Editing Middlesex (section)

==Culture and community==

===Flag and coat of arms===
The [[Flag of Middlesex|Middlesex Flag]] is included in the [[Flag Institute]]'s registry of county and regional flags.<ref>[{{Flag Institute|Middlesex}} Flag Institute Entry for Middlesex]</ref> The flag is a banner of the arms of the former Middlesex County Council, abolished in 1965. A similar design had been used traditionally as a local badge in Middlesex and neighbouring Essex for centuries.

[[File:Uxbridge tube station MMB 03.jpg|thumb|Coats of arms of Middlesex (left) and Buckinghamshire (right) in stained glass at the exit from [[Uxbridge tube station]]]]
[[File:County of Middlesex sign, Barnet, 2014.jpg|thumbnail|right|''County of Middlesex'' sign in 2014, on the border between the London Boroughs of Barnet and Enfield]]
[[Coat of arms|Coats of arms]] were attributed by the mediaeval [[Officer of arms|heralds]] to the kingdoms of the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Heptarchy]]. That assigned to the [[Kingdom of Essex]], of which the [[Middle Saxons|Middle Saxon Province]] was part, depicted three "[[seax]]es" or short notched swords on a red background. The seaxe was a weapon carried by Anglo-Saxon warriors, and the term "Saxon" may be derived from the word.<ref name=armoury>Doherty, F., ''[http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_seax.html The Anglo Saxon Broken Back Seax]''. Retrieved 20 February 2008.</ref><ref name=saxon>Online Etymology Dictionary – [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Saxon Saxon]. Retrieved 20 February 2008.</ref> These arms became associated with the two counties that approximated to the kingdom: Middlesex and [[Essex]]. County authorities, militia and volunteer regiments associated with both counties used the attributed arms.

In 1910, it was observed that the county councils of Essex and Middlesex and the [[High Sheriff of the County of London|Sheriff's Office]] of the [[County of London]] were all using the same arms. Middlesex County Council decided to apply for a formal grant of arms from the [[College of Arms]], with the addition of a heraldic "difference" to the attributed arms. Colonel Otley Parry, a [[justice of the peace]] for Middlesex and author of a book on military badges, was asked to devise an addition to the shield. The chosen addition was a "Saxon Crown", derived from the portrait of King [[Athelstan of England|Athelstan]] on a silver penny of his reign, stated to be the earliest form of crown associated with any English sovereign. The grant of arms was made by [[letters patent]] dated 7 November 1910.<ref name=times_armorial>{{cite newspaper The Times |title= Armorial bearings of Middlesex |date= 7 November 1910 |issue= 39423 |page= 11}}</ref><ref name=fox>''The Book of Public Arms'', A.C. Fox-Davies, 2nd edition, London, 1915</ref><ref name=scott>''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', W.C. Scott-Giles, 2nd edition, London, 1953</ref>
{{Blazon-arms
|img1    = Arms of Middlesex County Council.svg
|legend1 = Arms of the Middlesex County Council
|text    = The arms of the Middlesex County Council were [[blazon]]ed:<br />''Gules, three seaxes fessewise points to the sinister proper, pomels and hilts and in the centre chief point a Saxon crown or.''
}}
The undifferenced arms of the kingdom were eventually granted to Essex County Council in 1932.<ref name=civic_essex>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – ''[http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/essex.html#essex_cc Essex County Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203015014/http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/essex.html#essex_cc |date=3 February 2007 }}''. Retrieved 20 February 2008.</ref> Seaxes were also used in the insignia of many of the boroughs and urban districts in the county, while the Saxon crown came to be a common heraldic charge in English civic arms.<ref>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – ''[http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/middlesex.html Middlesex (obsolete)]''. Retrieved 20 February 2008</ref><ref name=scott_giles>C W Scott-Giles, ''Royal and Kindred Emblems'', ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953, p.11</ref> On the creation of the [[Greater London Council]] in 1965 a Saxon crown was introduced in its coat of arms.<ref name=glc>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – ''[http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/obs_county.html#glc Greater London Council]''. Retrieved 20 February 2008.</ref> Seaxes appear in the arms of several [[London borough|London borough council]]s and of [[Spelthorne Borough Council]].<ref>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – ''[http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/surrey.html#spelthorne_bc Spelthorne Borough Council]''. Retrieved 20 February 2008</ref><ref name=civic_glondon>Civic Heraldry of England and Wales – ''[http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/great_london.html Greater London]''. Retrieved 20 February 2008.</ref>

===Military units===
As well as the ancient county [[fyrd]] and [[militia#United Kingdom|militia]], Middlesex military units have included the [[Middlesex Regiment]], the [[Middlesex Yeomanry]] and their predecessors.
[[File:Middlesex Regiment Cap Badge.jpg|thumb|Middlesex Regiment Cap Badge]]
In the south-east, the Tower Division, effectively a separate county, [[Tower division#Military function|had its own military arrangements]].

===County day===
Middlesex Day is celebrated each year on 16 May. This commemorates the actions of the [[57th (West Middlesex) Regiment]] in 1811, at the [[Battle of Albuera]], during the [[Peninsular War]]. 
During the battle, [[William Inglis (British Army officer)|Lieutenant-Colonel William Inglis]], despite his injuries, refused to retire from the battle but remained with the regimental colours, encouraging his men with the words "Die hard 57th, die hard!" as they came under intense pressure from a French attack. The regiment held and the battle was won. The 'Die Hards' subsequently became the West Middlesex's regimental nickname and the phrase [[Die hard (phrase)|Die Hard]] entered the language. In 2003, an early day motion in the House of Commons noted the celebration of 16 May, the anniversary of Albuhera, as Middlesex Day.<ref>Randall J., [https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/22809/middlesex-day Early Day Motion 13 May 2003]. Retrieved on 12 June 2019</ref>

===County flower===
In 2002 [[Plantlife]] ran a [[County flowers of the United Kingdom|county flowers]] campaign to assign flowers to each of the counties of the United Kingdom. The general public was invited to vote for the bloom they felt most represented their county. The [[Anemone nemorosa|wood anemone]] was chosen as the flower of Middlesex. The flower was a common sight in the [[Forest of Middlesex]].

When the suburbs of London swept over Middlesex, many of its woods were bypassed and preserved. The wood anemone still blooms there to this day.<ref>Bevan, D., [http://www.muswell-hill.com/muswell/history/woodland/ The Natural History of Haringey's Ancient Woodlands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530035707/http://www.muswell-hill.com/muswell/history/woodland/ |date=30 May 2019 }}, Retrieved 12 June 2019.</ref><ref>Plantlife, [https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/wood-anemone wood anemone] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308081858/https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/wood-anemone |date=8 March 2021 }}. Retrieved 12 June 2019.</ref>

===County history societies===
The [[London and Middlesex Archaeological Society]] (LAMAS) was founded in 1855 for the study of the archaeology and local history of the City of London and the county of Middlesex. It works in close association with the [[Museum of London]] and with the [[Museum of London Archaeology]]. It has over 40 affiliated local history societies in Middlesex.<ref>LAMAS [http://www.lamas.org.uk/affiliated-societies.html Affiliated Societies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514202254/http://www.lamas.org.uk/affiliated-societies.html |date=14 May 2019 }} Retrieved 12 June 2019.</ref>

The interests of family historians in Middlesex are supported by two member organisations of the [[Federation of Family History Societies]]: The London, Westminster and Middlesex Family History Society and the West Middlesex Family History Society.<ref>London, Westminster and Middlesex Family History Society [http://www.lwmfhs.org.uk] Retrieved 12 June 2019.</ref><ref>West Middlesex Family History Society [https://www.findmypast.co.uk/articles/federation-of-family-history-societies-members/west-middlesex-family-history-society] Retrieved 12 June 2019.</ref> For genealogical research Middlesex is assigned [[Chapman code]] MDX, except for the City of London ("square mile") assigned LND.

===Literature===
Sir [[John Betjeman]], Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death in 1984, was born in 1906 in [[Gospel Oak]] and grew up in Highgate. He published several poems about Middlesex and suburban life. Many were featured in the televised readings ''[[Metro-land (TV)|Metroland]]''.<ref name=wilson>Wilson, A., ''Betjeman'', (2006)</ref>

{{Cquote|<poem>Dear Middlesex, dear vanished country friend,
Your neighbour, London, killed you in the end.</poem>|||Contrasts: Marble Arch to Edgware – A Lament, John Betjeman (1968)<ref>{{cite book | title=Betjeman's England |date=2010 | publisher=Hachette UK | isbn=9781848543805 | author1=John Betjeman |author2=Stephen Games}}</ref>}}