Alan Beddoe

Lieutenant-Commander Alan Brookman Beddoe, OC, OBE, HFHS, FHSC (June 1,1893 – December 2, 1975) was a Canadian artist, war artist, consultant in Heraldry and founder and first President of the Heraldry Society of Canada.

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he studied at Ashbury College. During World War I, he was captured at Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 and spent two and half years in the prisoner of war camps at Gießen and Zerbst. After the war, he studied at the Art Students League of New York. In 1925, he opened the first commercial art studio in Ottawa. He was also an expert in heraldry.

Beddoe was instrumental in the creation of the Books of Remembrance, now housed in the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The artist originally chosen for the job, James Purves, died in 1940, at which time Beddoe took on the task. He worked with a team of artists over the next 30 years to illuminate and hand letter the Books, listing the names of Canadians who lost their lives serving our country's military.

The Royal Canadian Navy formed a Ships Badge Committee in 1942, and commissioned Beddoe to design official badges for the navy's ships. He produced dozens of badges for ships and establishments of the Royal Canadian Navy.

In 1956, he designed coats of arms for the Yukon and Northwest Territories. In 1957, he was asked to revise the Coat of Arms of Canada, and his version was in use until further changes were made in 1994. Also in 1957, the Royal Canadian Navy appointed him its heraldic advisor. In 1965 he was the founder and first president of the Heraldry Society of Canada.

During the Great Flag Debate of 1964, Beddoe was one of the primary artists working on potential designs for the new flag.

One of his most important contributions to the heraldry of Canada was his book, "Beddoe's Canadian Heraldry".

In 1968, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1943, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services as a war artist.

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