COLE, Sir Colin 1922-2001. Herald. Born in Herne Hill the son of Edward Harold Cole, a successful wholesale stationer and manufacturer of staples, his widowed mother lived in Dulwich Village until the 1980s. He was educated at Dulwich College and chaired the Board of Governors between 1988 and 1997. He read law at Oxford, served as a captain in the Coldstream Guards during World War Two and was called to the bar in 1949. However, the artistry of heraldry as much as its historic associations had been a passion since childhood and in 1953 he was appointed Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary, advancing to Windsor Herald in 1966 and finally Garter King of Arms in 1978. Whilst holding this office, he successfully supervised the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the College of Arms in 1984 and raised a large sum to renovate the 17th century building. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1954, he gained his knighthood in 1983 and decoration as KCB on his retirement as Garter in 1992.
Bernard Nurse