Peter Brian EDWARDS

1931 - 2019

PETER BRIAN EDWARDS March 19, 1931 - July 25, 2019 After a long and full life, it is with much sadness we advise of the sudden death of Peter Brian Edwards on July 25, 2019. He will be sadly missed by his wife and best friend of 46 years Patricia Carol Edwards (née Yeargin), and by his many cousins and friends in North America and the United Kingdom. Peter was born on March 19, 1931 in Great Crosby, UK, and attended Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby. When his draft notice arrived, he volunteered to go to Korea with the First Royal Tank Regiment which as part of the UN force saw active combat. At the end of his tour Peter returned to the U.K. and was assigned to the 13th Bn of the Parachute Regiment. He then took a market research position with AC Neilsen in Oxford. Peter emigrated to Canada in 1954 and worked at Simpson's Department Store, Cunard Steamship Lines and The Dominion Bureau of Statistics. In 1959, he began his university degree at McMaster University but after one year he was hired by Proctor and Gamble and was sent to Cincinnati to the computer market research department. Peter's next move was to attend Toronto Teachers' College after which he taught elementary, middle and later, after receiving a degree from York University, high school. He became a guidance counsellor at Westview Centennial Secondary School in North York until his retirement in 1989. Peter did extensive volunteer work. He was the President of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, and a founder of the Toronto branch of the Royal Heraldry Society. He was in the St John Ambulance Brigade, Uniform Division for eight years and served for two of those years as the Provincial Commissioner of Ontario. He established the archives at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and worked as the Honourary Archivist for ten years. Vexillology, the study of flags, was his hobby and he established the Burgee Data Archives. He was a member of the North American Vexillogical Association, NAVA, and the international flag organization FIAV. He won the Driver award from NAVA. He travelled around the world to attend their conferences. In the last two years he has been an enthusiastic contributor to the digital book Flags of the World and has submitted over 300 articles on flags, mostly yacht club burgees. His library is now at the Naval Marine Archive, in Picton. He retained his UK connections as a member of the Honourable Artillery Company, The Cavalry and Guards Club, and as a Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors' Company. In Canada, he joined the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) and later the Governor General's Horse Guards as a Captain (CD). He was a life member of the Royal Canadian Military Institute. Peter was a member of the Whitby Yacht Club and a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. He and Patricia enjoyed sailing Lake Ontario, the North Channel, and once to Martha's Vineyard. They sailed in Conneda, San Remo, Nova, Unicorn III and Pamlico. At Peter's request there will be no formal service or Celebration of his life. Donations would be gratefully accepted in memory of Peter to the Toronto Humane Society or the charity of your choice.