The Heraldry Society
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The Heraldry Society is one of the leading organizations in the world devoted to studying heraldry. In 1947, a twenty year old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This title was changed to The Heraldry Society in 1950. It was incorporated in 1956 and is now a registered charity.[1] The principal object of the society is to extend interest in and knowledge of heraldry, genealogy, precedence, and related disciplines. For fifty years, Brooke-Little served as the chairman of The Heraldry Society. In 1997, as Brooke-Little was ending his career as an officer of arms, he changed roles in the Society to become its president. He served in this role until his death in February of 2006. In addition to being chairman and president of the society, Brooke-Little served as the Honorary Editor of the society's scholarly journal, The Coat of Arms. From the first publication of the journal until the middle of 1965, his mother, Constance Egan, served as the managing editor of The Coat of Arms, though Brooke-Little always had a guiding influence on the publication. It was not until 2005, that Brooke-Little finally handed complete control of the journal to two young officers of arms, Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary Peter O'Donaghue and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary Clive Cheesman.[2] Although based in London the Society has an international membership.
The The Heraldry Society of Scotland, the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, and the American Heraldry Society follow a model similar to that of the Heraldry Society. The Heraldry Society (New Zealand Branch), established in 1962, is operationally and constitutionally completely independent of The Heraldry Society. It publishes a quarterly journal, The New Zealand Armorist, and its patron is the Honourable Anand Satyanand, Governor-General of New Zealand. The current president of the branch is Lieutenant-Commander Kenneth McGrath, VRD RNZNVR rtd.
