Frederick Gordon Brownell } (8 March 1940 – 10 May 2019) was a South African

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 ...

vexillologist Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synth ...

, and

genealogist 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 kinsh ...

. He designed the flags of Namibia and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Family and early life

Brownell was born in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

, in what was then the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

province in South Africa on 8 March 1940. He matriculated from St. Andrew's School in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

in 1957. He undertook his voluntary military service at the Air Force Gymnasium with 1 Motorboat Squadron (Air-Sea rescue) before going to

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

to read for a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Social Anthropology, which he obtained in 1961. He subsequently completed an Honours degree in history at the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

in 1965 and was awarded a Master of Arts degree (with distinction) from the same university in 1977 for a dissertation entitled "British Immigration to South Africa 1946 – 1970". He married Christine de Villiers, whom he met whilst at

, on 29 September 1962 in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

and together they had three daughters.

Career

Brownell joined the Department of Immigration on 2 January 1962 as an Administrative Officer. His responsibilities included a tour of duty as Assistant Attache (Immigration) and Consul to the South African Embassy in London between 1965 and 1969. He then joined the Department of National Education / later Arts, Culture, Science and Technology as Assistant State Herald in the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

on 1 August 1977. He was promoted to State Herald on 1 May 1982 and retired from that position in 2002. Brownell designed many coats of arms, badges and flags, including the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

and the

flag of Namibia The flag of Namibia was adopted on 21 March 1990 upon independence from South Africa. Design The National Symbols Sub-Committee received 870 entries for the national flag. Six designs were short-listed; this was reduced to three, those of thr ...

in 1990. In 1993/1994, he designed the current South African flag, with a three-armed converging cross of the sort called a

pall Pall may refer to: * Pall (funeral), a cloth used to cover a coffin * Pall (heraldry), a Y-shaped heraldic charge * Pall (liturgy), a piece of stiffened linen used to cover the chalice at the Eucharist * Pall Corporation, a global business * Pall. ...

in heraldry, to symbolise the convergence of different cultures into one for the future South Africa. He later designed arms for the new provincial governments in South Africa. He was awarded the

Order for Meritorious Service The Order for Meritorious Service is a South African National Order that consisted of two classes, in gold and silver, and was awarded to deserving South African citizens. The order was discontinued on 2 December 2002.Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

in 2000 for his role in the design of the South African flag and the Vexillon Award for excellence in the promotion of vexillology in 1995 and 2015, the only recipient to have won it twice. He also published many articles and several books on heraldry and flags. He was also involved in the field of honours and awards.

Final years and death

Shortly after his retirement Brownell and his wife moved to the Newlands Park retirement home, south east of

. He continued to be an active member of the

Southern African Vexillological Association The Southern African Vexillological Association (SAVA) was formed in November 1990 to promote vexillology in Southern Africa. Members of the association are drawn mainly from flag manufacturers, collectors, military historians and generally anyo ...

and completed the SAVA Journal series on South African Military Colours (1664 to 26 April 1994). Furthermore, in September 2015 he was awarded the degree of

Doctorate of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

(D.Phil) in the Faculty of Humanities at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

for a dissertation entitled ''Convergence and Unification: The National Flag of South Africa (1994) in Historical Perspective'', based on the process of, and his role in, the designing the current South African flag. In early 2019, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died at his home surrounded by his family on 10 May 2019.

Awards and Commendations

Brownell was the recipient of the following: * Order for Meritorious Service (OMSS), Class II: Silver *

Southern Cross Medal (1975) The Southern Cross Medal of 1975, post-nominal letters SM, is a military decoration which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa on 1 July 1975. It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for exceptionally meritorious ...

(SM) and bar * Military Merit Medal (MMM) * General Service Medal *

Unitas Medal The Unitas Medal was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 4 November 1994. It was awarded to all ranks who were on the active strength of all seven constituent military forces from 27 April 1994 to 10 May 1994, to comme ...

* John Chard Decoration (JCD) * Republic of

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

Police Star of Merit * Republic of

Prison's Service Establishment Medal * Knight of the

Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. 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 c ...

(KStJ) * Cross of Merit of Robert Caluwe (instituted by the Heraldic Societies in the

Baltic region The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. ...

for services to international heraldry) * Gold Commemorative Medallion of the

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

Territory Force * William Harvey Medal of the South African Blood Transfusion Service * ''Archives News'' Literary Prize (1990) * Vexillon Award of the

International Federation of Vexillological Associations The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV, French acronym: ''Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques'') is an international federation of 53 regional, national, and multinational associations and inst ...

(1995 and 2015) * Fellow of the

(FF) * Fiat Lux Award by the family of St. Andrew's School (

) *

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the Military, armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the Military branch, armed services. They are in turn a ...

Emblem for Voluntary Service * Honorary Life Member of the

* Laureate of the

(LF)

Publications

Brownell's works include:

Books

* * ''Nasionale en Provinsiale Simbole en Flora- en Fauna-embleme van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika'', C. van Rensburg Publications. 1993 * ''National symbols of the Republic of South Africa'', Chris van Rensburg Publications, 1995 * * * * ''Consolidated index to the South African Armorial'' (1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2001) * ''Index to local and regional authorities which have registered arms, badges and seals with the

'' (1990, 1991, 1997) * ''Alphabetical index to South African Defence Force heraldic representations registered with the

'' (1991, 1997, 2000) * ''Names, Uniforms and Badges – a computerised record of the registrations under the Protection of Names, Uniforms and Badges Act, 1935'', Vols. 1 – 4 (2000)

Journal articles and reports

* ''Report on the Transformation of National Orders in South Africa'', co-authored with Dr Y Muthien and General L Moloi, 1998 * ''South African Military Colours – 1664 to 26 April 1994 Part II Vol.1 – Military Colours of the Union Defence Forces and of the South African Defence Force : 1 July 1912 to 30 May 1961'', co-authored with Prof H H Smith, SAVA Journal SJ: 8/99, December 1999 * ''South African Military Colours – 1664 to 26 April 1994 Part II Vol.2 – Military Colours of the Union Defence Forces and of the South African Defence Force : 1 July 1912 to 30 May 1961 : Colours devised for the Commandos of the South African Defence Forces prior to World War II'', co-authored with Prof H H Smith, SAVA Journal SJ:9, July 2005 * ''South African Military Colours – 1664 to 26 April 1994 Part III Vol. 1 – Military Colours of the South African Defence Force 31 May 1961 to 26 April 1994 : The National Colour and Colours devised for the South African Army'', co-authored with Prof H H Smith, SAVA Journal SJ:10, June 2011 * ''South African Military Colours – 1664 to 26 April 1994 Part III Vol. 2 – Military Colours of the South African Defence Force 31 May 1961 to 26 April 1994 : Colours devised for the South African Air Force, Navy, Medical Service and the South African Police'', co-authored with Prof H H Smith, SAVA Journal SJ:11, December 2017 * ''The Union Jack over Southern and Central Africa, 1795 – 1994'', SAVA Journal SJ: 3/94, October 1994 * ''Some Southern African Flags, 1949 – 1991'', SAVA Journal SJ: 1/92, April 1992 * ''Symbolism in the coats of arms of Special Schools for the Cerebral Palsied'', in Education and Culture, II, 2, June 1978 * ''The

, its establishment, functions and procedures'', in Education and Culture, V, I, March/June 1982 * ''Heraldry in South Africa'', in Optima, Vol. 32, 4, December 1984 (subsequently reprinted in The New Zealand Armiger, 18, December 1990) * ''Finnish Influence on South African Heraldic Design'', in the Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, Helsinki, 1984 * ''Historic Flags of South Africa'', in the Report of the 11th International Congress of Vexillology, Madrid, 1985 * ''Heraldry in Natal'', in Natalia, 17, December 1987 * ''New Southern African Flags'', in the Proceedings of the 12th International Congress of Vexillology, 1987, published in The Flag Bulletin, XVIII, 1 – 4/130, Jan – Aug 1990 * ''The Evolution of the Coat of Arms and Flags of South West Africa and Namibia'', published in 8 parts in Archives News, XXXII, 11 May 1990 – XXXIII, 6, December 1990 * ''Kruger Gray's bookplate for South Africa House, London'', in Africana Society of Pretoria, Yearbook 8, 1990 * ''Symbols for Namibia'', in The Flag Bulletin, XXXI, 1 – 2/145, Jan – April 1992 * ''Heraldic adaptation in the Southern African context'', in Genealogica & Heraldica, the Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, Uppsala, 1992 * ''The flags of the Diggers' Republic'', in Fahnen Flags Drapeaux, the Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Vexillology, Zurich, 1993 * ''Some Bookplates in the

Brenthurst Library The Brenthurst Library is a private repository of Africana (artifacts), Africana in Johannesburg built by Harry Oppenheimer in 1984 as he started to disengage from the family's mining interests. It houses a collection of some 20,000 volumes, inc ...

'', in Brenthurst Archives, I, 1, 1994 * ''The design of the new South African national flag'', SABS Bulletin, XIII, 3, May/June 1994 (subsequently reprinted in the Journal of the Dental Association of South Africa, Vol. 49, II, November 1994) * ''Creating an interim flag for South Africa'', in The Flag Bulletin, XXXIII, 3/158, May – June 1994 (co-authored with B B Berry, D de Waal and T Stylianides) * ''The evolution of a distinctive South African heraldic idiom, 1963–1996'', in Genealogica & Heraldica, the Proceedings of the 22nd International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, Ottawa, 1996 * ''The Cartoonist's view of the South African National Flag'', in Flags in Southern Africa and the World, the Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Vexillology, Cape Town, 1997 * ''The Seal of the Republic of South Africa – a little oversight?'', in Arma (New Series), Vol. 4, 1–2, December 1998 * ''Flags of the Uniformed and other services in the former African 'Homelands' of South Africa'', in Flags from Sea to Sea, the Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Vexillology, Victoria, British Columbia, 1999

References

Sources

* ''Arma'' Vol 7 No 1 (2002) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownell, Frederick 1940 births 2019 deaths Flag designers Officers of arms Rhodes University alumni South African people of English descent South African heraldists South African heraldry White South African people