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Of the Regiment Then:What follows are two accounts of Sir Thomas - I will merge them when I can. First Thomas Blackwell (1605-1653) was a gentleman from Mansfield Woodhouse. Prior to the Civil War he served as an officer in the Trained Bands of the Newark garrison and in August of 1642 was involved in the disarming of their disaffected elements. Thomas was knighted in December 1642, going on to form his own regiment in the early part of 1643. Initially recruits were drawn from the Newark area and the regiment probably never numbered more than 200. By July Blackwell's Regiment of Foote had been sent to serve with Queen Henrietta Maria's army based in Oxford. As far as we know Blackwell's first saw action at Burton-on-Trent. They also took part in the siege of Gloucester from the 10th August until, after losing six men, they were withdrawn on the 5th September. With little time to draw breath the Regiment moved across county to Newbury where, on 20th September 1643, they took part in the first battle of Newbury, in which the Royalists unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Earl of Essex's forces from returning to London. The Regiment spent the winter of 1643-44 at Reading, where numbers slumped to only thirty men. Twenty new recruits deserted on enlistment but despite this Blackwell's took the field with the Oxford Army again in 1644. On 29th of June they fought at Cropredy Bridge, on 2nd September at Lostwithiel. On 27th October at the second battle of Newbury they fought in Sir George Lisle's tertio which fortified Shaw House, to the East of the town, which was the scene of heavy fighting. Sir Thomas Blackwell's Regiment was last heard of in November 1644, after which they were probably amalgamated with other small regiments. Sir Thomas himself went north in March of 1645 with Langdale's Brigade of Horse where he took part in the relief of Pontefract Castle. Sir Thomas was married in November 1645 to the widow of Sir Ferdinando Cary. Cary had been a professional soldier in the Low Countries, serving as an officer in the defence of Bergen Op Zoom, in 1622, for which he knighted in 1630. He is believed to have died in the 1630s. Sir Thomas Blackwell remained with the King's Army until the end. After the war he was ordered to pay, as were many other prominent Royalists, a fine for "Delinquency" which caused him much anxiety. His doctors certified him as suffering from asthma and on the 28th September 1650 advised against him making the long journey from York to appear before the Committee in London, stating that he had not been well enough to travel anywhere for the past six months. In 1653, ruined like many others by his loyalty to his King, Sir Thomas Blackwell died in poverty, aged 48. Second Thomas Blackwell, a gentleman from Mansfield Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire, was born about 1605 and, before the outbreak of Civil War, had been an officer in the County Militia. He may have been among those who hastened to show their loyalty when the King set up the Royal Standard in Nottingham in August 1642. He was Knighted in December of that year, probably at Oxford, where the King had set up his Court after his withdrawal from Tumham Green on the Western approaches to London. Early in 1643 Sir Thomas was a member of the garrison of Newark, a strategically important town which had been secured by forced led by the Earl of Newcastle. The Royalists in the North received a welcome addition of strength during February when queen Henrietta Maria landed on the Yorkshire coast at Bridlington with a fleet of ships laden with military equipment. Blackwell's Regiment was apparently founded soon afterwards. Although never more than 200 strong, it saw much active service in its relatively brief period of existence. On July 2nd the Regiment assisted in the capture of Burton on Trent and subsequently accompanied the Queen to Oxford, where it became part of the main field army. In August, it was present at the siege of Gloucester, which was abandoned on the approach of a relieving army under the Earl of Essex. As Essex tried to return to the Captital with his army intact, he was brought to battle at Newbury. The battle which followed on September 20th was bloody and inconclusive, since Essex was able to withdraw with his depleted army towards London. In the Winter of 1643/44 the Regiment was quartered at Reading, where their numbers were said to have fallen to 30 men. During the following Summer they were on campaign once again in the army under the King's personal command. They took part in the Royalist victory at Copredy Bridge over the Cherwell on June 29th, where Waller suffered one of his worst defeats. The King's army subsequently marched into the West Country by way of Evesham, Exeter, and Launceston, in pursuit of Essex, who had rashly entered Cornwall without support. The army was eventually trapped at Lostwithiel and surrendered on September 2nd, so that the Royalists secured the weapons of its 6,000 men and 42 artillery pieces. As the victorious army returned towards Oxford, they were brought to battle at Newbury by the United armies led by Manchester, Waller, and Essex. The Royalists occupied a strong defensive position centred on the mansion at Shaw (now a school). Blackwells' was in the tertio commanded by Sir George Lisle, and was involved in the fierce fighting in the defence of this headquarters. The Royalist army carried out the difficult feat of withdrawing through the Parliamentarian lines under cover of darkness. The Regiment was last heard of in November 1644 and was probably amalgamated with other small units over that Winter. Early in the following year Sir Thomas, himself, took part in a noble exploit carried out by Langdale's Northern Horse. Having been given leave to return to their home area, they left the Oxford region in February 1645, inflicting defeats on enemy forces at Daventry and Melton Mobray. With reinforcements from Newbury, they successfully relieved the garrison at Pontefract at the beginning of march. Sir Thomas is known to have been active, in some capacity, in the Royalist forces until the collapse of their military effort. The last army in the field, led by Sir Jacob Astley, surrendered at Stow-in-the-Wold in March 1646. In December 1645, Sir Thomas had married Philippa, the widow of Ferdinand Carey, but like many loyal gentlemen he had been ruined by his support for the King and his last years must have been a constant struggle for survival. Active Royalists were forced to pay fines out of the revenue from their Estates, under the control of the committee for Compounding, whose records still survive. By 1650, Sir Thomas was in poor health and living in York. When he was summoned to London to appear before the committee, his doctors certified that he was suffering from Asthma and that he was unfit to undertake such a journey. In the records, he is referred to as Sir Thomas Blackwall and one of his main assets mentioned was an annuity of £200 a year in his wife's name from the rectory at Pickering, near Scarborough. In January 1654, a relative, Richard Blackwall successfully petitioned that as a result of Sir Thomas's death that his remaining Estate should be discharged from further demands on behalf of the commonwealth.
Of the Regiment Now:The English Civil War Society was formed in the 1970s and comprises two groups: the King's Army and the Roundhead Association. Each of these is formed from a group of regiments which are named for regiments that existed and fought during the Civil War. The King's Army includes our own motley crew under the name of Sir Thomas Blackwell's Regiment of Foote. Sir Thomas Blackwell's Regiment of Foote was formed in Spring of 1975 from elements of Prince Rupert's Blue Coats of the Sealed Knot. The original five members of the regiment met for the first time at the Clachan pub in Fleet Street where the fledging regiment was named Blackwell's, probably after 'Black Harry' Taylor the first Commanding Officer. The regiment was originally raised as a Dragoon regiment. It's first muster was at Bradenham near High Wycombe where about fifteen members arrived by train and taxi, (virtually no-one having a car in those days). It rained for most of the week-end, and the nearest pub was three miles away. Alastair Fraser a future CO recalls that the only reason he stayed in the society was the 'Putney debates' style of the AGM which took place at that event. Harry Taylor was soon replaced by Jim Wallman as CO, which is when they acquired some muskets and became the foot regiment that they are to this day. Jim's CO'ship did not last long, in 1976 Alan Kirkham took over. Alan and his wife ran a childrens home, from which Blackwell's recruited it's first drummer boy, giving it some much needed credibility. In 1977 Alastair was promoted from Corporal to CO during a telephone conversation with Alan, who had decided running a mainly London based regiment from Oxford wasn't practical. At that time Blackwell's numbered thirty to forty members. Often threatened with extinction, they received a much needed boost in 1980 with the adoption of some Pennyman's from Liverpool University. Blackwell's has since taken part in many major re-enactments of Civil War events and a wide variety of smaller events. Comprising Pike and Musket blocks, as well as campfollowers, our recruits are drawn from across the country, with members littering the countryside and public houses from Newcastle to Somerset, Kent to Cheshire; we currently number some 130 people. Memorable occasions include the cricket match at Sorn; the rain at Sutton Scotney; the mud at Lytchett Minster and just about everything the elements could throw at us in Mells in 1994. The regiment takes part in events in all parts of the country, from Powderham Castle to Berwick on Tweed, Battle Abbey to Sorn in Ayrshire, Caldicot Castle to Lowestoft. As well as fighting as a regiment, Blackwells' members often take part in smaller events where, along with strays from other regiments, they make up part of notional companies. On such occasions they may temporarily respond to a variety of company names. Arguably one of the Regiment's finest re-enactments (judge for yourselves because it's on show at the Royal Armouries in Yorkshire) came on an occasion when we weren't even playing ourselves! In 1995 Blackwell's took part in a filming event for the Civil War exhibition at the Royal Armouries. Today we can be seen, sporting white coats rather than the customary black, doing what we do best to the refrain of the regimental anthem: dying gloriously in a ditch. Regimental Song:The music for the regimental song is played whilst you are on the home page. These are the words:- The Good Old WayLift up your hearts. Emmanuel's
friends Chorus
For I have a sweet hope of glory in my soul Our conflicts dear, though great
they be. Lord Satan may his spurs employ. Ye valiant souls for heaven
contend. |
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