Peter Edwards (vexillologist)


Peter Brian Edwards CD, CStJ, FRHSC was a vexillologist and scholar of flags. He established the Canadian Flag Institute on October 31, 1978.

Life

Peter Edwards was born in Great Crosby, England, in 1931, and attended Merchant Taylors' School before joining the British Army, serving with the 1st. Royal Tank Regiment in the Korean War and later, in the United Kingdom, with the 13th. Parachute Regiment.
Back in civilian life he worked for the AC Nielsen Company in Oxford before emigrating to Toronto, Canada in 1954, where he worked for the Cunard Steamship Company, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, and Procter and Gamble Company.
He was a graduate of the Toronto Teachers' College, York University and the University of Toronto.
He served with The Governor General's Horse Guards and was a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute, a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors and a Member of the Cavalry and Guards Club, the Guards Polo Club, and the Honourable Artillery Company.
After joining the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in 1962, Edwards established their archival program and received the Commodore's Award in 1992, the Ferguson Award in 2005 and the Hodder Award for cruising in 2006. He was also a Member of the Whitby Yacht Club and was formerly Port Captain for the Great Lakes Cruising Club.
Interested in vexillology, he was a Member of the North American Vexillological Association and on October 31, 1978, he established the Canadian Flag Institute, renamed Burgee Data Archive August 31, 1993. Peter was diligent in researching the often-neglected field of maritime flags and became the world's top reference in the study of burgees. The Burgee Data Archive published “The Private Signal”, a periodical vexillological journal, and was accepted as a member of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations in 1997.
In 1988, he was elected 14th. president of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, and was granted Arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority July 19, 1995.
Peter Edwards deposited his and the BDA's collection and library at the Naval Marine Archive in Picton, Ontario before his death in 2019.