Per cross Azure and Or, a cross Vert, between in dexter chief a castle of two towers Or port and windows Gules, in sinister chief upon the sea in base undy Azure and Argent a lymphad Vert sails furled, flagged and five visible oars in action Gules, in dexter base a boar’s head erased Sable armed Argent and langued Gules and in sinister base gyronny of eight Or and Sable, on a chief of the Second, a cotton flower between two burning torches all Proper. Above the Shield is placed an Helm befitting his degree with a Mantling Azure doubled Or, and on a Wreath of the Liveries is set for Crest a dexter cubit arm sleeved in MacInnes tartan holding aloft a bearded axe all Proper, and in an Escrol over the same this
Motto“DARE TO DEFEND”
Kenneth Lee McInnis and his successors
Ensigns Armorial that have been Matriculated
Ken worked with the Lyon Court through and with great assistance from Dr. Bruce Durie, BSc (Hons) PhD OMLJ FCollT FIGRS FHEA QG and Shennachie to the Chief of Durie with the Right of Audience with the Court of the Lord Lyon. After suitable proofs were provided to the Lyon Court for the Grant and Matriculation of Ensigns Armorial a vast number of emails, phone calls, etc., took place to select the appropriate “charges” for the shield and for a suitable Crest.
Once all approvals were in place, we finally got the good word which Dr. Durie suggested we celebrate by raising a wee dram: By Petition to the Court of the Lord Lyon on 12 October 2017 for and in memory of his Great-Great-Great-Great- Grandfather Duncan McInnis and for his own behalf, the Ensigns Armorial represented were "Matriculated of even date with these Presents upon the 42nd page of the 94th volume of our Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland." "In Testimony Whereof, we have subscribed These Presents and the Seal of our Office is affixed hereto at Edinburgh this 27th Day of September in the 68th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lady Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and in the Year of our Lord Two Thousand and nineteen." If you notice the dates of when the petition was received and when the Ensigns Armorial were granted you will see this was almost a two-year process and that was after the decades of getting all the information (proofs) together for presentation.
Before Ensigns Armorial could be matriculated to Ken, a Grant of Ensigns Armorial had to be devised and issued to his ancestor – Duncan McInnis. Duncan’s Ensigns Armorial is displayed to the right. When the matriculation to Ken was made, there had to be “suitable differencing” between the two shields as no two Grants and/or Matriculation of Ensigns Armorial are the same. The change was made “On Chief of the second” (which is basically a bar across the top of the shield) and will be described fully below.
For his crest – the bearded axe was selected in lieu of the widely used bow in other MacInnes crests as Ken’s ancestors hailed from the Isle of Jura in Argyll - not the Isle of Skye and as we all know – the bow story of the clan comes from Skye. Also, since most all of his ancestors - including him - were farmer/military, the axe seemed the appropriate choice. The axe is held aloft by an arm sleeved in the proper tartan of Clan Aonghais.
It is very important that the Clan MacInnes tartan was used in the arms. Since Clan MacInnes does not have a Chief, we have no say on the Council of Scottish Chiefs and therefore have no authority to make claims on tartan, etc. However, since the tartan is used in both the IACM’s arms and the arms of various MacInnes Armigers, the Lord Lyon has basically provided our “authority” on the tartan and decreed the tartan is OURS.
Ken chose his Motto to be DARE TO DEFEND. There were two reasons behind this motto, firstly, he spent his entire professional career working in defense of our Country – in The United States Air Force and then the Central Intelligence Agency. Secondly, being a military brat and calling Alabama his home, Alabama’s state motto is We Dare Defend our Rights.
On the shield which is “quartered” in green or an “Iona” Cross, Ken wanted to go with the historical Charges. He requested and received the Castle of two towers which is an unusual heraldic castle of twin towers unique to the MacInneses. The Lymphad with sails furled because we were a sea going clan. The boar's head was chosen because of the MacInnes’ ancient ties to Dalriada and the origins of Clan MacInnes. In fact, the late Lord Lyon, Sir Thomas Innes of Learney had decreed that the boars head is the true crest of the MacInnes. The Gyronny of eight is the symbol of County Argyll and was selected since his ancestors hailed from the Isle of Jura in Argyll. Additionally – and a side note, Duncan’s wife was Sarah (Sally) Campbell – daughter of Lauchlin Campbell – so there is a bit of Campbell blood running though these veins as well.
Basically, all of these are historical MacInnes charges which are used in the Ensigns Armorial of the International Association of Clan MacInnes, Willian John MacInnis (MacInnes of Malagawatch), Reverend John McInnes (MacInnes of Crathie) and Hugh McInnes (MacInnes of Carradale).
With regards to “On Chief of the second” (which is basically a bar across the top of the shield). Ken received this distinction because while he was able to go back two additional generations which includes John McInnis – Duncan’s father and uncle to Malcolm McInnis’ ancestor that came to the Americas – Angus McInnis, the Court of the Lord Lyon issued the Ensign Armorials to the first individual eligible to receive them. Even though Duncan was already in North Carolina – he was considered a subject of the realm as the Treaty of Paris of 1783 had not yet been signed – he was, therefore, considered the first individual in Ken’s line eligible to receive Arms.
So, “On Chief of the second”, a cotton plant was selected to denote Ken's ancestors settling in the southern United States and the two torches on either side of the cotton plan represents (1) Ken's career in Communications with the Central Intelligence Agency and (2) his search for more light in Masonry. The Lord Lyon - Dr. Joseph Morrow – suggest the torch in lieu of my request for a masonic symbol. Afterall, he said: “What if one of your descendants doesn’t become a Mason”. Should note that the Lord Lyon previously held the position of Grand Master of all Masons in Scotland and currently holds the position of 1st Principal of all Royal Arch Masons in Scotland.
The Court also approved the use of a Pennon which is again issued and limited for use by the petitioner and his successors.
