Rodney Dennys

Rodney Dennys was born on 16 July 1911 at Ipoh, Perak, in the colony of British Malaya, where his father Frederick Dennys was a civil servant. He was educated at Canford School, before joining the Foreign Office.

Dennys joined the Foreign Service in 1937. During World War II, he was a member of the Intelligence Corps. For his war work in the Middle East, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 14 October 1943.{{London Gazette|issue=36209|supp=y|pages=4539–4540|date=12 October 1943}} He returned to the Foreign Office,serving in various intelligence posts, including Cairo, Ankara and Paris, where he was First Secretary. He was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel on 1 January 1949,{{London Gazette|issue=38918|supp=y|page=2563|date=23 May 1950}} and relinquished his commission in 1966, retaining that rank.{{London Gazette|issue=44056|supp=y|page=8132|date=15 July 1966}}

Dennys joined the staff at the College of Arms in 1958. His first heraldic appointment came on 8 August 1961 when he was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary to replace Walter Verco.{{London Gazette|issue=42432|page=5852|date=8 August 1961}} He continued in this office until 1967 when he was appointed Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary.{{London Gazette|issue=44400|page=9597|date=1 September 1967}} He held this position until his retirement in 1982,{{London Gazette|issue=49155|page=14201|date=1 November 1982}} after which he was granted the post of Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary.{{London Gazette|issue=49173|page=15237|date=22 November 1982}} In 1969 he was made a Member (4th Class) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO), on the occasion of the Investiture of the Prince of Wales,{{London Gazette|issue=44888|supp=y|page=6967|date=3 July 1969}} in the 1982 New Year Honours he was promoted to Commander (CVO).{{London Gazette|issue=48837|page=4|date=30 December 1981}} In 1983 he was appointed High Sheriff of East Sussex.{{London Gazette|issue=49294|page=3829|date=18 March 1983}}

Dennys's wife, Elizabeth, was a sister of the late Graham Greene. They had one son and two daughters.{{Cite web |date=1993-08-16 |title=Obituary: Rodney Dennys |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rodney-dennys-1461667.html |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=The Independent |language=en}}

• Rodney Dennys. The Heraldic Imagination. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1975.
• Rodney Dennys. Heraldry and the Heralds. London: Jonathan Cape, 1982 and 1984.

• Heraldry
• Pursuivant
• Herald

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/ The College of Arms]
• [http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/cuhags/info/o_of_a/intro.htm CUHAGS Officer of Arms Index]
• [http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/archiveViewFrameSetup.asp?webType=0&PageDuplicate=x0%20%20%20%20%20%20&issueNumber=42432&pageNumber=4&SearchFor=&selMedalType=&selHonourType= London Gazette notice of appointment as Rouge Croix Pursuivant]

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{{s-ttl|title=File:Badge of the Somerset Herald.svg Somerset Herald|years=1967 – 1982}}

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Category:1911 births

Category:1993 deaths

Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:English officers of arms

Category:English genealogists

Category:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London

Category:High sheriffs of Sussex

Category:Intelligence Corps officersCategory:People educated at Canford School

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