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In
2012, encouraged by
Gordon Casely, the
armiger petitioned David
Sellar, the Lord Lyon
King of Arms in
Scotland, for a grant of
armorial bearings.
The date of the petition
was 3rd December 2012
and the design was
submitted on the 28th
September 2013 with
final approval and
Letters Patent issued on
14th May 2014. The
finally agreed Letters
Patent were issued under
the signature of Dr
Joseph Morrow, successor
to David Sellar, in 2015
With a McPherson
surname, the arms
required significant and
recognisable content
from the personal arms
of the chief of Clan
Macpherson. This was
accomplished by
retaining the main
elements with changes
and additional items
added for personal
individualisation.
A
targe bearing a salient
wildcat in the centre
representing McBain was
incorporated for the
armiger’s maternal
grandmother’s ancestry
which had a strong
influence in his
heritable line. Placed
between the dexter hand
couped at the wrist
grasping a bloody dagger
(this was given to Clan
Macpherson by King
Robert the Bruce for
their loyalty) and the
cross crosslet fitchée
(designating the
religious heritage of
Macpherson, Son of
the Parson, defining the
line from Muiriach the
Parson of the original
Clan of the Cat). In
order to accomplish the
lymphad was contained
wholly in the
base. The blue
(Azure) background was
changed to red
(Gules) with the lymphad
bearing white (Silver)
pennon and flags being
the red and white
colours of the city of
the armiger’s birth,
Aberdeen.
Favoured among the
various suggestions
behind the lymphad in
the base is that it
represents the galley of
the Catty Clan,
forerunner of the Clans
of the Cat, a nomadic
tribe in Europe, which
set sail from Germany
ahead of the conquering
Roman armies and landed
in the North of
Scotland.
A
wavy separation between
the chief and the base,
white in colour,
represented the
importance of the sea
within the armiger’s
working career in the
merchant navy and thirty
two years in the oil
industry both off and
onshore. White is
considered as silver
(Argent) and no two
metals can touch each
other so a separation
was required between the
Gold (Or) background of
the chief and the wavy
line, so black (Sable)
was chosen to comply
with heraldry laws and
represented oil floating
on the water.
Knowing Lord Lyon
favoured armigers using
their native language
and dialect the Doric
motto “Ca Canny Till Ye
Ken” (Display caution
until you know)
continued the theme of
the Clan Macpherson
motto “Touch Not the Cat
but a Glove” (Do not
touch the cat whose
claws are unsheathed)
warning of the ferocity
of the Clan.
With the relevance of
the wildcat and his
position of personal
Banner Bearer to the
Chief, a demi-cat
holding a banner was
thought to be an
appropriate choice for
the crest. The armiger’s
request for a banner in
the colours of the
Chief, Gold over Blue,
was found to be
unacceptable, as Lord
Lyon deemed this to be
the start of new arms so
long debate resulted in
a compromise with Lord
Lyon Dr Joseph Morrow to
colour the banner with
solely Azure (blue)
fringed with Or (gold)
giving two identity
indicators and
illustrating the main
colour changes from
those of the Chief’s
arms to those of the
armiger.
The
arms are illustrated
with the armiger’s
orders as an Officer in
the Military and
Hospitaller Order of St
Lazarus of Jerusalem,
Knight in the
Confraternity of the
Knights of the Most Holy
Trinity and his award of
the Cross of Merit of
Saint Nicodemus of
Palermo by Archbishop
Lorenzo of Palermo and
all Italy.
The
armiger born in Aberdeen
is a Burgess of Guild
for the City of Aberdeen
and Royal Burgh and has
traced his paternal
family line back to a
small farm called
Balinloan in the
Strathavon valley around
1750 and his maternal
line through his
grandmother (McBain)
back to Inverness around
the same date.
Active within the Clan
Macpherson Association
he has recently served
three years as Scottish
Branch Chairman.
Presently he is Personal
Banner Bearer to Clan
Chief Sir William Allan
Macpherson, member of
the Executive and Museum
Advisory Committees
together with being a
Guardian of the Clan
Museum in Newtonmore. He
is a council member of
the Clan Chattan Union
of Clans and on a wider
basis, a founder member
of the Highland Clan
Partnership Group and
committee member of the
Association of Highland
Clan Societies he is
also a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland and a member
of the Heraldry Society
of Scotland.
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