The Viceregal Lion
  1. The Governor General of Canada
Heraldry Today

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Richard Bedford Bennett

Mickleham, Surrey, United Kingdom
Registration of Arms and Supporters
January 15, 2018
Vol. VII, p. 31

Arms of Richard Bedford Bennett

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Blazon

Arms

Argent within two bendlets Gules three maple leaves proper all between two demi-lions couped Gules;

Crest

A demi-lion Gules grasping in the dexter paw a battle-axe Or and resting the sinister paw on an escallop Gules;

Supporters

Dexter a bison, sinister a moose, both standing on a grassy mount proper;

Motto

PREMI NON OPPRIMI;


Symbolism

Arms

The Canadian Heraldic Authority does not have confirmed symbolism for this emblem. The following comments are hypotheses only.The maple leaves allude to Canada. Mr. Bennett served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935. The demi-lions are a feature of other Bennett arms.

Crest

The demi-lion is found in other Bennett crests.

Supporters

The bison and the moose refer respectively to Mr. Bennett’s long-time residence in Calgary and to his birthplace in New Brunswick (as mentioned in P. B. Waite, In Search of R.B. Bennett, Montréal and Kingston, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012, p. 274).

Motto

This Latin phrase means “To be pressed, not oppressed.”