Last modified: 2011-12-17 by rob raeside
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The Telegraph reported:
4:21PM BST 16 Oct 2011
The Princess Royal
told the thousands of people lining the high street of the small market town,
which has been recognised for its role in remembering fallen war heroes, that
they had "set an example that others wanted to follow". The Princess Royal, who
delivered the rare award of the Letters Patent on behalf of the Queen to make
the name change to Royal Wootton Bassett official, said it was a "town rich in
tradition and secure in its sense of values....
The flag bearer broke the new
Royal Wootton Bassett flag, a ceremonial and historic moment when the new flag
is raised for the first time, before the town's new coat of arms was blessed by
Canon Thomas Woodhouse.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8830140/Princess-Anne-says-Wootton-Bassett-has-set-an-example-for-the-nation.html
And the Guardian tells us:
As well as the speeches, the new road
signs, the flag flown for the first time with the new coat of arms incorporating
a golden lion - a symbol of England and royalty since medieval times - there was
an exhibition at the library of gifts sent to the town from all over the world,
a specially commissioned souvenir tea towel and a baking competition to create a
new bun, The Bassett Crown.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/16/royal-wootten-bassett-celebrites-title?newsfeed=true
Finally the Express provides an image of the road sign, with the coat of
arms
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/277890/Royal-salute-for-Wootton-Bassett-the-town-that-set-an-example-to-us-all-
http://images.dailyexpress.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/285x214/277890_1.jpg
Rob Raeside, 17 October 2011
The question which occurred to me was whether the 'new' flag was a banner of
arms or just the shield on a bedsheet. Googling around suggests the following:
1) The phrasing used by the 'Telegraph' appears widely; it is the usual
journalistic practice of quoting what is probably a press release without
attribution.
2) The town already had arms - they appear on its website at
http://www.woottonbassett.gov.uk/
- but what is 'new' is the substitution of the lower lozenge with a lion. This
is confirmed by the latest newsletter at the College of Arms website at
http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/Newsletter/030.pdf. The blazon is: 'Gules
a Chevron Argent between in chief two Lozenges and in base a Lion passant
guardant Or.' The blazon doesn't state 'armed and langued azure' but the drawing
shows them that way.
3) The flag-wavers being used by the crowd at the
ceremony were pukka banners of arms. They appear (briefly) in the video clip at
http://www.itv.com/news/royal-wootton-bassett66597/ and are also seen
clearly on the BBC's website at
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/56089000/jpg/_56089979_hi013164603.jpg.
André Coutanche, 17 October 2011