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Sir Anthony Richard Wagner (6 September 1908 – 5 May 1995) was a long-serving officer of arms 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 Sover ...
in London. He served as
Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...
before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was one of the most prolific authors on the subjects of
heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
and
genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of the 20th century.


Early life and education

Wagner's distant ancestor, Melchior Wagner, arrived in England from the Saxon city of
Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...
in 1709 and became hatter to George I and George II.'Sir Anthony Wagner', ''The Times'' (11 May 1995), p. 21. Wagner's father, Orlando Wagner, ran a day-school in London. He attended
Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
and
Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided th ...
, Oxford, on scholarships. He found the classics uninteresting and graduated with a third in '' Literae humaniores''. From early age he had been interested in genealogy and his favourite book as a boy was
Hereford Brooke George Hereford Brooke George (1838–1910) was an English barrister, academic and historian, also known as an alpinist. Life Born at Bath, Somerset on 1 January 1838, he was eldest of the three children (two sons and a daughter) of Richard Francis Geor ...
's ''Genealogical Tables Illustrative of Modern History''.


Professional career

Wagner joined the College of Arms as Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1931. He was promoted to Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1943 and
Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...
in 1961. In 1978 he retired to the subordinate position of Clarenceux King of Arms. Oxford University awarded him a DLitt and in 1979 he was appointed an honorary fellow of Balliol College. He was a firm believer in the view that appointments to the college were for life. As a
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 ...
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. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
he served in the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (MoD ...
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. He took part in the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth ll in 1951 as Richmond Herald, and as Garter King of Arms took part in and was involved in the ceremonial aspects of the state funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965 and the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969. 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 design was commissioned from Raymond Erith; this became impossible because of the increasing financial demands of repairs to the college itself. But in 1981 the
Heralds' Museum The Heralds' Museum was a museum of heraldry run by the College of Arms Trust at the Tower of London during the 1980s. It was situated in the old Waterloo Barracks within the Tower. The original idea came from Sir Anthony Wagner, Garter Princi ...
opened in part of the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...
. He was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 1944. In 1981 he defended the ceremonial aspects of British political life in an interview with Philip Howard of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...
'': "Ceremonial induces a more reflective mood. It is an art form that embodies the continuity of the nation and the deposit of history. We live in a time of great change. But every item in a ceremonial like the coronation links us directly to the roots of our nationality more than 10 centuries ago".Philip Howard, 'The King who stands out from the pack', ''The Times'' (4 November 1981), p. 10. Howard said Wagner "is one of our most distinguished historians, the man who made heraldry respectable and who holds the sceptre of continuity in our changing times".


Chronology

*Appointed Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary (1931) *General Editor, '' Dictionary of British Arms'' (1940–1995) *Appointed Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary (1943) *Secretary of the
Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...
(1952–1961) *Registrar of the College of Arms (1953–1960) *Joint Register of the Court of Chivalry (1954–1995) *Appointed
Garter Principal King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...
(1961–1978) *Knight Principal, Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor (1962–1983) *Appointed Clarenceux King of Arms (1978–1995) *Director,
Heralds' Museum The Heralds' Museum was a museum of heraldry run by the College of Arms Trust at the Tower of London during the 1980s. It was situated in the old Waterloo Barracks within the Tower. The original idea came from Sir Anthony Wagner, Garter Princi ...
, Tower of London (1978–1983)


Other activities

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 Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style. History Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is ...
, the antiquarian Cocked Hats, and the bibliophilic Roxburghe Club. 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 A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...
, was a revised edition of the ordinary of arms originally produced by J. W. Papworth. The first volume (of what was now entitled the ''Dictionary of British Arms'') appeared in 1992.


Publications

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).
Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...
called the book "magisterial". Wagner's ''English Genealogy'' (1960; revised editions 1972 and 1983) remains a standard work of reference. 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. His ''Records and Collections of the College of Arms'' (1952) remains a useful finding aid to the college's archival holdings. His office had been highly mechanised from an early stage, but all the more so once he became blind in 1984, whereupon, making every use of the aids of modern science, he bore his affliction with patience and dexterity. He dictated his autobiography, ''A Herald's World'' (1988). He was also a staunch supporter of hereditary peers and defended their presence in the House of Lords in an article in the ''Times'' on 30 January 1969 which became the foreword to the 1970 edition of ''Burke's Peerage''.


Personal life

In 1953 (at the age of 44) Wagner married Gillian Graham, eldest daughter of Major H.A.R. Graham. In addition to taking over his father's house, 68 Chelsea Square, London, they acquired a country house in
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Aldeb ...
, Suffolk. The couple had a daughter and two sons. Wagner's funeral service was held at the Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf, the religious home of the College of Arms since 1555. The Queen was represented by Sir Conrad Swan.'Court Circular', ''The Times'' (13 May 1995), p. 20. He was buried at Aldeburgh.


Honours

*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, ...
(1953) *Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1961) *Knight Commander 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. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as ...
(1978) * Admiral, The Great Navy of the State of Nebraska, USA, (1987)


Arms


See also

*
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 Sover ...
*
Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Anthony Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English genealogists English antiquarians 20th-century antiquarians English officers of arms Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists People educated at Eton College Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order 1908 births 1995 deaths People educated at Beaudesert Park School Garter Principal Kings of Arms