Yorkist Supply Wagon

 

Front Rank Miniatures.

Henry VI of England 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471

Henry VI, King of England, son of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois and

was born at Windsor on the 6th of December 1421.

 Henry was the most hapless of monarchs. He was so honest and well-meaning that he might have made a good ruler in quiet times, but instead he was crushed by the burden of his inheritance.

Miniatures by Front Rank and flags by "flagdude.

Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham (1402-1460)

Humphrey Stafford was created the First Duke of Buckingham in 1444.

The Duke of Buckingham was placed in command of the King’s Army 

at the First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455.

During the battle, Buckingham, his eldest son Humphrey and the King were all wounded by arrows, Buckingham no less than three times including one to the face.

Retinue archers.

 Miniatures by Front Rank and Perry.

Stafford Knot badges were ordered by the Duke in January 1454.

Edward Neville, Lord Abergavenny's Retinue

In the mid-15th century, Abergavenny played an important role in the drama of the Wars of the Roses, with William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Raglan, supporting the Yorkist cause.

Edward’s first documented appearance in the conflict of the Wars of the Roses was in 1460 when he joined his brothers, Salisbury and Fauconberg, and his nephews, Edward of March and Richard of Warwick, at Sandwich on their return from exile. Edward was present at the battle of Northampton. 

In 1461 he was again present fighting with his young nephew Edward of March at the battle of Mortimer’s Cross. After Edward of March was proclaimed king, Abergavenny supported him at the battle of Towton. The battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury saw Edward once again by the King’s side, even though at Barnet it meant that he took sides against his other nephews, Warwick and Montagu.

Abergavenny's livery was white and green.

During his lifetime Abergavenny held office under both Lancaster and York. He was appointed several times commissioner of array for Kent, being chief commissioner in 1471. He was also a privy councillor in York’s protectorate in 1454. He died in 1476. 

Earl of Oxford and the Duke of Exeter

Lancastrian high ranking command stands.

 Miniatures by Front Rank & Perry Miniatures.

Flags by "flagdude".

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland 1421-1461

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (25 July 1421 – 29 March 1461) was the son of Henry Percy 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Eleanor Neville. During the War of the Roses, Percy followed his father in siding with the Lancastrians. On December 30, 1460, Percy is known to have fought on the Lancastrian side at the Battle of Wakefield. He commanded the Lancastrian vanguard at the Battle of Towton on March 29, 1461 and was slain during the fighting. 

 

 

 

 

Owen Tudor & Standard Bearer

From a minor Welsh noble to the consort of a Queen and Grandfather to a King of England, this is a tale of a man who found himself in the right place at the right time and founded a powerful dynasty.

Owen "ap Meredydd" was born about 1400, a descendant of the Welsh Prince Rhys ap Gruffudd. At an early age he became a ward of his second cousin Lord Rhys when his father fled Wales to escape a murder charge. At the age of seven he was sent to the English court as a page to the King’s Steward and it was then that his name was anglicised to Owen Tudor. He travelled to France with King Henry V’s army and fought at the battle of Agincourt where his valour earned him promotion to squire and was granted “English Rights” enabling him to use his Welsh coat of arms in England, a right that had been banned by the King’s father following the Welsh rebellion under Glendower.

On the 2nd of February 1461, Owen led a force of some 8000 men from South Wales to join up with a larger Lancastrian force, but was intercepted by the Yorkist contender Edward, Earl of March who blocked the road from Hereford with his army at Mortimer’s Cross. Owens’s forces attacked in three divisions, the left being composed mainly of lightly armed Irish, Breton and French mercenaries who were quickly overran leaving the other two divisions outflanked, and then destroyed with the loss of some 4000 men on the banks of the River Lugg. On the day of the battle and due to freak atmospheric conditions, three suns were said to be visible in the sky. The Earl of March took this as a sign of Godly support and thereafter added the symbol of a sun to his banner.

Owen was arrested and taken to Hereford and condemned to death. But to the last he believed that, due to his royal connections he would be reprieved. It is said that right up to the moment his executioner ripped the collar from his doublet, he believed that he would be spared. His last words were, “this head which used to lie in Queen Catherine’s lap will now lie in the executioner’s basket”.