- The Governor General of Canada
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John Charles Gillies
Collingwood, Ontario
Grant of Arms, with differences to Cynthia Merren Gillies Hall, Jory Elizabeth Gillies and Ian Andrew Gillies
June 20, 2008
Vol. V, p. 307
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Blazon
Arms
Purpure between two flaunches Or, that to the dexter charged with a cross-crosslet fitchy, that to the sinister charged with a hand grasping a seax Purpure, a lymphad Or set on a base barry wavy Or and Purpure, in chief a pelican in its piety Or;
Crest
A wild cat courant proper gorged with maple leaves Or;
Motto
M’ FHACAL MO GHEALLADH;
Symbolism
Arms
Purple and yellow are the colours of Wilfrid Laurier University, which Mr. Gillies attended. The ship, cross and hand holding a sword are Macpherson armorial elements and indicate that the Gillies family is a sept of the clan Macpherson. The depiction of water at the bottom of the shield indicates Mr. Gillies’s love of boating and fishing. The pelican appears in arms associated branches of the Lumley family and therefore alludes to Mr. Gillies’s maternal heritage. The use of the “seax” as the sword held by the hand refers to the arms of Essex County and the badge of the Essex Scottish Regiment in which Mr. Gillies and his father served.
Crest
The cat is a Macpherson crest, and Gillies versions of it generally show it running. The maple leaves indicate that this is a Canadian branch of the Gillies family.
Motto
This phrase in Scots Gaelic means “My words in my bond”.