The International Association of Amateur Heralds

To mark International Nurses Day (12 May), a few arms representing the nursing profession in various countries.



The Royal College of Nursing of the United Kingdom. The arms were granted in 1945 or 1946, to recognise the College's role during World War II. According to the RCN's website, it was the first time that a women's organisation was allowed to use a shield, "which represents military service".



The South African Nursing Council. The arms were registered in 1990, but evidently designed a couple of years earlier. The demi-lion in the crest indicates that the SANC is a statutory body.



The arms of the Canadian Nursing Association, granted in 2008. Curiously, the blazon on the CHA website does not mention the crest or supporters.

Yale School of Nursing, Yale University, USA:




From the YSN website, "The shield was originally designed for the banner, first carried in 1959 and designed by Theodore Sizer, Professor (Art) and Pursuivant of Arms of Yale University. The upper third shows the 'chief', i.e., the coat of arms of Yale University (without the Lux et Veritas
ribbon). The lower two-thirds show the eight-pointed white cross (Maltese Cross or Cross of Eight Points) on a black background of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the earliest nursing order of Christendom."

As an aside, Professor (Colonel) Theodore Sizer designed most of the arms of Yale University's constituent schools and colleges. His colonel's rank was not honorary, but rather came from his service in the U.S. Army in World War II as one of the "monument men" made famous in recent years by the George Clooney movie.

Arthur Radburn wrote: According to the RCN's website, it was the first time that a women's organisation was allowed to use a shield, "which represents military service".

Nice idea for a series of posts, Arthur.

For the record, this was certainly not the first English women's organization allowed to use a shield with its arms. Bedford College for Women, London, was granted arms in 1913, and since the finicky Arthur Fox-Davies depicts them on a shield in The Book of Public Arms, I have to believe that they were granted that way. There are probably others as well; surely some ancient nunnery must have had a coat of arms, for example. Anyway, if the shield is only granted in recognition of military service, there are lots and lots of us men that will have to turn in our arms.