First Sentence

"THE YEAR'S CHANGES AND NEW TITLES by the Editor XV11 HIS MAJESTY THE KING lias been pleased to approve the colour plates of the Royal Arms as they appear opposite page 10 in this the 97th Edition of BURKE'S PEERAGE. Armorial bearings have always had a lustrous meaning and a significance known and cherished throughout the English-speaking world. During the past few years there has been every sign of a revival of the traditional interest in the art of Heraldry on the part of the present-day members of the Titled Families. Within the pages of this Volume will be found in colourful pageantry the symbols of honour, rank and high degree of many of our most historic and distinguished families. For the first time in the 112 years' history of BURKE'S PEERAGE, a large number of armorial bearings are now blazoned in the full splendour of the authorized Heraldic Colours, which has only been made possible by the generous assistance which has been given by the OFFICERS OF ARMS of the three Kingdoms. The correctness of detail has therefore been assured, but in a very few cases time has not permitted the grantee to complete the full adjustment of his Arms in accordance with the records of the College. A year of stress and tension throughout the world has been marked by the passing of a number of royal personages, all of whom were related, by kinship or by marriage, to our own Royal Family. H.M. the Queen of Norway, the last surviving child of King Edward VII, died in London on 20 November. Greatly beloved in the country to whose throne she and her husband (then Prince Charles of Denmark) were called after its re-creation as a sovereign and independent power in 1905, she retained a deep interest in and affection for this country, to which she was an annual visitor, and her loss will be widely mourned. The untimely death of H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught on 12 September caused general grief, and sincere sympathy was also felt for the Duchess of Kent, whose accomplished father, Prince Nicholas of Greece, passed away on 8 February. The Queen Mother of Roumania, eldest daughter of the late Duke of Edinburgh, died on 18 July, and her brother-in-law, the Grand Duke Cyril, who was heir to the Imperial throne of Russia, expired on 12 October. H.M. the Queen sustained a heavy personal loss by the death of her mother, the Countess of Strathmore, which occurred on 23 June and caused the postponement for a month of Their Majesties' State visit to France. On the occasion of this visit the King and Queen were sumptuously entertained by the French Government and the Paris Municipality, and their four days' sojourn in the French capital did much to cement the friendly relations existing between the two countries. The Order of the Garter has been conferred during the year upon the King of Roumania, who paid a State visit to this country in November, and upon the King of the Hellenes, who visited London about the same time in a private capacity. Nine new peerages have been created during the year, and three barons have been elevated to viscountcies. The recipients of the latter honour comprise Lord Nuffield, the eminent motor-manufacturer, who has with unexampled generosity utilised his great wealth in the service of his fellow-men ; Lord Weir, another prominent industrialist, who was Adviser to the Government on national defence measures in 1936-37 ; and Lord Stonehaven, a former Governor-General of Australia, and subsequent Chairman of the Conservative Party organization. Among the new barons may be mentioned Field-Marshal Sir William Birdwood, Bart., one of the few survivors among the leading commanders in the Great War ; Sir Josiah Stamp, one of the world's foremost economists, and President of the London Midland and Scottish Railway ; -Sir Percival Perry, Chairman of the Ford Motor Co., Ltd. ; and Mr. Vivian Hugh Smith, the banker. Sir Henry Lopes, Bart., representative of a well-known Devonshire family, who was created Baron Roborough in January, died on 14 April, and was succeeded by his only son. Eleven new Privy Councillors have been appointed, and the number of new baronetcies is also eleven. Included amongst the latter are the names of the Right Hon. Sir Douglas Hacking, M.P., the present Chairman of the Conservative Party organization; Sir William Prescott, Chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board ; Sir John Auld Mactaggart, the principal of a large firm of building contractors in Glasgow ; and Sir Archibald Weigall, until recently Chairman of the Council of the Royal Empire Society. The Order of Merit has been conferred upon Sir Arthur Eddington, the eminent astronomer and physicist; and Mr. Howell Arthur Gwynne, for twenty-six years editor of The Morning Post, has been made a Companion of Honour. Twenty-six peers have died as compared with forty and forty-two in the two preceding years. The earldom of Cave of Richmond, conferred in 1928 upon the widow of Viscount Cave, becomes extinct, as do also the three baronies of Atholstan, Marks and Chalmers. The obituary list includes the names of the 9th Duke of Devonshire, a former Governor-General of Canada, and Secretary of State for the Colonies ; of two prominent followers of hounds, the 3rd Marquess of Abergavenny, who died on the hunting field, and the 1st Baron Daresbury; of the 6th Baron Plunket, who with Lady Plunket perished in an aeroplane accident in California, under very sad circumstances ; of the 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven at a comparatively early age ; of the 3rd Marquess of Ailsa, a famous yachtsman, who by contrast attained his ninetieth year; and of the 7th Baron Hawke, the noted cricketer. Mention must also be made of the death of Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for the Dominions, and eldest son and heir of the Earl of Derby, whilst on the threshold of what promised to be a brilliant political career. By the death of the Earl of Lindsey, that title has become united with the Earldom of Abingdon, which had been created in favour of a junior branch of the house of Bertie about a half century after the senior title. The abeyance in the barony of Vaux of Harrowden, which had existed since the death of the 7th Baron in 1935, without male issue, was terminated in favour of his eldest daughter, the Hon. Mrs. William Gordon Gilbey, by Letters Patent of 8 July. Forty-one baronets have passed away during the year, as against sixty-one in the preceding twelve months. Six of these titles became extinct, and in another case, that of Strickland of Boynton, the succession is at present undetermined. The obituary of knights includes one hundred and seventy-two names. A deep debt of gratitude is due to the numerous correspondents who have kindly furnished the Editor with additions and emendations, and much valuable help has been received this year, as in the past, from various public officials."