Newsletter Number 86

March 2005 

 

From The Colonel

Hope you all had a happy Christmas and are enjoying the New Year.
 
We are now into a new season which, at the moment is looking very promising.  As Hoptons are organising two of the major events - Blandford Forum, Dorset on 9/10 July and Powderham Castle over the August Bank Holiday, 28/29 August, it would be great if you could all arrange to take some holiday at these dates and come along and support the Regiment as I am sure Martin, Grant and Dudley would appreciate all the help they can get.
 
I know there are quite a few members within the Regiment who always willingly give up their time to help and I really do appreciate this, but there are some members who only want to attend musters on their doorstep, come along and have fun and then go home at the end of the event and do absolutely nothing to help.  I would ask these members to please remember the people who travel from one end of the country to the other on a regular basis to support the Regiment and the Society.  Without these sort of members the Regiment, and the Society, would cease to exist.   
If everyone took the lazy option equipment would not arrive at musters for you to use, there would be no newsletter or website, no breakfast tent, no banquets, basically, no musters!    So as we are into a new season I would ask everyone to please make the effort and start supporting the Regiment.  (I'm sorry to be so blunt but I felt this was something that needed to be said).
 
With regard to the newsletter, Pippy does a great job in producing this but it would be nice if he had more support - so more pens to paper or fingers to keyboards please!  Pippy needs help to fill the pages.
 
Wishing you all a happy 2005 and looking forward to another great season.


Yours in loyalty,
Your Grumpy Colonel

George

Editorial

Well, for the first time in along time I think, in fact I know we can approach the season in a reasonably good frame of mind comfortable in the knowledge that we have musters being thrown at as from all parts of the country,  North, South, East and West. The actual list a little further down is not conclusive and obviously some musters clash with other events (like Cropredy) but that’s life!
That’s the good news, the more realistic news is that we are hosting two of them at Blandford Forum mid July and our ancestral home of Powderham Castle over the August Bank Holiday. It’s highly likely that extended camping will be made available to at least us, and probably the society for this event so book your leave and be prepared to help out a little in the time honoured tradition of  Powderham musters. Three hours work and the rest of the day in the Courtney Arms, well at least that’s me and Fluff sorted!

Thanks to everybody who turned out at the Whitehall Banquet, I’m sure it wouldn’t have gone unnoticed that numbers were not as great as anticipated being that this is now the third year we have been running it, if it were not for our good friends from Lunsfords, Blackwells and this year Tydlesleys Regiments we would have looked very silly indeed. Nonetheless, those that came enjoyed themselves, the music was wonderful, I had plenty of partners to dance with (sorry Pete!) , the food flowed and we threw a barrel of beer away! We’re still learning financial lessons from this event and next year will probably see a different approach to ticket issuing to make the whole thing a little more viable. One probable solution is for Georgie to extract money from Hopton members throughout the year creating for ourselves if you like a commitment that you will attend. I say Hopton members because the other Regiments that attended gave there commitment and strangely enough….attended.



Pip
Another grumpy one



Events for the year.

Easter 25th – 27th March - CONFIRMED
Cheriton March (Warning Order enclosed)
Free camping behind Flowerpots Pub, decent beer, and a regimental meeting on the Sunday afternoon as well. This year camping available Sunday evening additionally. March commences 10:30 Sunday morning. Muster Organiser, Pip.

Early May Bank Holiday 1st - 2nd May - CONFIRMED
We will make a choice of two musters, either Berkeley Castle with the Oxford Company or Lulworth Castle with Tydelsleys (and other) Regiments. A muster is definite, which one will be announced soon.

Late May Bank Holiday 29th – 30th May – NOT CONFIRMED
They tell us a potential MAJOR MUSTER is planned, possibly Staveley Hall again with the Oxford Company. More details will be announced for those interested parties!

9th – 10th July - CONFIRMED
Right then, get this in your diaries. The first of two Hopton organised musters throughout the year, and as much help as possible is needed. MAJOR MUSTER with plenty of activity throughout the day and, I’m lead to believe on the Friday night as well. Muster Organiser, Steve Burden, who I’m sure will detail the event in the next newsletter……

30th – 31st July - CONFIRMED
Lunsford’s are organising this event in West Acre, apparently in Norfolk, where we very rarely attend, so diarise this one as Lundies have helped us out many times in the past and will need a good turn. Not sure if it’s a Major as yet but it is a large event and I have been told recently that despite what I said on the web site it is not expected to be an Oxford Company do.. thank God!

28th – 29th August - CONFIRMED
The second of the Hopton MAJOR MUSTERS this year. Powderham Castle is always a bit of a show stopper so, once again diarise this one and be prepared for the massive influx from the Devon contingent as many old friends come back in support of the regiment. Always a good one when you want to kick some butt inflict heavy casualties on the Roundhead army.

There are more musters in the pipeline, there always are, but as with the past  couple of seasons, nobody tells me about them officially and of course they are subject to late change. As soon as I hear about them they go up on the web site and are included in the following newsletter. If you know of an event that needs our support, check it out, then tell me for inclusion here.
Letters and articles.

An Englishman in New……..Zealand

A few months back at the end of last season we sent one of our intrepid explorers (Bruce) out into the distant wilderness, his mission should he have chosen to accept it was to scour the globe in the quest to find musters aplenty for us to enjoy over the forthcoming months. Here be the narrative of his long and treacherous voyage.

Part One
Not a lot to report, in between times at the mo. Hanging around Hamilton mostly.
Last week's drive back to Hamilton from the aborted mountain trek was fairly ordinary. No gushing geysers or raging rapids, just rolling hills and sheep - lots of sheep. Stopped at Te Kuiti on the way back, sheep shearing capital of the World. Only 5000 population but they call it a medium sized town! A 7m high statue of a sheep shearer stands at the end of the main street and that's the sightseeing done!
The only other item of interest on the road back is a lookout to the corkscrew which takes the train round and round and round from the top of the hill to the valley below. Suddenly I noticed all the paint was flaking off my wing mirrors so headed for home before anything else started falling off. Luckily they didn't charge me, good old Rent a Dent.
Friday was a bit of a boozy one with Nick's maori friends which ended up with me pl;aying the didgereedo at three in the morning with little success! Had little success on Saturday either at the Waikato Races, I think all my horses came from Rent a Dent.
Sunday was cold, wet and miserable as Santa's Parade made its way along Hamilton's main street. At last it really felt like Christmas!
During the week the local running club meets for a 5k run sponsored by the Loaded Hog Pub. I decided to have a go. Suddenly the temperature 'soared' to 26c and I sweltered round in 24 minutes spurred on by the fact there was as free pint at the end of it! I won a pair of running socks but not sure why (first 'pommy' to finish?).
On the whole the weather has been terrible. Yesterday I cycled 13 miles to a town called Ngaruawahia (I don't know how it's pronounced either). The town is right in front a range of hills and it often rains anyway but yesterday from 2pm onwards the rain lashed down and the gales blew. I was stuck in a bar for 3 hours before it eased up enough for me to head home! Terrible.
The landlord actually offered to drive me home but I said I'd be brave. Got back just before dark, freezing and soaking wet. All good fun!
Well that's it for now
Bruce


Madness of King Charles

For his assistance to Cromwell in the English Civil War, Thomas Blood was awarded a small English estate. However, five years later, when the monarchy was reinstated and the Duke of Ormonde usurped his land, Blood plotted to murder the man.
When the plot failed and Blood found himself with a £1,000 bounty on his head, he fled to London. There he befriended the deputy keeper of the crown jewels (Talbot Edwards), seduced his daughter - and convinced her to help him steal the crown jewels.
On May 9, 1671, Blood bound and stabbed Edwards and made off with a large hoard of state jewels - including the king's crown. Edwards, though wounded, was able to sound the alarm, and Blood, after a brief skirmish, was apprehended on a nearby wharf.
Did Blood, as would befit his name, lose his head? Far from it: Incredibly, Charles II, the new monarch, not only returned his land, but threw a royal pardon and a £500 pension into the bargain.

Pip


Bruce……..
Part Two
Just wrote a long letter then the computer lost it and now I've got to do it all again!
Anyway, I've made it to Hamilton 70 miles south of Auckland. Shorts are out, but so are my legs, not a pretty sight. Earthquake this morning near South Island, 7.2 on the wotsit scale but not much damage done.It turned out my accommodation in Auckland was in the Japanese part of town, bit of a coincidence. The hostel was more like a home for down and outs. Some strange residents staying there. Lots of pubs in Auckland. Theatre's was Irish pubs than you can shake a shamrock at. One boasts the James Joyce award for the most genuine, traditional Irish pub. The fact it's 12,000 odd miles from Ireland doesn't matter. I also found out why it's a long way to Tipperary, they've pinched all the signs to there and put them up in Irish pubs all over Auckland and now nobody can find the place. Saturday afternoon i 'sprinted' a mile and a half in the heat uphill in just over 20 minutes to catch the last tour at the Red Lion Brewery. Lots of brainwashing by TV screens telling us how great the beer is, who they sponsor, who drinks it etc etc. Finally saw the beer making part which wasn't working because it was Saturday. Had a free bar at the end though!
The Sunday bus ride to Hamilton was delayed when a stray golf ball smashed the windscreen. Made it eventually through lovely countryside that looked almost too pretty and well manicured, almost like a giant model railway layout.
Went to Raglan yesterday, famous for its surfing. Still too cold for me to go in.
Anyway, off to Biddy Mulligans for a genuine traditional Irish beer

More later

Bruce

Concorde Or Bust

For a lot of you it probably seems a lot longer but all of the schemes to part you from your hard earned cash and use it to buy a second hand van which you won’t have any ownership rights to at all have only been going for one year. In this short space of time Angel and his ‘Yellow Folder’ seems to have become as nearly well known (or at least as notorious) as Mao and his ‘Little Red Book’. There have been lots of contributors and a variety of other methods used in this cause (What do you call robbery with consent?) so the actual balance in the account is known only to the treasurer but I can, at least, let you know how well one bit is going.

 As of January 29th the combined income for the ‘Lottery’ and the ‘Bonus Ball’ schemes (which includes the very generous donations from the winners) has reached the marvellous amount of £486.00.
The Bonus Ball kitty stood at £9.00 on Jan 29 (and may well stand higher now) so there is every reason to get your money sent in straight away if I managed to miss giving you this unique investment opportunity. You can join either scheme at any time for any length of time for just £1.00 per week.

Don’t delay join today.
Your Concorde needs you.
Pete


Bruce………….
Part Three
Bula' ! It's Fijian for hello and welcome. The locals are happy as the first rain since August has arrived with a vengence. I'm not so happy as I've booked a boat trip to the Mamanuca Islands tomorrow. They say take a hat and plenty of sun block but I've hardly seen the sun yet. I'm in a great backpackers type resort about 3 miles north of Nadi on the west coast - supposedly the dry side, as east gets all the rain (?). Only 8 pound a night in a 4 man dorm with a fair size swimming pool. restaurant and bar. It's Happy Hour tonight with beer 2.50 F$ instead of 3F$, a saving of about 17p in English!. Strangely internet is a whopping 4 pound an hour (must learn to type faster).

My week in and around Hamilton ended with a boozy night and last day, something I could have done without as I had to be up at 4.30 next morning. Friday night started later than planned as I couldn't find the bar I was supposed to meet everyone in after they'd finished work. Caught up with them later in one of the two pubs I've made my locals.
Back to Fiji and where you can put the clock back ten years in NZ, it's more like 20 years here. Old cars, windowless buses chugging along in a cloud of exhaust fumes and dust that you have to breathe in until it rains.. then you get wet.
Being here on a couple of days I haven't done a lot. Caught a bus into Nadi on Sunday but most places were shut. A grubby, dirty town with little to recommend it. Litter everywhere and a small Hindu temple being the main attraction. I took off my shoes, paid the entrance fee and an Indian gentleman hosing down the stone floor decided my socks needed a wash too. Decided to visit the main souvenir shop where the assistants outnumbered the customers. One latched on to me and followed me everywhere no more than 5-6 feet away. You try and confuse them with a sudden change of direction but they're too clever. Bit like 'Me and my shadow'.

Today (Monday) I caught the bus to Lautoka, 50k north. An industrial town with the 'shanty' town next to the beach. Found the muddy area known as the beach at low tide, millions of tiny crabs scurrying into holes as I walked along, old car tyres and plastic bottles strewn everywhere. Strange - a wooden pen on stilts about 30 feet out containing a pig (?). Why not keep it round the back? Met a local man and he said I could take a short cut through the 'village' of scrap wood and corrugated iron. Real slum but there you go, they seemed friendly with lots of 'Bulas'. Headed back in the rain after that, still doesn't look like changing for tomorrow.
Fingers crossed

Bruce

Whitehall

I have finally figured out why we are presented with our awards on a freezing early morning (yes I know it happens in after twelve and is therefore officially afternoon if you want to be picky, but it doesn’t sound as good) in the middle of London in front of a crowd of bemused tourists and it is nothing to do with tradition or history or any of the other official reasons I have been given. It is all down to cowardice, cunning and safety in numbers. They (and this they is them, the Bigwigs that is) have figured out that the whole army is watching and there is even the chance that some recipients will be absent.
Can I offer my heartfelt thanks to them (the same them as they were just now) and I hope they (the them) can sleep soundly. The army in its wisdom decided to give my wife a Forlorn Hope medal, that’s not just any medal you understand but a medal specifically designed to remind her that twenty years have flown by  and there is therefore just the remotest possibility that she may not be as young as she was when she joined. The worst bit is I had to take it home and deliver it all on my own with no backup.
Pete

Bruce……….
Part Four
Snow in Queenstown, hailstones in Port Waikato, tornadoes in Auckland. Ah..summer down under. Nice to get away from the English winter!
Went to Taurangi on Saturday one of the biggest liners in the world was in dock, the Sapphire Princess, 18 storeys high and a third of the height of Mount Mangaunui which Nick and I decided to climb. Nick was near the top, I was about halfway, on a ledge with sheer drops to one side when a big gust of wind knocked me off balance, I slipped and nearly did a bungee jump without a bungee rope off the side of the cliff. A close thing. Couldn't move for 5-6 minutes, just held on for dear life until the wind dropped and I could get going again.!
Saw a waterspout caused by a whirlwind travelling across the sea, the weather sure has gone crazy!
We decided to check out the new 'English' pub on the outskirts of town called the 'Cock and Bull'. No dart board, no horse brasses, no real ale, no "Tipperary' type signs pointing the way to places in England. Just a 'Beefeater' style food pub with expensive keg beer (3.50 a pint!).
At least it was dry and sunny for Nick's works golf tournament on Sunday. I didn't play due to an old war wound instead I checked out the beer and sausage sandwiches and talked to the lady in the office whose worked there since 1951!.
Had a sightseeing tour round Hamilton yesterday. Didn't take long. An old theatre, a statue of Riff Raff from Rocky Horror Picture Show dedicated to Richard O'Brien who worked as a barber in Hamilton when he created the cult show, and a newly unveiled 2/3 size Spitfire in the gardens to commemorate the NZ Airforce (looks a bit unstable, could take off in the next storm). 
Did the 5k run again, no prizes this time but knocked 30secs off last weeks time.
Well, it's cricket Northern Districts v Sri Lanka tomorrow weather permitting, barby on Christmas Day the touring round the Coromandel Penninsular for 10 days.

That's it for now

Bruce

Hopton’s and the Oxford Company

In a meeting held at Audley End we the officers acting on the members behalf (as we do in many other respects) decided that we would limit our involvement with the O.C. and hence increase our regimental identity and independence. The actual method of limiting the involvement was discussed and some suggestions put forward. We are after all doing a juggling act here where we are trying to maintain the spectacle and enjoyment for future and present sponsors, the paying public and the membership. One thing we could not do however was instantly withdraw before informing the other regiments involved allowing them time to reorganise any ongoing forward planning and knowing that we should honour any commitments we had already made.

Time is an unforgiving factor. We did not have the chance to talk fully to the other regiments and accepted an invitation to an event (made a commitment) in good faith the same weekend as the meeting. I think it may have been directly after the meeting or it may have been the day before (I wasn’t there so I don’t know).  This has now turned out to be an O.C. event and there is another attractive event (not O.C.) that we have been invited to on the same weekend.

The Easter weekend event at Cheriton is the ideal opportunity for the regiment to discuss the issues raised and there will be a meeting on the Sunday for a free and frank exchange of views regarding the direction we want to take regarding these two events and any future ones. If you have an opinion and wish to air it this is your chance so please make the effort to attend.
Pete

Bruce……..
Part Five
Merry Christmas , Summer came and went but at least there was no tsunami. Good job I didn't visit Sout East Asia this time. The cricket match v Sri Lanka was postponed so we went to Rangiriri insread. Site of a battle between the Maoris and the British in 1840. Not much to see but some overgrown earthworks and a cemetery where the 100 odd British are buried. Still interesting although not easy to find considering it's regarded as one of New Zealand's most historic sites. Found a nice drinking place nearby, although I still can't get on with Kiwi beer, something not right! Christmas Day was spent round Brett and Jenny's house with a friendly game of cricket in the park and drinking games till the early hours. My trip to the Coromandel Peninsular was shorter than I'd anticipated but the weather was boiling hot. Stayed in Whatamata for a night then were up early to scale the small Mount Puka, an extinct volcano, bit precarious at times but managed not to get blown off ! The scenery around there is really spectacular. Had a swim at Cathedral Cove after a 45 minute walk through the forest to get there but boy was the water COLD. A lot warmer was Hot Water Beach, a thermal area where it bubbles up through the sand. A couple of hundred people turned up at low tide armed with spades to dig a hole and sit in their own hot spa. I worked my feet in the sand and ended up burning the soles of my feet as the temperature below reached 65c!

Anyway, back in Hamilton again now. Weather's gone back to wet and windy, I wish I was off to the Philippines now as I've had enough of it here, seen most of what I want except Waitomo Caves which I should do next week.
Never mind still enjoying it but too many hangovers at the mo

Happy New Year

Bruce


In the Kings cause

XXIV Newbury 11
27th  October 1644

As the 26th October 1644 drew to a close, the positions and strengths of the opposing armies gathered around Newbury became clear. To the north of the town the Royal Army was mustered in a triangular area, bordered to the south by the river Kennet, with the substantial Shaw House as the strong-point in the centre of the line. Richard Page (Sir James Pennyman's Regiment1) was in command of this position, and it appears that his regiment had been detached from the rest of Thomas Blagge's tercio who were stationed as a strategic reserve. From there the Royalist line ran northwest parallel to the Lambourne River. Anthony Thelwall commanded a forward area, easily defensible due to thick hedges and buildings of a farm, and had the remainder of George Lisle's tercio to his rear (including Sir Thomas Blackwell's Regiment). The exposed flank was covered at a distance by Sir John Boys' artillery of the Donnington Castle garrison, and George Lord Goring's brigade of horse was mustered in the open ground between the infantry and Donnington, to the south of the Lambourne. On the right wing of the line was Sir Bernard Astley's tercio (including Lord Hopton's Regiment), and it occupied the area between Shaw House and the town of Newbury. Sir Humphrey Bennet's cavalry brigade was situated behind the centre of the infantry line, along with a reserve under Lord Hopton, and the Earl of Cleveland's brigade was on the right wing, covering the ground just to the north of Newbury along the line of the Kennet, to the rear of Astley's tercio. Prince Maurice's army, which was formed as one brigade of horse and one tercio of infantry (including Sir John Grenville's Regiment2) were stationed as a reserve near the village of Speen. In addition to the main force, an outpost was established at the next crossing point of the Lambourne upstream at Boxford (approximately 2 miles beyond Donnington Castle) to provide an early warning of any outflanking manoeuvre by the Roundheads. In total, the King had around 5000 infantry and 4000 cavalry at his disposal, along with an artillery train of 29 guns3.

The Parliamentarian forces that had gathered were an amalgam of 4 different commands. The largest of these was the Earl of Manchester's Eastern Association, which on its own had 4000 infantry led by Lawrence Crawford and 3500 cavalry under Oliver Cromwell. The London Trained Bands had supplied 4000 foot commanded by Sir James Harrington, although there seems to be no horse from the capital. The Earl of Essex's contingent, under Philip Skippon (Essex was absent due to illness) numbered around 2000 foot, and Sir William Waller's command provided approximately 3000 horse and 1000 foot. The Roundhead cavalry was also bolstered by the arrival of several local units, including Edmund Ludlow's and Richard Norton's. In all, the Parliamentarian commanders had control of around 11000 infantry and 8000 cavalry, plus an artillery train of 24 guns. With numbers of over 2:1 in their favour, the Roundheads were about to fight with the greatest numerical superiority either side had enjoyed to that date in the Civil War4.

*    *    *    *    *

Unusually for the fragmented Parliamentarian command at that stage of the war, they planned a decisive manoeuvre for the start of the action, which had all the hallmarks of Sir William Waller's tactical awareness. With around half of the available forces, Waller marched his men through the night in a circular route north as far as Chieveley, and then west and south to be able to attack the Royalist from the northwest.
The plan was for the rest of the Roundhead army to attack from the east when they heard the sound of this force being engaged by the royalist artillery.
What actually went wrong with the plan is not clear, but in the aftermath of  the battle, the problems were blamed on the lack of co-operation between the
Parliamentarian generals.

At dawn the Earl of Manchester launched an attack with around 1000 infantry from his position on Clay Hill down to the east of Shaw House.
The defenders were taken by surprise, and those in the outlying positions were forced back into the cover of the main buildings. Initially successful, the attacking troops flowed around the southern side of the house and crossed a bridge over the Lambourne River, but were brought to a halt by a Royalist counter-attack. Bringing his men up from their positions to the south, Sir Bernard Astley's tercio tore into the leading units, and routed them back into their supporting allies. Over 40 prisoners were taken, the defenders of the House awakened as to what they were likely to encounter in the future, and Manchester's men driven from the field. This attack was obviously a feint: Manchester had five times that number of infantry at his disposal, but with the other portion of the Roundhead forces delayed, it only heightened the Royalist awareness on their left flank. With this attack over, all went quiet. As Richard Symonds noted "they lay quiet till 3 afternoone, onely our cannon and theirs playd”5.

The second phase of the battle opened with an attack on the Royalist outpost at Boxford. This unit, commanded by Sir John Douglas, was routed very quickly, and around 3pm. Waller's forces under Philip Skippon attacked Prince Maurice's men at the village of Speen. Surprised and heavily outnumbered (neither Douglas nor the garrison of Donnington Castle had warned the Royalists), Maurice's forces lost possession of a large number of their cannon, and were driven out of the village into the fields beyond, known as Speenhamland, where they managed to make a stand.

On the eastern front Manchester was slow to put his part of the plan into action, and it was an hour before he made his attack. In two columns the men of the Eastern Association advanced down the hill to Shaw House, to be met by a furious fire from the house itself, musketeers in the dry moat and the nearby farm that had been fortified. The Prince of Wales' regiment of horse charged the Roundhead infantry, driving part of them back, and they in turn retired from a cavalry counter-charge. The Parliamentarian horse also had advanced too far, and many were killed when they came within range of the defences. They also suffered at the hands of the Royalist cavalry who re-engaged when the attack stalled

Manchester's forces were now sucked into a vicious firefight at Shaw House, and, under a continuous cross fire from the other defences, plus charges by the infantry with musket butt, the attack ground to a halt. For an hour and a half the stalemate held, until seeing there was no way forward, Manchester's men began to retire. The final act was for Page to send out an assault of his own onto the Roundhead rear-guard, and force them back up to Clay Hill.

The engagement on the western front was in more open ground. Maurice's infantry, stiffened with Thomas Blagge's tercio now held the centre, so a conventional assault by two wings of cavalry was launched. Sir William Balfour's brigade advanced along the Kennet riverbank, supported with around a hundred musketeers. This successful attack drove back Maurice's horse in confusion. The King and his lifeguard, joined by Lord Hopton and his reserve of horse, tried hard to rally the troopers, but the charge was only halted when the Queen's regiment came to join the fight. The King's regiment then charged Balfour's flank, and was able to drive them off. The Unfortunate musketeers were hunted down and killed by the jubilant troopers6.

­­­­­­­The Parliamentarian left wing consisted of Oliver Cromwell's own regiment. They forced their way into the fields of Speenhamland, where they attempted to charge the King. Seeing the danger, the Earl of Cleveland led his brigade into the attack. This attack caused much confusion amongst the Parliamentarian troopers, causing the advance to halt, but with several losses to Cleveland's men. A second charge by Cromwell was completely broken up when Lord Goring led his own men into the fray, and after a hard fight the Parliamentarian horse were routed from the field. Hotly pursued by the Royalists, many of Cromwell's men were killed, but Goring's men in turn came under fire from the Roundhead foot. Satisfied in their victory, the Royalist cavalry withdrew in good order, but the Earl of Cleveland was captured after his horse was shot from under him7.

With the failure of both assaults to make any serious impression on the Royal Army, the two forces took up defensive postures and continued to exchange musketry and cannon fire into the dusk. The Royalists decided that they might not be as lucky a second time, and a withdrawal was hastily organised. After darkness fell they "...marched away by moonshine, and of necessity, through a narrow filthy pass o fpuddle and mire... "8. The King, with his lifeguard and retinue, rode to Bath; the artillery was stored at Donnington Castle to enable the army to make better time; and the main bulk of the forces marched to the safety of Wallingford Castle.

The Second Battle of Newbury could, indeed should, have been a disastrous defeat for the Royalists. The First Civil War would have been shortened by a year, and apart from the garrisons dotted around the countryside, the Royalists would have been left without an army. As it was, the knowledge that their small but professional army could prevail against massive odds heartened the Royalist cause, and enabled them to so nearly succeed the next year at Naseby. To the Parliamentarians, this was a disaster and put the final nail in the coffin of the various "Association" armies. The coming winter was to see them completely reorganise into Britain's second professional "New Modelled" Army.
____________________________________________________
1 Previously Sir William Pennyman's Regiment
2 Previously Sir Bevil Grenville's Regiment
3 Royal Army order of battle assembled from various sources: principally Clarendon V111 pp 152-158 [vol. 3 pp4304361, Symonds pp 145-146 and Gwyn pp 56-59, with help from Young pp 192-194.
4 Roundhead Army assembled from the same sources as the Royal Army.
5 Symonds p 145
6 Symonds p 145
7 Symonds p 146
8 Gwyn p 59

Bibliography (this chapter): -

Clarendon, Edward Hyde, First Earl of. History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, XVI books bound in six volumes, (ed. W. Dunn MacRay) Oxford University, 1888.

Gwyn, John. The Military Memoirs ofJohn Gwyn, (ed. Norman Tucker) Longmans, Green & Co., London,1967.

Symonds, Richard. Diary ofthe Marches ofthe Royal Army. ed. C.E. Long, Camden Society, 1859. Young, Peter & Adair, John. Hastings to Culloden, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 1979.


Martin

(Now that’s what I call a contribution…Ed.)                                                  


Bruce………….
Part Six
The NZ year ended with the coldest December for 60 years, all the pubs changed to non-smoking (Dec 10th) Britain take note, and the only possums I've seen  have been squashed on the road. Still don't know what they actually look like.
My New Year started with a game of cricket up the park just like Christmas Day but this time in fancy dress. I was supposed to be a Japanese car mechanic with smelly overalls, thick glasses and a big spanner (plus a bad accent). I did make 18 runs despite good bowling by Crocodile Dundee and the Ugly Witch. A 'Fea Factor' type game followed which involved eating horrible food like raw mussels with cottage cheese and broccoli. Luckily I went out in the first round. People came and went during the day including Eric who recounted the time he lost the lower half of his leg in a motorcycle accident 11 years ago. Unfortunately they couldn't sew it back on as when they actually found it a dog was eating it. Yep that's the kind of humour they have over here.

On Monday 3rd I finally made it to Waitomo Caves to see the famous glow worms. On the way down you can see a giant rainbow coloured Kiwi welcoming you to Orotangha and a 20ft high apple inviting you into a roadside cafe. NZ is full of them. Pineapples, strawberries all over 20ft high. At Waitomo I made my way straight to the glow worm cave. After a 20 minute walk through the cave you get in a boat which glides quietly along a dark passage. Looking up you see what resembles a sky full of bright stars but in fact are thousands of glow worms trying to attract insects with their lights and trapping them in the sticky threads that hang down, like a spider's web. It's an amazing site. The poor Fungus Gnat (the glow worm is the larvae) after 9 months in the larvae stage has no mouth so has to mate, lay its eggs and die of starvation after 3-4 days. Not even time for a beer. Next day was my birthday so I booked an all singing and dancing caving trip. Six of us were kitted out in wetsuits, helmets and boots and went through a quick
top of a deep gorge. It was 90ft deep but looked more like 900ft as we were told to step off the wooden platform one at a time. I was having second thoughts as I was dangling high above, then carefully made my descent. After landing in the river below I looked up and the view was breathtaking. The steep sides covered in moss and ferns, and rays of sunlight shining down through the mist. It was like something out of the Lost World. Everyone grabbed a tractor-size inner tube and started wading waisthigh upstream against quite a strong current to the Cathedral Cave full of glow worms more impressive than the day before. It was time to sit in our inner tubes (pretty tricky!) and float downstream into the cave bouncing off rocks and each other checking out more glow worms and rock formations along the way. Great fun. Eventually we came to a stop 400ft below ground by clambering.We crawled through passages about 2ft square and balanced on ridges just a few inches wide.
On getting stuck pulling myself through a watery passage because my torch lead had got snagged and spluttering because the water was going up my nose I realised I definitely SHOULD have included 'dangerous sports' in my holiday insurance before I left home! After more splishing and splashing we returned to our starting point from 3 hours earlier. Unfortunately for me they saved the worst till last. Instead of a flight of steps we were going to climb the 90ft back UP the steep sides of the gorge  covered in moss'. Suddenly 'Lost World' became 'lost nerve'. Scarey wasn't the word. I took a zig zaggy route and nearly froze with fear a couple of times but somehow managed to reach the top. It was over. Ok I had a 'safety' rope but still a day trip not for those with vertigo or claustrophobia.!

Bruce

Believe it or not there is an awful lot more of these wonderful accounts, only I’ve had a major problem with the computer and may have lost a lot of them. If anybody has the full set, so to speak, please contact me and it’ll give me something to print in the next newsletter
Pip



My Stupid Computer

As stated above, went doo-lally recently and cost me lots of beer tokens in repair. It’s getting back to normal now but the web site has been down for a little while and my email address book was non existent until fairly recently. Therefore if you are on the internet please email me at the address at the front of this newsletter and I’ll add you to the growing band of people that receive relatively updated versions of events.

Thanks much
IPp
(anag)

 

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