilmot) is the main white shield with the eagle’s heads and shells. His wife, Elizabeth Malet, was an heiress and, like Alvilde Lees-Milne (above L2) could place her family arms on a smaller shield on top of her husband’s. The Malets have used their coat of arms since the 1300s.
S1) Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) – English writer. Personal arms. The Strachey arms (red cross and little eagles) was granted to William Strachey of Saffron Walden, Essex, on 4 July 1587. His great-grandson and heir married the daughter and coheir of George Hodges of Somerset, thus enabling their descendants, including Lytton, to bear both arms in quarters. The Hodges have used their arms (yellow and black) since before 1610. Lytton was his father’s 4th son so could add a martlet (bird without feet) to his arms as a cadency mark.
S2) Tori Settle (née Hon. Victoria Leach) (b.1966) – British psychotherapist; Gay Games and EuroGames dance sport champion (with wife Yvonne Settle). Marital arms. Since 2014 female same-sex married couples in England and Wales have been entitled to place their arms on a shield. The main shield shows the arms Tori inherits from her father, Baron Leach of Fairford (a life peer, a non hereditary title). Tori’s wife Yvonne has no known family arms, so a plain lozenge is placed on her wife’s.
T) Christopher Tunnard (1910-1979) – Canadian landscape architect, garden designer and city planner. Personal arms. These arms were granted to Christopher’s great-great-grandfather, also called Christopher, by the College of Arms in 1810. The landscape gardener was the eldest son of another Christopher, who was a second son, which is indicated by the crescent.
U) Michael Unett (b.1997) – Mayor of Alsager, Cheshire, England, 2021-2, 2025-6. Arms of office. Michael is an elected mayor (by fellow council members) rather than appointed by length of service as a councillor. These are the arms of the Alsager town council which feature of the mayoral chain of office.
V) Most Rev. Cherry Vann (b.1958) – 15th Archbishop of (the Anglican Church in) Wales since 2025. Arms of office. Bishop Vann appeared in my 2020 Heraldic Alphabet when she was Bishop of Monmouth. By being promoted to archbishop this means that of the 3 Anglican archbishops in the England (Canterbury, York, and Wales) only York is male and Vann is a lesbian. These arms are of the archdiocese of Wales, granted by the College of Arms on 9 December 1954, replacing an earlier design that had been used unofficially since about 1939.
W) Thomas Cuthbert Worsley (1907-1977) – English writer, theatre critic, and schoolmaster. Family arms. The Worsleys are said to be descended from an 11th century Norman baron called Elias de Workesley. Thomas is descended from several generations of younger sons from Thomas Worsley (1686-1750), which would clutter up his arms with so many different cadency marks that it would look as much of a jumble as the Progress Pride flag.
Y) Harriot Yorke (1842-1930) – partner of Octavia Hill, co-founder of the National Trust. Family arms. Harriot was a great-great-grand-daughter of the 1st Earl of Hardwicke. I’m not sure how long the Yorke’s have had this coat of arms, but the Earl quartered it with the arms of his mother, an heiress of the Gibbon family. He could not have done this before 1727 when his mother died.
