My Canterbury Tale: Cecil Humphery-Smith

CECIL Humphery-Smith is a man of many talents. Not only was 81-year-old retired bio-chemist the man from Heinz who said "yes" to the Italian tomato crops but he has also forged a second career as one of the world's top expects on coats of arms.

He has designed more than 300 of them and in 1961 went on to set up The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies headquarters in Canterbury. He has also written numerous books.

On top of that, he has managed to bring up five children with his wife Alice.

He has just stepped down as principal of the Institute so Ryan Fletcher went to met him at his home in Seasalter...

Who first used a coat of arms?

IT was the Romans. Soldiers would wear insignia on their shields to identify themselves. In the Middle Ages troops were brought together by lords and they insisted all those under their command wore the same coat of arms. As society moved forward more people owned their own properties and all wanted to be identified.

Why did you become interested?

My mother would take me to a graveyard and play a game where we had to find the earliest date on a gravestone. I wasn't that interested in the dates but I was keen on the figures on the tombstones, which mum told me were a coats of arms. I was eight when I got my first bike but I began to ride all over Sussex and record the coats of arms in the graveyards. I recorded all them all - I finished 20 years later.

How come you now live in Kent?

My godfather Julian Bickersteth was the archdeacon of Maidstone and Canterbury Canon Treasurer. He invited me to Canterbury to study the heraldry in the Cathedral. I stayed with him during school holidays and completed a survey of heraldry on the Cathedral. I'm still writing about it at the present time.

What happened after school?

I went up to Cambridge to study biochemistry. I wanted to do cancer research but ended up taking a job with Heinz because I was married and couldn't survive on the stipend from the university. After two years in Italy working in the tomato fields I was head-hunted by an Italian company. They offered me a very handsome salary and all my expenses paid. I studied in various archives while I was out there including the Middle Ages at Bologna.

What was it like living in Italy?

Much of the time I travelled from village to village finding farmers who were growing tomatoes. I was meeting local inhabitants in very happy local communities and overseeing tomato production for pulp or juice.

When I arrived I hadn't a clue. I would put on a white jacket, put my hands behind my back and pretend to know what I was talking about. I had to learn the local dialect so I stayed with the cook and his wife from one of the factories south of Milan.

They only had one room. They slept in one corner, I slept in another, the children in the third and the goat and chicken in the last. I also became very friendly with a nobleman.

His mansion was up in the hills and had been more or less plundered by the Germans, the Americans and the British during the Second World War. I put his library back in order. It was a great era but it didn't last. The family went bust and 600 years of records had to be sold.

How did you meet you wife?

We met was in a park when I was nine and she was seven. She was on the carrousel and fell off. I was on a swing and jumped down and took her back to her mum. Ten years later I was at a party and we met again. We clicked and became friendly but we didn't recognise each other at first. The next day she rang me up and that was the beginning of it. We married in 1957.

Why did you found the institute?

After Italy I was offered a post at the College of Arms in London but didn't take it. A friend told me that if I went in I would have 13 enemies but if I stayed out I'd have 13 friends. Julian Bickersteth asked me to form a school for the history and structure of family life. We started it in London in 1957 and moved it to Canterbury in 1961.

How do you feel now you have retired?

I have only retired as principal. I am still researching and writing. I'll only retire the day I'm buried.

Why is family history important?

It gives a sense of identity.

Which three people would you invite to dinner?

Bernado Patrizi. We met when he was the consultant to Heinz for Italian affairs. We became great, great friends to the rest of his days. I would invite my father without a doubt and probably my mother, too, although my father was better at dinner parties. She could prepare them but she couldn't sit down. And, of course, I would invite my wife.

Your favourite book?

The Apologia of Cardinal Newman. It is the story of his life and his conversion. I like it because of his honesty and his forthright opening up of heart and mind to the reader.

What would you change about Canterbury?

The character of Wincheap, Northgate and Westgate should be left untouched. There is too much change for change sake and there has already been changes in Northgate. Each one of those areas used to be separate villages. They should retain their character.