Alan Roger Dickins is Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary

Arundel Herald Extraordinary

Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a supernumerary Officer of Arms in England. Though a royal herald, Arundel is not a member of the College of Arms, and was originally a private herald in the household of Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel. He is known to have served the Earl both in Portugal...

.

Dickins was educated at Epsom College

Epsom College

Epsom College is an independent co-educational public school in Epsom, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 13 to 18. Founded in 1853 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orphans , Epsom's long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as...

, Surrey and Emmanuel College

Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...

, Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, where he graduated with a Law degree in 1968. He qualified in 1972 as a Solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

 of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, but a keen interest in genealogy

Genealogy

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...

 and heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 eventually led to his engagement in 1986 as a research assistant at the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

. Since 1995 he has worked closely with Garter Principal King of Arms

Garter Principal King of Arms

The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...

, Peter Gwynn-Jones

Peter Gwynn-Jones

Sir Peter Llewellyn Gwynn-Jones, KCVO was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was Garter Principal King of Arms, the senior English officer of arms, from 1995 to 2010.-Life and career:...

 while at the same time pursuing a fully independent legal career. He has made a special study of the relationship between intellectual property law and the present-day law of arms

Law of Arms

The law of heraldic arms governs the "bearing of arms", that is, the possession, use or display of arms, also called coats of arms, coat armour or armorial bearings. Although it is believed that the original function of coats of arms was to enable knights to identify each other on the battlefield,...

. He was appointed Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary

Arundel Herald Extraordinary

Arundel Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a supernumerary Officer of Arms in England. Though a royal herald, Arundel is not a member of the College of Arms, and was originally a private herald in the household of Thomas Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel. He is known to have served the Earl both in Portugal...

 in 1998, taking over from Rodney Dennys

Rodney Dennys

Lieutenant-Colonel Rodney Onslow Dennys, CVO, OBE, FSA was a British foreign service operative and long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. During World War II he served in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.Dennys joined the Foreign Service in 1937, serving in...

. Dickins is married with two sons and his other interests include music and fell-walking.