John Brooke-Little - Heraldic Career

Heraldic Career

In 1952–3, Brooke-Little served on the staff assembled by the Earl Marshal to plan the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. He was appointed a Gold Staff Officer for the Coronation and held a key co-ordination role during planning as well as on the day. It was his abiding interest in heraldry that led to this appointment, and this work with the Earl Marshal and the officers of arms led to his first heraldic appointment. He joined the College of Arms as Bluemantle Pursuivant in Ordinary in 1956. The rank of pursuivant is the junior of the three levels an officer of arms can attain, and Brooke-Little related the story of his appointment in an editorial. In 1956, Garter King of Arms Sir George Bellew had recommended Brooke-Little and Colin Cole for the open position of Bluemantle. The two were asked to meet with the Earl Marshal in London. The Earl Marshal was not usually faced with two candidates for an opening; he offered the position to Cole, who turned it down as his wife was expecting a child. Brooke-Little was made Bluemantle. Several months later when Sir Gerald Woods Wollaston died, in the ensuing shuffle Cole was finally given his appointment as Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary.

In 1967, Brooke-Little was advanced to the position of Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary. On 7 July 1980, after almost thirty years of service to the Earl Marshal and the College of Arms, Brooke-Little was appointed to replace Sir Walter Verco as Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, with authority to grant coats of arms in the territories of England north of the River Trent, as well as Northern Ireland. While serving in that office, he enjoyed telling people that the commonly-held view that the Order of Saint Patrick was extinct was quite false. Brooke-Little believed that as the Ulster King of Arms – the capacity in which he handled grants from Northern Ireland – he remained ex officio an Officer of the Order. As the holder of that office, he and his successors would remain the Order's King of Arms, Registrar and Knight Attendant, until such time as the Sovereign should choose formally to abolish the office of Ulster King of Arms or to declare that these positions are not vested in the office. The fact that the last knight had died in 1974 was of little consequence to such a staunch traditionalist.

Brooke-Little maintained an interest in Irish heraldry even after he was promoted from Norroy and Ulster to Clarenceux. After the Director of the National Library of Ireland was made the Chief Herald of Ireland, Brooke-Little wrote to the Daily Telegraph of the importance of maintaining a strong tradition of heraldic and genealogical expertise in the Irish Office of Arms.

When Sir Colin Cole retired from the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, Brooke-Little was a leading candidate to replace him. This is the highest heraldic office in England; Garter is chairman of the Chapter of the College of Arms, as well as the King of Arms of the Order of the Garter. Due to his convivial life style, though, Brooke-Little was not well suited to the managerial responsibilities of the office of Garter. Instead, the honor went to Sir Conrad Swan. On 19 June 1995, Brooke-Little was appointed to the office of Clarenceux King of Arms following the death of Sir Anthony Wagner. This is the senior of the two provincial Kings of Arms and the holder of the office has jurisdiction over Wales and England south of the River Trent. The officers of arms had traditionally been appointed "for life on good behaviour", but Brooke-Little became Clarenceux shortly after compulsory retirement at age 70 was introduced, and he had to leave after only two years in this post. He ended his heraldic career without ever having attained the office of Garter King of Arms, or being honoured with a knighthood.

In addition to his duties as a professional officer of arms, Brooke-Little held three administrative positions at the College of Arms. From 1974 until 1982, he served as Registrar, with responsibility to enter all new grants and confirmations of arms into the College records. Brooke-Little's signature can be found on the reverse of the letters patent for every grant made during this period. In addition, he served as the College's librarian from 1974 until 1994 and the treasurer of the College of Arms from 1978 until 1995. He was also the director of the Heralds' Museum at the Tower of London from 1991 to 1997; this museum is no longer operating. Although Brooke-Little enjoyed prominence as a professional officer of arms and as an author on heraldic subjects, his role in founding The Heraldry Society, and in guiding the society and editing its journal for many years, was perhaps his greatest contribution to the science of heraldry and armory.