Sir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones (12 March 1940 – 21 August 2010) was a long-serving

Officer of Arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve a ...

at the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

in London. He was Garter Principal King of Arms, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.

Life and career

Gwynn-Jones was born in 1940, the son of Major Jack Gwynn-Jones, of

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. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

, and Trinity College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, where he obtained an MA. In 1970 he joined the

and became assistant to Sir Anthony Richard Wagner, who was the Garter Principal King of Arms. In 1973 Gwynn-Jones was appointed Bluemantle Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary. In 1982 he was promoted to

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

, and served until 1995 as Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary and became House Comptroller of the

. In 1995 he was appointed Garter Principal King of Arms,. He retired in 2010. He died later that year on 21 August.

Appointments and honours

Gwynn-Jones was Secretary of the

Harleian Society The Harleian Society is a text publication society and registered charity founded in 1869 for the publication of manuscripts of the heraldic visitations of the counties of England and Wales, and other unpublished manuscripts relating to genealo ...

from 1981 until 1994,

Inspector of Regimental Colours The Inspector of Regimental Colours is an officer of arms responsible for the design of standards, colours and badges of the British Army and of those Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth states where the College of Arms has heraldic jurisdiction. ...

from 2 October 1995, and Inspector of

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Badges from 1996. 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 non-executive Vice-President of

The Heraldry Society The Heraldry Society is a British organization that is devoted to studying and promoting heraldry and related subjects. In 1947, a twenty-year-old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This name was changed to The He ...

from 1996. Gwynn-Jones was appointed

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(LVO) in 1994, promoted

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) in 1998, and appointed

Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(KStJ) in 1995. In anticipation of his retirement

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promoted Gwynn-Jones Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the

2010 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2010 were announced on 31 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Christopher and NevisSaint Christ ...

''The Coati Sable''

Gwynn-Jones's autobiography, ''The Coati Sable: The Story of a Herald'', was published by The Memoir Club in 2010, coinciding with his retirement as Garter The title is a reference to the coati (a type of American raccoon) that featured on Gwynn-Jones's own coat of arms and served as a punning allusion to Coity, Glamorganshire.

Arms

Bibliography

*Gwynn-Jones, P. Ll. (1998) ''The Art of Heraldry : origins, symbols, designs'', London : Parkgate, *Gwynn-Jones, P. Ll. (2010) ''The Coati Sable: The story of a Herald'', Durham : The Memoir Club,

References

External links

The College of ArmsObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn-Jones, Peter Llewellyn 1940 births 2010 deaths English officers of arms People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of Justice of the Order of St John English genealogists English male non-fiction writers Garter Principal Kings of Arms