From 13 August 1814 to 31 May 1961, South Africa was partly or wholly within the British Empire and its successor, the British Commonwealth of Nations. This gave South Africans access to the British heraldic authorities, i.e. the College of Arms (England), the Lyon Office (Scotland), and the Ulster Office (Ireland, until 1943).

During those 147 years, scores of South African individuals, associations, institutions, municipalities, and governments, obtained grants or confirmations of arms, even though South African law, being Roman-Dutch, did not require official British recognition of arms.

There appear to have been only a handful of grants during the 19th century, the first being to Sir Jan Truter in 1837. The floodgates opened after the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), and during the first quarter of the 20th century there were at least three dozen grants, many of them to recently knighted or ennobled politicians and mining magnates.

The number of grants decreased after the granting of knighthoods and titles was discontinued in 1925. It picked up again after World War II, and between 1947 and 1961, at least three dozen more arms were granted.

As this was the period when the Afrikaner nationalist government was breaking down the British connection in preparation for the republic perhaps some of the grantees, many of them municipalities, decided it was "now or never". The Anglican dioceses, such as Cape Town (1952), had their existing arms granted during that period because of a College of Arms project to register Anglican Church arms throughout the world. The Heraldry Society of SA, formed in 1953, also encouraged armigers to obtain grants, and acted as an informal channel to the College of Arms.

Since 1961, both the English and Scottish authorities have continued to grant arms, occasionally, to individual South Africans of British descent, or in connection with appointments to the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Nature of a Grant
This is sometimes a contentious point. My understanding of the nature of a grant from one of the British authorities is that (a) it grants permission to someone to bear arms; (b) confirms that the grantee is "eminent", "well-deserving", or "virtuous"; and (c) determines what the design of the arms shall be.

Points (a) and (b) are important in the UK because for centuries arms have been regarded as an honour rather than a right, to be reserved for people of suitable social standing. It is unlawful to establish and bear new arms without authority, and in Scotland, this law is still enforced. However, South African law regards bearing arms as a right which is held by people of all stations in life.

Nevertheless, even if a formal grant was not actually necessary in South Africa, its association with the British Crown gave it prestige, and the grantee could be assured that the arms were properly designed and in line with accepted armorial practice.

Forms of Grant
Several legal instruments are used to grant arms. Those relevant to South Africa are: Letters Patent, Matriculation, Royal Warrant, and Royal Licence.

Letters Patent are the most commonly used form of grant, used to assign arms to private individuals, associations, and institutions, and to municipalities. The first Letters Patent to a South African were issued by the English kings of arms to Sir Jan Truter, in 1837. The last, prior to the republic, were issued to the City of Pietermaritzburg in 1961 (though the arms had been in use for many decades).

In England, Letters Patent are issued by the three kings of arms (Garter, Clarenceux, and Norroy (since 1943, Norroy & Ulster) at the College of Arms, after the Earl Marshal has authorised them to do so. In Scotland, they are issued by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, on his own authority. In Ireland, they were issued, until 1943, by the Ulster King of Arms, on his own authority.

In Scotland, people who wish to bear their fathers' arms have to register ("matriculate") them in their own names at the Lyon Office, and the arms are usually differenced. Matriculation is confirmed by an Extract of Matriculation, resembling Letters Patent, signed by the Lyon Clerk.

A Royal Warrant, signed by the monarch and countersigned by a cabinet minister, is used to grant arms to official bodies. In South Africa, the arms of the colonial governments, the Union of South Africa, and the provincial administrations, were granted by Royal Warrant. The first was issued by Queen Victoria, to the Cape of Good Hope, in 1876.

The 1911 Royal Warrants granting the provincial arms were revoked in 1954, because the provincial administrations did not want the arms, and had never used them.

A Royal Licence, signed by the monarch and countersigned by a cabinet minister, can be used to authorise someone to adopt the arms (and often surname) of someone else, in addition to, or instead of, the existing arms/surname. However, it must be recorded in the College of Arms or the Lyon Office, to be valid.

List of Grants
You'll find a list of British grants of arms here.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn