The Worshipful Company of Communicators’ New Coat of Arms

“Our new Coat of Arms marks an important stage in the Company’s growth into a mature Worshipful Company”

The Communicators recently unveiled our new Coat of Arms at a splendid ceremony at the Mansion House attended by the Lady Mayor and City Aldermen when we were presented with our Letters Patent – a legal document that formally establishes us a livery company and grants our specific rights and status in the City of London.

Our coat of arms is more than decoration on a letterhead or a website; it is granted by the College of Arms – the  official heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and much of the Commonwealth – and will be our public, permanent identity. It anchors us in heraldic tradition for livery companies, which dates back to the 1100s, while speaking clearly about the modern craft of communication.

Working closely with members of the Company, our Herald, Tom Johnston – Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms – developed a design that could carry this story and was approved by the three Kings of Arms and the Earl Marshal, His Grace the Duke of Norfolk.

Our full “accomplishment” of our grant of arms comprise five elements: Arms, Crest, Supporters, Badge and Motto.

The Arms are set on a light azure shield, echoing the light blue long associated with the Company.

Three golden suns-in-splendour are linked by golden chains all “charged” with an ermine chevron. The basic design is one of the traditional formats used in the arms of livery companies and represents our maturity to full livery status.

The three suns represent three enduring priorities for communicators: creating value; serving society through mentoring, stewardship and public benefit; and building engagement and relationships. They chains or “cables” symbolise the communicator’s task of connection, unifying, and binding together. The chevon contains ermine spots, which represents the value we help create.

Photo credit: Andy Sillett

Above the shield, the crest introduces a rooster holding a pheon, or barbed arrowhead. The rooster is associated with Mercury, chief communicator of the gods, a figure long linked with eloquence, reason and commerce. Its traditional connection with the dawn also echoes the light-bearing imagery of the suns on the shield, suggesting clarity and insight brought into the world. The pheon that the rooster holds stands for swiftness, sharpness and accuracy – all essential qualities in timely, targeted and well-judged communication.

The Supporters for the shield are two greyhounds each sounding a trumpet, recalling the emblem of the King’s Messengers, a body of trusted diplomatic couriers within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for whom speed and loyalty have been defining virtues over eight centuries. Their trumpets underline the act of proclaiming and giving voice, reinforcing the idea of communicators as those who carry messages faithfully and effectively, whether for institutions, communities or causes. Together they ground the arms in a long tradition of professional service to Crown and country.

The badge distils key motifs from the arms, bringing together the sun and the pheons in a simplified device that can be used in a variety of contexts while remaining instantly recognisable.

Finally, our Motto, In Principio Erat Verbum – “In the beginning was the word” – taken from the opening of St John’s Gospel, underlines the fundamental importance of communication in both spiritual and temporal life. Words shape understanding, relationships and institutions; this motto reminds the Company that, at its best, the craft of communication participates in that deeper work of bringing meaning and truth to light.

Photo credit: Andy Sillett