The Winners

On August 9th, 1999, history was made when Stewart LeForte became the first winner of the heraldry contest by correctly identifying the arms of Stoney Creek, Ontario.

The second winner was Dean Tiegs, a fellow member of the Heraldry Society of Canada, who correctly identified the arms of Prince George, British Columbia. Eric Saumere also got it right, but a week later.

Third, Juan Jose Morales was the first of five people to correctly identify the arms of Nigeria. Two other individuals guessed incorrectly.

Out of seven people, Anton Sherwood was the first to identify the arms of Saxony, while Juan Jose Morales was the first to get both Saxony and Kyiv correct.

Barry Gabriel was the first of seven people to correctly identify both the dexter supporter of the Heraldry Society of Canada and the arms of Prince Edward Island. One other person correctly identified the supporter, but missed the province.

Ralf Hartemink was the only person (out of seven) to correctly identify the arms of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland; the device used by Canada between 1875 and 1905; and the arms of Elsterwerda, Germany. Two people got Aberdeen correct, and several people figured out that the one in the middle was an old version of the arms of Canada.

Barry Gabriel was the first of five people to correctly identify the arms of the Heraldry Society (England); the arms of the Right Honourable Romeo LeBlanc (former Gov. Gen. of Canada); and the arms of the University of Alberta (my alma mater). A sixth person missed the university, and got the wrong former Governor-General (but still, that's pretty close).

After absolutely nobody guessed at the next three, Markus Zanetic became the first to identify the arms of New Brunswick (five other people got this right) and of Dresden (two other got this correct).

David Pritchard was the first person of three to correctly identify the arms of William Shakespeare (actually granted to his father) and Kharkhov, Ukraine. Of fourteen responses, most people got Shakespeare.

Micheal F. McCartney was the first to identify the arms of the Monarchist League of Canada and the arms of Soviet-era Budapest (which differs from the current arms of Budapest by the red star and the lack of the crown).

The very same Micheal F. McCartney was also the first to offer two correct and distinct answers for the blazon, "Azure, three fluers-de-lys or". His answers were "France" and "Wiesbaden, Germany"- a number of other towns also answer to this blazon. Answers such as "The King of France", while correct, were not accepted as an answer distinct from France itself.

Edwin King identified both Cambridge University and the University of Toronto.

Of five respondants, Eric Saumure was the first to correctly identify the arms of Peterborough, Ont. and the arms of Helsinki (which was commonly identified as the attributed arms of Noah).

Ralf Hartemink was the only person to correctly identify the arms of Ontario and the arms of Sydney, Australia (I thought the Olympics would have had the town on everyone's mind, but I guess not...). Although the city uses a different version of these arms (either simplified or bastardized, depending on your point of view), the arms presented are the officially-granted ones.

Out of seven entries, Mijnheer Hartemink was also the first person to correctly identify the crest of Nova Scotia and the arms of Paris.

Andrew Chaplin was the first person (out of 12 entries) to correctly identify the arms of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and the arms of the Irish President Mary McAleese.

Matthew Gauntlett was the sole person to identify the arms of Reading University and of Toronto.

Ole Andersen was the only person to identify the arms of Transcarpathia. Nobody correctly identified the arms of the city of Odessa (guess what country I went to for my Christmas holidays!).

Andrew Chaplin was the first of eight people to correctly identify the arms of Ukraine and of the current Gov.-Gen. of Canada, Adrianne Clarkson.

Edwin King was the only person (out of five) to correctly identify the arms of Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the town of Peace River, Alta.

Andrew Chaplin was the first (out of three) to identify the arms of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the arms of Ottawa.

Anton Sherwood was the first of six people to correctly identify both the arms of the city of Glasgow and the principality of Wales.

David A. Pritchard was the first of three to identify the arms of Estonia and the arms of Commander Alan B. Beddoe OC, OBE, FHSC, &c., one of the founders and the first president of the Heraldry Society of Canada.

Ah de Witte was the first of 2 people to identify the arms of Hillary Weston (Ex-Lt. Gov. of Ontario) and the province of Gelderland.

Laurence Jones was the first person out of three to correctly identify the arms of the Norfolk Heraldry Society and the arms of Warsaw. Three other people knew Warsaw, but missed the Society.

Anton Sherwood was the first person out of six to identify the arms of both Queen's University, and those of Trinidad and Tobago.

A. H. de Witte was the first person out of five to identify the arms of Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (Barrister at law and a bit of an heraldic nut, to quote one entry) and Moravia. Three others knew one or the other.

A. H. de Witte was also the first (out of three) to indentify the arms to the Canadian Space Agency and the Dutch province of Zeeland. Nobody dared to try blazoning the CSA arms.


Back to the Quiz

Back to the Mad Alchemist's Heraldry

Back to the Lair of the Mad Alchemist