Anthony Wagner

Sir Anthony Richard Wagner (6 September 1908 – 5 May 1995) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was one of the most prolific authors on the subjects of heraldry and genealogy of the 20th century.

Early life and education Wagner's distant ancestor, Melchior Wagner, arrived in England from the Saxon city of Coburg in 1709 and became hatter to George I and George II.

Wagner's father, Orlando Wagner, ran a day-school in London. He attended Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, on scholarships. He found the classics uninteresting and graduated with a third in Literae humaniores. From early age he had been interested in genealogy and his favourite book as a boy was Hereford Brooke George's Genealogical Tables Illustrative of Modern History.

Professional career Wagner joined the College of Arms as Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1931. He was promoted to Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary in 1943 and Garter Principal King of Arms in 1961. In 1978 he retired to the subordinate position of Clarenceux King of Arms.

In 1981 he defended the ceremonial aspects of British political life in an interview with Philip Howard of The Times: "Ceremonial induces a more reflective mood. It is an art form that embodies the continuity of the nation and the deposit of history. We live in a time of great change. But every item in a ceremonial like the coronation links us directly to the roots of our nationality more than 10 centuries ago". Howard said Wagner "is one of our most distinguished historians, the man who made heraldry respectable and who holds the sceptre of continuity in our changing times". Roy Strong called the book "magisterial".

Wagner's English Genealogy (1960; revised editions 1972 and 1983) remains a standard work of reference. Many of his conclusions were rehearsed and reinforced in Pedigree and Progress (1975), where an important group of essays is annotated and brought up to date. Always he stressed the mobility of social life and class in the course of English history, and in maintaining this view ran contrary to the opinions of some professional English historians.

His Records and Collections of the College of Arms (1952) remains a useful finding aid to the college's archival holdings.

His office had been highly mechanised from an early stage, but all the more so once he became blind in 1984, whereupon, making every use of the aids of modern science, he bore his affliction with patience and dexterity. He dictated his autobiography, A Herald's World (1988).

He was also a staunch supporter of hereditary peers and defended their presence in the House of Lords in an article in the Times on 30 January 1969 which became the foreword to the 1970 edition of Burke's Peerage.

Personal life In 1953 (at the age of 44) Wagner married Gillian Graham, eldest daughter of Major H.A.R. Graham. In addition to taking over his father's house, 68 Chelsea Square, London, they acquired a country house in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. The couple had a daughter, Lucy McCahrrer and two sons, Roger Wagner and Mark Wagner.

Wagner's funeral service was held at the Church of St Benet Paul's Wharf, the religious home of the College of Arms since 1555. The Queen was represented by Sir Conrad Swan. He was buried at Aldeburgh.

Honours Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1953) Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (1961) Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1978) Admiral, The Great Navy of the State of Nebraska, USA, (1987)

Arms