Lord Stanley (1st Earl of Derby) has answered Lord Darcy’s call for military assistance, as Piggy Longton is under the certain threat of Yorkist attack.
Stanley has sent two contingents, bowmen and a fine body of men-at-arms. Though he is not present, Stanley has sent Sir. Raymond Roddington to command the troops.
Lord Darcy plans to have Roddington command the right and he will reinforce him with additional bow and billmen.
Firstly he needs to simply to make up the numbers on that wing, but secondly, Darcy has a slight mistrust of Stanley and wants to make sure that he has enough of his own troops on that wing, to keep Stanley true!
These two bases here are all Perry plastic and have just come off their painting sticks. They seem to be defending a particularly flowery / tufty plot of land! :-)
They have been painted up from black primer, matt varnished and then a satin varnish dragged over the metal for some highlights.
The flag is from Pete’s Flags on E-bay, which comes in a set of three, including a banner that would be a good fit for a Stanley Command base, which might be a nice addition to do at some future point for Bosworth related games.
Notes - Lord Stanley is a powerful magnate, with extensive estates across Cheshire and Lancashire. His contribution here is a significant act, as he has a reputation of ‘hedging his bets’.
He managed to keep his soldiers stay out of the battle at Blore Heath in 1459 by ‘not arriving in time’, though his brother, Sir. William Stanley did fight for the Yorkist side.
Lord Stanley had been involved in both getting Edward (Yorkist) to the throne and then returning Henry (Lancastrian) to it, so was gaining a reputation of duplicity based upon political expedience.
[post note - later this same year, Eleanor, his wife will die and Stanley will marry Lady Margaret Beaufort, of Lancastrian persuasion and the mother of Henry Tudor, a future Lancastrian King (1485 - Bosworth and all that, when Stanley again would appear to serve two masters) ….. so who knows which way Lord Stanley sees the wind blowing today!]
With Stanley arriving in the camp and news that Sir. John Delves also approaches with help from Somerset (4th Earl), things are escalating. Edward and Lord Trebian (Yorkists) will realise that they must strike before Darcy grows too strong.
Resource Section.
My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.
