Blazon:
Shield: Quarterly: 1st & 4th: Or, a lion rampant Gules (for Wemyss), 2nd & 3rd : Argent, a lion rampant Sable (for Glen); at the fess point of the escutcheon a mullet Gules for difference.
Crest: A Swan Proper.
Supporters: Dexter, a swan: Sinister: a sea lion; both Proper
SOURCE/NOTES & CREDITS: The blazon of arms is from “The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971” by L. G. Pine, Heraldry Today, London, 1972, page 292. There was no illustration for background so the artist, J. H. Gaylor, had to work from the blazon alone for which we thank him. The blazon was confirmed from Ordinary II, 1976, Lyon Office. Text is adapted and quoted from “The New Extinct Peerage” and from the Wikipedia article on Baron Wester Wemyss.
Further Note: Lord Wester Wemyss appears here on this website due to being both an auld Scot and as an Admiral of the Fleet gone into obscurity..
Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss, GCB, CMG, MVO was born on 12 Apr 1864 the youngest son of James Hay Erskine Wemyss and Millicent Ann Mary Kennedy Wemyss (nĂ©e Erskine), Wemyss (pronounced “Weems”) he was raised at the ancestral home of Wemyss Castle on the Fife coast of Scotland.
Known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, he was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the 12th Cruiser Squadron and then as Governor of Moudros before leading the British landings at Cape Helles and at Suvla Bay during the Gallipoli campaign. He went on to be Commander of the East Indies & Egyptian Squadron in January 1916 and then First Sea Lord in December 1917, in which role he encouraged Admiral Roger Keyes, Commander of the Dover Patrol, to undertake more vigorous operations in the Channel, ultimately leading to the launch of the Zeebrugge Raid in April 1918.
Wemyss resigned as First Sea Lord on 1 Nov 1919 following persistent calls for Sir David Beatty to be given that job. In retirement, he was created the 1st Baron Wester Wemyss of Wemyss, Fife. He lived in retirement in Cannes, France and died on 24 May 1933, age 69. He and his wife had no sons, only daughters so the title then went extinct.
The artwork is an interpretation of John Hamilton Gaylor
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