Rodney Onslow Dennys, (1911 – 13 August 1993) was a British foreign service operative and 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 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served in the Intelligence Corps of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Career

Dennys joined the Foreign Service in 1937, serving in various intelligence posts, including

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. For his war work in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) on 14 October 1943. He was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1949, and relinquished his commission in 1966, retaining that rank. Dennys joined the staff at the College of Arms in 1958. His first heraldic appointment came on 8 August 1961 when he was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary to replace Walter Verco. He continued in this office until 1967 when he was appointed Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary. He held this position until his retirement in 1982, after which he was granted the post of Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary. In 1969 he was made a Member (4th Class) 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, or ...

(MVO), on the occasion of the Investiture of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, in the 1982

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

he was promoted to Commander (CVO). In 1983 he was appointed

High Sheriff of East Sussex The High Sheriff of East Sussex is a current title which has existed since 1974; the holder is changed annually every March. For around 1,000 years the county of Sussex was covered by a single High Sheriff of Sussex but after the Local Government ...

Personal life

Dennys's wife, Elizabeth, was a sister of the late

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

. They had one son and two daughters.

Publications

*Rodney Dennys. ''The Heraldic Imagination''. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1975. *Rodney Dennys. ''Heraldry and the Heralds''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1982 and 1984.

References

External links

The College of ArmsLondon Gazette notice of appointment as Rouge Croix Pursuivant
1911 births 1993 deaths Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire English officers of arms English genealogists Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London High Sheriffs of Sussex Intelligence Corps officers {{England-mil-bio-stub

Career

Personal life

Publications

See also

References

External links