Coat of arms of Greater Manchester
The Coat of Arms of Greater Manchester County Council was granted to the Greater Manchester County Council upon its formation in 1974 by the College of Arms. The county council was abolished as a consequence of the Local Government Act 1985 which rendered the arms as being no longer officially in use. Description. The blazon of the arms is described as follows: Today. Although the coat of arms is no longer in use by authorities, variant segments of the arms are still used today, such as the badge of the Greater Manchester Fire and  Rescue Service whose arms bear a defaced version of the shield without the gold crenellations trim, and the crest which is also used by the Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force, a demi-lion carrying the banner. A banner based on the shield from these arms was also sometimes used as the flag to represent the area. The current Greater Manchester Combined Authority does not use the symbols of the former Greater Manchester Council, instead using a wordmark consisting of its initials and full title.