Well done, Jonathan Hayes: very nearly 100% correct. The disputed arms were "Azure, a Bend Or". A bend is a diagonal stripe, so the shield was blue with a gold diagonal stripe. Note: "Or" not "d'Or".
The racehorse owned by Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster lived much later than stated: it actually won the Derby in 1880. The 1st Duke's grandson, also Hugh Grosvenor, was born in 1879 and succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Duke of Westminster in 1899. He was the famous "Bendor", friend of WSC. I don't know anything about chestnut hair, but it might have been true. The point is that the Derby win occurred when the boy was just over one year old, so the victory and the birth of the eventual heir to the dukedom were chronologically close, and a double celebration might well have led to a shared nickname. It's amusing that the loss of the Bend Or still rankled with Grosvenors 500 years after the event. Paul Courtenay ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 2:19 AM Subject: [ChurchillChat] Bendor Probably many of you already know this, but for the benefit of those who don't: I've always been mildly intrigued by WSC's friend Bendor, Duke of Westminister. "Bendor" sounds a bit odd to transatlantic ears, but then so do a lot of otther English names, so didn't give it further thought. Until I was doing some heraldry research and came across the case of Scrope vs. Grosvenor in the Earl Marshal's Court circa 1390. Who had the right to the coat of arms blazoned azure a bend d'or? The Grosvenors lost that one, but obviously have long memories as a Grosvenor named a chestnut race hourse of his in the early 1800s Bend D'Or. Later in the century, a young Grosvenor was born who proved to have the same chestnut-colored hair as the race horse had had. So he got the nickname "Bendor". And there you have it. You never know where Churchillian tidbits will lead you. Jonathan Hayes -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat?hl=en.
