Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick
William Edward Peter Louis Drummond-Murray of Mastrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 24, 1929 |
| Died | April 13, 2014 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Heraldic expert, Private Officer of Arms, banker, stockbroker |
| Known for | Slains Pursuivant of Arms, charitable work with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta |
William Edward Peter Louis Drummond-Murray of Mastrick (24 November 1929 – 13 April 2014) was a Scottish heraldic expert, Private Officer of Arms, as well as a professional in banking and stockbroking. He was notably engaged in charitable activities within the Catholic community.
Biography
His education was completed at Beaumont College. He was born to Edward John Drummond-Murray of Mastrick (1907–1976) and Eulalia Ildefonsa Wilhelmina Heaven (d. 1988), whose father was William Anthony Raymond Heaven from Ashfield, Queen's County, Ireland. On his paternal side, his lineage traced back to the Murrays of Mastrick in Aberdeenshire and the noble Earls of Perth.
His mother’s heritage included Spanish roots, and she was named after her godmother, Infanta Eulalia of Spain. Her father was the third son of Joseph Robert Heaven of the Forest of Birse, Aberdeenshire, JP, and Doña Maria Guadelupe Ramirez de Arellano y Braceras, the 4th Marquesa de Braceras. Among her relatives, Francis Joseph Heaven, Conde de Ramirez de Arellano, served as Majordomo-in-waiting to King Alfonso XIII of Spain and held the position of Secret Chamberlain under Popes Leo XIII and Pius X.
In June 1954, Peter Drummond-Murray united in marriage with Hon. Barbara Mary Hope, the youngest daughter of Arthur Hope, 2nd Baron Rankeillour. Together they had five children, including Andrew Murray, known for his work as a trade union official and his past affiliation with communism.
Though professionally a banker and stockbroker, Drummond-Murray’s chief interests lay in heraldry and historical studies, particularly Jacobitism—his ancestry included William Drummond, 4th Viscount Strathallan. He established a volunteer organization dedicated to delivering meals and providing transportation for individuals confined to their homes. Furthermore, he actively supported Mother Teresa’s hostels in Scotland by volunteering overnight to assist with guest care.
Between 1977 and 1989, he held the position of chancellor for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the United Kingdom. His efforts advanced the order’s initiatives in founding nursing homes and a cancer hospice at London’s Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, where he also served as chief executive from 1978 until 1982.
Heraldry
In 1982, he was appointed Slains Pursuivant of Arms by Merlin Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll, who held the office of Lord High Constable of Scotland.
Drummond-Murray authored Blood of the Martyrs in 1993, which detailed the martyr ancestors connected to British Knights of Malta. At the time of his passing, he was engaged in compiling A Roll of Banners and Standards of the Order of St John in England.
He also drafted a petition in 2009 submitted to the Lord Lyon King of Arms that enabled Anne Lillian Dawes (now Edgar) to matriculate arms including crest and motto derived from her forebear Sir Edwyn Sandys Dawes KCMG; this was granted on 16 December 2009.
Honours
- Knighted by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (1971)
- Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience within the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (1984), elevated to Bailiff (February 2014)
- Served as Genealogist for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (2000–2005)
- Knight of Justice in the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1988; previously CStJ in 1977)