Commonwealth Hall Coat of Arms : RECAP

Logo Credit: Alumni Office Commonwealth Hall,University of Ghana

Welcome to the second episode of RECAP. For those who missed the first , click and view the remarkable Genesis of the Old Vandals Association.RECAP show is where we bring you exclusive discussions about Commonwealth Hall, Old Vandals Association, Vandalism and outstanding interviews with prominent Old Vandals and students.

In this segment, I will share with information about the Coat of Arm of Commonwealth Hall. This information below was captured in page 19 of the 2011 Homecoming brochure of Old Vandals Association(Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana).

Commonwealth Hall, arguably has the most unique,  Coat of Arm among all the University in the world. It’s carbuncle has a similar style of the Arm of Geoffry de Mandeville, Earl of Essex and Gloucester which dates back 1191.

The carbuncle was seen in most war shield in the 14 centuries. The shield, used in battle, history shows that it was difficult  for an enemy to attack when more shields are affixed together in a battle field.

The coat of arms effuses a charge of heraldic escarbuncle(red) to allude to strength derived from the membership of  the Commonwealth of Nations.

The ray-like limbs emanating from the center suggest the independence of each member of the Commonwealth , while each remains a part of the whole. This carbuncle is set against a background of blue and gold and counterchanged to suggest the diversity of Commonwealth in all quarters of the globe but with its essential unity unimpaired.




The bordure of red in itself is appropriate to a body that is part of another, in this instance , the University of Ghana. The fact that Commonwealth Hall is the third in date is shown by the three mullets or stars, each being the Ghana Star itself.

Commonwealth Hall was originally the largest of the five Halls in the University and is situated on a pinnacle – like the biblical city on the hill. There is a crest as well as a shield – the crest of a leopard with a sun behind its head, the light of knowledge which emanates from the Hall.

Also “Truth Stands” as the motto of the Hall, sited from a potion of John Donne’s satire quotes  “on a huge hill, cragged, and steep, Truth stands and he that will Reach her, about must, and about must go”.

Reference:

Old Vandals Association homecoming brochure (2011), “Hall Coat of Arms” page19, Commonwealth Hall

Retrieved: 26/6/2017 “Truth Stands”admission1.ug.edu.gh/freshstudents/index.php/commonwealth-hall.html