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A stylised pheon
A pheon, or "broad arrow", is a heraldic device resembling the metal head of a throwing spear. It has two tapering blades, smooth on the outside and often jagged on the inside, meeting a central shaft of the same length at their point. The pheon occurs in the arms of the Sidney family, and hence in the arms of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. The college's newsletter for alumni is also called Pheon.
A member of the Sidney family, Henry Sidney, served as Master of Ordnance under William and Mary and used this device to mark government property. From this derive the arrows on prisoners' uniforms, and also the arrow marks on the property of the Ministry of Defence.