by antiaristo » Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:09 pm
One of Sir Sean Connery's recruits?<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="font-size:medium;">Colin Powell claims Scottish coat of arms</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--> <br><br>Tania Branigan<br>Wednesday May 12, 2004<br><br>The Guardian<br><br>He is known as a dove among the hawks of the Bush administration. But Colin Powell has chosen an eagle and a lion in his application for a coat of arms to mark his <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Scottish ancestry.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br><br>The US secretary of state has petitioned the <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>heraldic authority of Scotland</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> for the right to bearings, joining a growing and disparate band of Americans keen to lay claim to their roots in the old world. <br><br>A researcher recently claimed that Elvis Presley's family originated in Lonmay, a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, while Johnny Cash insisted he descended from the family of a 12th century Scottish monarch. <br><br>Heraldic bearings cannot be granted to non-citizens, but <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Mr Powell has applied on behalf of his late father Luther, who was born in Jamaica and therefore a subject of the crown. The secretary of state would inherit the right to use the bearings.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br><br>He wanted a Scottish coat of arms as his mother Maud McKoy's family was originally from Scotland. <br><br>Elizabeth Roads, Lyon clerk at the court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh, said applicants had to be "virtuous and well deserving persons" who <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>fell within the court's jurisdiction</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->. <br><br>"His father was a <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>subject of Jamaica</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> and of course he is an honorary KCB, so a worthy individual," she added. <br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Mr Powell received his honorary knighthood in 1993, his last year as chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->. <br><br>As a four-star general, it was perhaps inevitable that Mr Powell's coat of arms would include the trappings of a war rior. But Ms Roads ruled out the prospect of humvees and grenades. "We try to use symbols rather than specific things," she said. <br><br>Accordingly, the shield will feature four stars and two swords as well as a lion, commonly used for arms holders with the surname Powell. The crest will be an eagle, in reference to America and the badge of the 101st Airborne Division, in which he served and which he later commanded. The motto - in English, rather than Latin - will read: "Devoted to public service." <br><br>Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <p></p><i></i>