In a codicil to his will dated 5th January 1926 the late Lieutenant-Colonel G. B. Croft Lyons wrote: ‘I desire that the income derived from the property left to the Society of Antiquaries of London … should be applied to the encouragement of the study of heraldry and in the first instance I wish that a new edition of Papworth's Ordinary should be prepared to be published by the Society.… And in order that such Edition may be generally useful I desire that the blazon of the Arms in such new Edition shall follow the style of blazon in the present Edition and that the new forms affected in recent years by certain writers be not adopted but that the blazon be full and exact and such that any person can as far as may be understand it.’

This is our charter. In accordance with its terms the appropriate Committee of the Society in January 1940 decided that for the present the new edition of Papworth's Ordinary should have priority over the other purposes specified, and appointed editors. At the same time they decided that since the same material differently arranged would make a new General Armory (which was needed not less than a new Ordinary), this should be prepared concurrently.