British officer of arms
Sir
Iain Moncreiffe
|
---|
Bust of Moncreiffe in the Register House, Edinburgh
|
Born
| 9 April 1919
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Died
| 27 February 1985
(
1985-02-28
)
(aged 65)
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Occupation
| Officer of Arms, genealogist
|
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Nationality
| British
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Alma mater
| |
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Subject
| Genealogy, heraldry
|
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Notable works
|
- Simple Heraldry
(1953)
- Blood Royal
(1956)
- The Highland Clans
(1967)
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Spouse
|
Hermione Patricia Faulkner
(
m.
1966–1985)
|
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Children
| |
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Sir Rupert Iain Kay Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet
,
CVO
,
QC
,
FSA Scot
(9 April 1919 ? 27 February 1985), Chief of
Clan Moncreiffe
, was a British
Officer of Arms
, historian and
genealogist
.
[a]
Biography
[
edit
]
Moncreiffe was the son of Lieutenant-Commander Gerald Moncreiffe,
RN
, and Hilda, daughter of the Comte de Miremont.
[1]
He succeeded his cousin as 11th
Baronet
and Chief of
Clan Moncreiffe
in 1957.
[2]
Educated at
Stowe School
,
Heidelberg
, and
Christ Church, Oxford
, as a cadet officer Moncreiffe trained with
Derek Bond
(actor) and
Patrick Leigh Fermor
,
[3]
he later served in
Scots Guards
during the
Second World War
, then as attache at the British embassy in Moscow, before studying
Scots Law
at the
University of Edinburgh
. He was awarded a PhD (1958) with a thesis on the Origins and Background of the Law of Succession to Arms and Dignities in Scotland,
[4]
which was published as a monograph in 2010.
[5]
A prominent member of the
Lyon Court
, Moncreiffe held the offices of
Falkland Pursuivant
(1952),
Kintyre Pursuivant
(1953),
Unicorn Pursuivant
(1955), and (from 1961)
Albany Herald
. He wrote a popular work about the Scottish clans,
The Highland Clans
(1967), and with
Don Pottinger
Simple Heraldry, Cheerfully Illustrated
(1953),
Simple Custom
(1954), and
Blood Royal
(1956), but his interests also extended to Georgian and Byzantine noble genealogies.
Lord of the Dance, A Moncreiffe Miscellany
, edited by
Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd
encompassed his genealogical world-view.
[6]
He was elected a Fellow of the
American Society of Genealogists
in 1969.
[7]
He was an incorrigible snob; he even called himself Master Snob.
[8]
He
took silk
(relatively late in his career) because very few barristers specialised in heraldic matters and he wished to highlight the importance of this field of speciality. He was a frequent writer of amusing and often illuminating letters to newspapers, particularly
The Daily Telegraph
, and provided the introduction to
Douglas Sutherland
's satirical book
The English Gentleman
(1978). He held membership in many London clubs and founded his own club in
Edinburgh
, called
Puffin's Club
, ? the name was taken from the nickname of Sir Iain's first wife, 'Puffin',
Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll
. It was and continues to be a weekly luncheon club, which between the early 1960s and late 1990s met in Martin's restaurant in Rose Street Lane North, Edinburgh. It still meets monthly in London and Edinburgh. The membership was and is as varied and eccentric as its founder. Ex-King
Zog I, King of Albania
paid his founding subscription of £5 in 1961, but died before he could attend. The actor
Terence Stamp
,
Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
,
Sir Fitzroy Maclean
and
Lord Dacre
all attended with varying frequency.
[9]
It was said that at some point half the
crowned heads of Europe
were on the list.
[10]
Family
[
edit
]
Moncreiffe married twice. Firstly
Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll
, whom he married on 19 December 1946 at
St Margaret's, Westminster
. They had three children:
Moncreiffe's first marriage was dissolved in 1964 and in 1966 he took as his second wife Hermione Patricia Faulkner, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Walter Douglas Faulkner and
Patricia Katherine Montagu Douglas Scott
.
[11]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
He used various forms of his name: His columns for
Books and Bookmen
were signed Iain Moncreiffe;
Royal Highness
is by Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Bt.;
Simple Heraldry
is by Sir Iain Moncrieffe of Easter Moncreiffe. Like other Scottish landowners, and other baronets, he distinguished himself from other Moncreiffes by referring to his estate:
of that Ilk
is Scots for "of the same [place]", since his estate was
Moncreiffe Island
itself; (Easter Moncreiffe was the name of his house;
Moncreiffe House
burnt down in 1957, and its ruins were inherited by his cousin's daughter).
- ^
Burke's Peerage and Baronetage
.
Burke's Peerage Limited
. 1963. p. 1695.
- ^
Way, George and Squire, Romily.
Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia
. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
). Published in 1994. Pages 276 - 277.
- ^
Bond, Derek (1990).
Steady, old man!: don't you know there's a war on?
. Leo Cooper. p. 19.
ISBN
9780850520460
.
- ^
Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Iain (1958).
Origins and background of the law of succession to arms and dignities in Scotland
.
hdl
:
1842/28650
.
- ^
Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Iain (2010). Armstrong, Jackson (ed.).
The law of succession : origins and background of the law of succession to arms and dignities in Scotland
. Edinburgh: John Donald, with assistance from St. Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry.
ISBN
9781904607861
.
OCLC
465087679
.
- ^
Debrett's Peerage Limited, London, 1986.
- ^
"Fellows > All Fellows"
.
Fasg.org
. 31 July 2013
. Retrieved
17 January
2019
.
- ^
Powell, Anthony (1990).
Miscellaneous verdicts: writings on writers, 1946-1989
. Heinemann. p. 51.
ISBN
9780434599288
.
- ^
"THE PUFFIN OF THAT ILK ≫ 19 Apr 1997 ≫ The Spectator Archive"
.
The Spectator
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 14 December 2013
. Retrieved
16 August
2013
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Mosley, Charles
, ed. (1999).
Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage
. Vol. 1 (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. pp. 411, 997.
ISBN
2-940085-02-1
.
References
[
edit
]
- Bond, Derek (1990),
Steady, Old Man! Don't You Know There's a War On?
, London: Leo Cooper, p. 19,
ISBN
0-85052-046-0
- Powell, Anthony (1990),
Miscellaneous Verdicts: writings on writers, 1946-1989
, Heinemann, p. 51,
ISBN
9780434599288
Further reading
[
edit
]
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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