Blazon:

Arms:  Per chevron Vert and Or, in chief a sackbut placed fesswise of the last and in base a thistle slipped and leaved Proper.

Crest:  A bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) Proper, perched upon a wreath of Or and Vert.

Motto:  Less is More

Design Rationale:

The armiger lives and teaches music in North Yorkshire and is a Licentiate of the London College of Music.

Shield:  The sackbut reflects his principal instrument, the tenor trombone. The thistle is symbolic of the armiger's Gaelic & Scandinavian roots. Both his grandfather George and great grandfather Hugh are from Greenock, Scotland and served in the army during the first and second world wars. One pair of his great, great grandparents, Elias a mariner and his wife Matilde, were originally from Sweden and Norway respectively but moved to Hull, England in the 1850's. Curiously the armiger's South African connection is supplied by his great, great grandfather John Thomas of Middlesbrough who served as a career soldier for Queen Victoria and King Edward in South Africa during the Boer War and received the QSA & KSA campaign medals. His paternal lineage is Bloxham-Simms.

Crest:  The male Bluethroat has a varied and imitative song; a pun on the armiger's profession.

Motto:  "Less is More", reflects the armiger's interest in minimalism.