22 Facts About Conrad Swan

Conrad Swan was the first Canadian ever to be appointed to the College of Arms.

Conrad Swan was born in 1924 at Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, to Major Henry Peter Swan and Edna Hanson Magdalen, daughter of a Folkestone master tailor from a Baptist family formerly involved in the Hertfordshire straw-hat making industry during the early 19th century.

Henry Swan, the local doctor, was of Polish-Lithuanian origin, and had changed the family name from Swiecicki; Swan claimed descent from the Polish noble family of Swiecicki via a hereditary steward of King John II Casimir Vasa of Poland in 1648.

Conrad Swan left the Indian Army with the rank of captain.

Conrad Swan spent six years lecturing in history at the Assumption University of Windsor, Ontario, of which he was a University Beadle.

Conrad Swan was first appointed Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1962 and six years later became York Herald of Arms in Ordinary.

Conrad Swan was appointed Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992 on the retirement of Sir Alexander Colin Cole.

Conrad Swan denied these allegations, noting that he had never been interviewed by any reporter on this subject.

Sir Conrad Swan was the first herald to execute official duties in-tabard across the Atlantic Ocean and in the Southern Hemisphere.

Conrad Swan did so in Bermuda in 1969 and in Brisbane in 1977.

Conrad Swan was instrumental in the creation of the Honours System of Antigua and Barbuda, and between 1964 and 1967, Swan was an adviser to the Prime Minister of Canada on the establishment of the National Flag of Canada and the Order of Canada.

Conrad Swan took a special interest in Saskatchewan, helping the province to obtain a full coat of arms from the Queen in 1986 and a new Great Seal in 1991.

Conrad Swan advised the province on the establishment of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1985 and the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal in 1995 and the recent expansion of the provincial honours system.

Conrad Swan was responsible for the design and granting of badges for each of the colleges of the University of Saskatchewan.

Conrad Swan was a member of several international societies and organisations and was a founder of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada and the Heraldic Garden in Britain.

Conrad Swan was appointed an Officer of the Order of St John on 8 August 1972, with promotions to Commander on 11 December 1975 and to Knight on 6 April 1976.

Conrad Swan was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1978 Birthday Honours list; he and all other living Members were re-graded as Lieutenants in 1984.

Conrad Swan was promoted to Commander in the 1986 New Year Honours list and was knighted by the Queen as a Knight Commander in the 1994 Birthday Honours.

Conrad Swan was a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Nation of Antigua and Barbuda, Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta, Cross of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, Knight's Cross of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas, Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Francis I and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Lion of Rwanda.

Conrad Swan was a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem and Knight Principal of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor ; Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit; Grand Cross with Grand Collar of the Imperial Order of the Holy Trinity ; Coronation Medal of the King of Tonga.

Conrad Swan received the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan Archived 10 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine in 2005.

Conrad Swan died in Boxford, Suffolk when she was hit by a car, which did not stop.