Authority on heraldry dead

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33654, 2 October 1974, Page 17

Authority on heraldry dead

(N.Z. Press Assn—Copyright) LONDON, October 1. Mr Dermot Morrah, the Arundel Herald Extraordinary, has died, aged 78. His post was created specially for him in 1953, in recognition of his expertise in heraldry and geneology. As he explained to friends: “Extraordinary is Latin for unpaid.” As Arundel Herald, Mr Morrah had assisted unofficially at Royal ceremonial occasions, such as the Coronation of the Queen, and at the Royal College of Arms, which registers coats-of-arms. Mr Morrah, who wrote leading articles for, successively, the “Daily Mail,” the “Daily Telegraph,” and, for 30 years, “The Times,” was the author of many books, several of them about the Royal Family, including “The Work of a Queen,” published in 1958, and “To Be a King,” about the upbringing of Prince Charles. Mr Morrah was also known for the plays, “Caesar’s Friend,” which he wrote with the late Campbell Dixon, and “Chorus Angelorum.” His recreations included chess — he played for Oxford against Cambridge in 1920 — and wine: he was chairman [of both the I.E.C. Wine [Society and the Circle of Wine Writers. A Freeman of the City of London, he was a member of the Commonwealth Press Union Council and chairman of the Press Freedom Committee. i