On the other hand his Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages also 1939 shed new light on the development of the functions of

On the other hand, his Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages (also 1939) shed new light on the development of the functions of the earliest officers of arms. Many years later he traced the whole story of the College of Arms in a massive and magisterial volume entitled Heralds of England (1967).In his widespread genealogical work, he developed a strong interest and many contacts in the United States, as well as building up a formidable library of English reference works (many now in the Guildhall Library). Wagner delighted in lateral pedigrees which demonstrated how persons in disparate walks of life could none the less be linked. A prized example testified how Dr Johnson and the Lord Chesterfield whom he vituperated had a common cousinly kin in the Reverend Cornelius Ford and his wife Judith.Of all Wagner's genealogical writings, his English Genealogy (1960, and since revised) ought to be on a shelf in any well- conditioned public library and on many a private shelf to boot.

Many of his conclusions were rehearsed and reinforced in Pedigree and Progress (1975), where an important group of essays is annotated and brought up to date. Always he stressed the mobility of social life and class in the course of English history, and in maintaining this view ran contrary to the opinions of some professional English historians.Wagner joined the College of Arms in 1931: he became Richmond Herald in 1943 and Garter Principal King of Arms in 1961; in 1978 he retired to the subordinate position of Clarenceux King of Arms. He was a firm believer in the view that appointments to the college were for life. As a herald he enjoyed a very large practice and was able to train up a number of skilled and well-qualified assistants who later became officers of arms.His professional library was enormous, but he was also able to build up an important collection of early heraldic manuscripts from the Clumber and other sales.During the Second World War he served in the War Office for four years, and then moved to the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, where he rose to be Principal Private Secretary to a series of ministers. Although he contemplated remaining in the Ministry, he returned to the College of Arms in 1946 and took over the extensive practice of Alfred Butler, Windsor Herald.Wagner had many interests outside the world and work of the College of Arms. He belonged to the Vintners' Company, serving as Master in 1973- 74, and was a member of a number of important dining clubs including the Society of Dilettanti, the antiquarian Cocked Hats and the bibliophilic Roxburghe Club.A number of large projects engaged his attention and enthusiasm. One, which arose from the Harleian Society, was an endeavour to list and describe the surviving English Rolls of Arms: to this series (CEMRA) Wagner contributed the first volume.Another long-drawn-out project, connected with the Society of Antiquaries, was a revised edition of the Ordinary of Arms (that is, an index of shields by the devices on them) originally produced by Papworth.

The first volume appeared in 1992.Yet another idea, which he pursued persistently, was the establishment of a museum in which to display the treasures of the College of Arms itself. Initially it was hoped to erect a building adjacent to the college, and a most interesting design was commissioned from Raymond Erith; this became impossible because of the increasing financial demands of repairs to the college itself. For it has to be remembered that the Heralds, as a body corporate, receive no subvention from any national source; their own stipends were fixed in the 17th century and have not been raised since. But in 1979 the Heralds' Museum was at last opened in part of the Tower of London. To those who wish to gain some idea of the resources of the college, Wagner's own Records and Collections of the College of Arms (1952) is an invaluable short guide.Wagner did not marry until he was 44, but then (1953) made an enormously happy alliance with Gillian, daughter of Major H.A.R Graham. In addition to taking over his father's house in Chelsea Square - he was very much a dweller in Kensington and Chelsea - they acquired a country cottage at Aldeburgh in Suffolk.