David White (officer of Arms)

David White (officer Of Arms)

David Vines White (born 27 October 1961 at Glasgow, Scotland) is the current Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms in London.

White is the younger son of Peter Vines White and Sheila (née Chatterton (widow of Lt Cdr (E) J.W.W. Baker RN).

White was educated at Marlborough College, before going to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he obtained the degree of MA. As an undergraduate he was President of the Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society and later he received a further MA degree from the University of London.

White then served as a research assistant to Theobald Mathew, Windsor Herald, and in 1995 was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant, following in the tradition of eminent genealogists, such as Sir Henry Farnham Burke. In 2004 he was appointed Somerset Herald. White is a member of Council of The Heraldry Society in London and served as its Chairman 2006-09. He is a member of Council of the British Record Society and a Trustee of the Marc Fitch Fund. In 2010 he was appointed Honorary Genealogist to the Royal Victorian Order.

Somerset Herald's day job is researching and proving genealogies, as well as facilitating new grants of arms to suitable applicants.