Plague Physicians

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Earlier this year Peter Pig released a pack of plague physicians. Here's my take on them, teamed up with a 'dead cart' from their Wars of the Roses range.





And here is a real plague mask on display at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin.







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Battle of Lansdowne, 5th July 1643

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Yet another instalment in the adventures of William Waller's Southern Association. This time Waller attempts to defend Bath and stop the King accessing the rich resources of the south west.


Sir Bevil Grenville's monument

 Information board at the foot of the monument

The rear of the monument - mind the nettles!
Early on the 5th of July, Waller took up position to the north of Lansdowne Hill where his troops began to throw up earthworks. His cavalry attacked small groups of Royalists in the area who fled to join Lord Hopton's main force at Marshfield (5 miles away from Lansdowne). Hopton immediately mustered his army and marched on Waller's position. 
Lots of skirmishing ensued, before Hopton's cavalry were routed. Hopton's infantry stood firm and defeated the Parliamentarian cavalry and dragoons; they then stormed Waller's position on Lansdowne. 
Hopton's cavalry rallied and returned to the fray, where they once again crumpled and fled the battle. Waller w…
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Coat Colours

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The tricky question of 'what colour' should I paint my armies was my next conundrum. The fanciful Victorian imagery of the wars has pretty much been dispelled (Roundheads in striped sleeved shirts, Cavaliers in poncey big hats); in reality both sides were, very much of a muchness. There are some surviving uniforms, and documentary evidence of colours and flags, which give us a starting point.

Whilst I do strive for accuracy, at the end of the day my armies are a pastiche, they aim to give a 'feel' rather than pleasing the 'button counters' that populate the darker corners of the wargaming community. But, as there is so much that historians don't know about Civil War uniforms, a pastiche is probably the best that anyone can aspire to.

My unit choices are based upon coat colours (or civilian clothes in the case of the London trained bands) that are known with standards that are  known or we can have a very good stab at. These were my methods for choosing regi…
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Der Deutsches Historiches Museum

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Der Deutsches Historisches Museum I hear you say? Berlin? How is that relevant to the British Civil Wars?

Well, if you put it bluntly - it isn't. However it does have a really really good Thirty Years War gallery, which is very similar to the BCW. My blog, my thinking, it's staying!

Located in Berlin close to 'museum island' is the German History Museum (apologies typing Der Deutsches etc out is upsetting the spellchecker). Under 18s are free, so only oldies need pay. Some interesting galleries (lots of Napoleonic, FPW and World wars stuff) in there, but I'm focussing on the 30YW exhibits. Cue shameless photo gallery and the occasional comment. Recommended!


Plague mask (apologies for the reflections)


Two large display cases full of armour. I really like how the armour was displayed. A siege mortar
Nice detail on a cannon

A regimental treasury box







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What Colours To Use?

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The mental images we have of seventeenth century dress are invariably of a dashing cavalier, wearing extravagant clothing and an ostentatious feather in a broad-brimmed hat; or a dour Puritan dressed in black and white. A heavily stylised, but very enduring set of images created by the Victorians. But what was the reality?

Some clothing from the time still exists, although this will, by the very nature of things, have belonged to rich owners. It has been suggested too, that due to interest in the civil wars, that these surviving garments have been fancydress-ified to achieve the romantic nature of dashing cavaliers and their ladies.

One example of surviving clothing items  is a royalist officer's sash in the Victoria and Albert museum which has intricate silver/white embroidery.


A quick trawl around the National Gallery throws up a number of useful paintings. There is a gallery of Van Dyck's, showing portraits of Charles’s inner circle: the colours on display clearly shout …
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Bromesberrow Church

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Bromesberrow Church is famous for being the home of the Yate cornets.


(A cornet is the name given to the small, 60cm square cavalry flags used in the Civil Wars.)


Two Civil War cavalry cornets, one believed to be Royalist, the other Parliamentarian were given to the church by the Yate family, they had been in the possession of Rice Yate (d.1690).

Rice had been a Royalist cavalry officer - one cornet belonging to his squadron, the Parliamentarian cornet having been captured. Both cornets are believed to have been present at the Battle of Edgehill.

The white cornet is attributed to Captain-Lieutenant Rice Yate and bears the motto “religio Protestantism leges Angliae libertates parlamentorum”, which translates as “Protestant religion, laws of England, freedom of Parliament”. On first reading this would seem a strange motto for a Royalist standard, however, those are the words of Charles I from "Declaration in Defence of the True Protestant Religion".

The red cornet bears the mo…
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Flags and Colours Part 3: Media

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Part three of the KeepYourPowderDry guide to Civil War flags and colours looks at where we can see illustrated examples of Civil War flags, and also where we can get some for our armies.

First off we have to consider the three volume series English Civil War Flags and Colours from Partisan: Volume 1 covers the English Foot, Volume 2 Scots Colours, and Volume 3 the Bill Carmen collection.


 The latest reprint of Volume 1, earlier versions have a different cover
Volume 1 has an absolute wealth of information inside including coat colours, but is quite hard to read due to font and printing technique. Black and white illustrations, the book is quite dated in appearance. If a second edition with modern typesetting and colour illustrations was available it would be a surefire winner. £10.50. Despite it's shortcomings this still demands a place on the bookshelf.



Volume 2 (£9.50) exists in a number of versions; it also sits in Stuart Reid's Scots Armies of the Seventeenth Century series, a…
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Flags and Colours Part 1: Heraldry

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This is the first of three KeepYourPowderDry guides to Civil War flags. This part looks at the rationale and rules why Civil War flags looked like they did. Not often I get to channel my inner Dr Sheldon Cooper, I doubt it will ever happen again.

To understand Civil War flags we need to know some nomenclature, some heraldic conventions, and the regimental flag systems used.

Regiments of foot carried ensigns, which were about six feet square, sometimes  a little bigger at six feet six inches square. These were carried on short staffs and on occasion twirled enthusiastically. Ensigns were rallying points during the chaos of battle. We know that some were made of silk, and others taffeta. Looking at Sir John Gell's colour on display at the National Army Museum we can see that the designs were stitched on. There is some evidence that designs were sometimes painted on to flags.

Regiments of horse carried cornets which were small (about two feet square) square flags attached to what can…
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Flags and Colours Part 2: Evidence

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Part two of the KeepYourPowderDry guide to Civil War flags and colours looks at evidence - surviving flags, and contemporary records.

Surviving Flags

There is a watchett (blue green) piles wavy ensign in the collection at the National Army Museum  (not on display), which very little is known about. One source claims it predates the Civil Wars (early 1630s), whereas NAM currently believe it dates from 1688 and belonged to Prince William of Orange (before he became King William III)


Picture courtesy of the National Army Museum
Sir John Gell's on display at NAM. 

Antony House, Plymouth have a yellow ensign on display with black lion devices (possibly Alexander Carew's Cornish parliamentarian regiment of foot).

The Royal United Services Institute have a flag which appears to have been altered - possibly dating to the period, but bearing a lamb of St Wilfred device. The device is the correct way up when the flag is displayed horizontally, which would strongly suggest it is a later add…
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Battle of Cheriton, 29th March 1644

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The William Waller campaigns continue...a saga of manoeuvre and counter manoeuvre.

Background
After the Battle of Alton (and the taking of Arundel by Waller), the two armies went into winter quarters. Hopton overwintered in Winchester where he was joined by a contingent of the King's Oxford Army under the command of the Earl of Forth. Forth had superiority but Hopton retained operational command (on account of Forth having bad gout).



Waller's Southern Association was bolstered by a cavalry brigade from the Earl of Essex's Army, under the command of Sir William Balfour.

In March, Parliamentarian forces began to muster near Petersfield, with a view to march on Hopton. Hopton had news of the movements of the London Brigade and marched to intercept them. the London Brigade got wind of the Royalist advance and withdrew to join Waller.


View of the battlefield from the memorial, Cheriton Wood on the left.

Waller marched to Alresford in order to cut off Hopton's route back to Wi…
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The Cromwell Museum

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Another trip down to 'that there London', inevitably led to a slight detour via Cambridgeshire for the ECW Travelogue. First stop The Cromwell Museum which claims to be the "home to the best collection of items relating to the life and times of Oliver Cromwell on public display anywhere in the world". Sounds like fighting talk to me. Best to check that claim out...


The museum is located in the former Huntingdon Grammar School building, a school attended by Oliver himself. The building itself has a fascinating history, starting it's life as a medieval hospital.

So what's there to see, and can it back up it's claim?

If you are looking for interactive displays, a coffee shop, and acres of space then perhaps this isn't the museum for you. The building itself is quite small, the collection it houses could quite comfortably fill a museum two or three times it's size.


There are a number of items of arms and armour on permanent display.

The great man's h…
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