- The Governor General of Canada
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John Ballingal Wilkes
Don Mills, Ontario
Grant of Arms, with differences to Peter Raymond Hyde Wilkes, Patricia Jane Hartley and Victoria Heeney Trantor.
July 15, 2003
Vol. IV, p. 296
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Blazon
Arms
Vert on a pall reversed Argent between in chief two garbs and in base a field gun Or, a ring Sable;
Crest
An eagle's head erased Or gorged with a ribbon Vert pendent therefrom an escutcheon quarterly Gules and Argent;
Motto
LIBERTY AND LOYALTY;
Symbolism
Arms
The wheatsheaves symbolize the agricultural background of several branches of Mr. Wilkes' family. The iron ring is the symbol of a Canadian engineer, while the inverted white shape suggests a highway, a reference to Mr. Wilkes' long career in planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining highways in Ontario. The field-gun is taken from the badge of the Royal Canadian Artillery and refers to the petitioner's wartime overseas service in the RCA, while its green background recalls the green patch of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, in which he served.
Crest
The eagle is derived from the arms of John "Liberty" Wilkes (1725-1797), the famous radical politician and Lord Mayor of London, from whom Mr. Wilkes is descended. The small shield refers to the arms of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, of which Mr. Wilkes is a long-time member and Honorary Fellow.
Motto
The word "Liberty" refers to the eighteenth-century John Wilkes, and it complements the idea of "Loyalty" cherished by Mr. Wilkes, especially in his work for the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust and the Monarchist League of Canada.