The wars of the fourteenth-century English kings with France and Scotland resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of men involved in warfare on land and sea. This book draws upon new research to identify and analyze these soldiers at all social levels in the specific context of the county of Essex. New approaches to the history of the later Middle Ages allow important evidence of military service to be correlated with the rich documentary material stemming from landholding, taxation, administration and other aspects of economic and social life. Significant comparisons can then be made: increased demands for taxation and for shipping from maritime communities, for example, cast light on the impact of war upon the 'Home Front'. The uprising of 1381 is considered as the consequence of the intensive militarization of the south and southeast coast of England and the consequent cost to taxpayers. In a series of related chapters which add up to a wide-reaching survey, leading researchers explore key aspects of military, social and economic history in fourteenth-century Essex. From the raising of forces to serve the king, through a study of aristocratic lawlessness which may have been linked to violent experiences on the battlefield, to new ways of analysing data to give insights into men recruited as archers and mariners, and a consideration of military aspects of the Peasants' Revolt, this is a rewarding examination of medieval fighting men which affords much new insight into Essex history.

'Agincourt! Agincourt! Know ye not Agincourt?' So began a ballad of around 1600. Since the event itself (25 October 1415), Agincourt has occupied a special place in both English and French consciousness. Some early French writers could not bring themselves to mention it by name, using instead descriptions such as 'the accursed day'. For the English, it was one of the greatest military successes ever, and thus was celebrated and commemorated in many forms over the centuries which followed. In the First World War, there were stories of angelic Agincourt bowmen giving support and inspiration to the British army. Much ink has been spilt on the battle but do we really know Agincourt? Many historical works have relied on one or two well known sources or even on Shakespeare. Not since Harris Nicolas's History of the Battle of Agincourt was published (1827-33) has there been a full attempt to survey the sources. This book brings together, in translation and with commentary, English and French narrative accounts and literary works of the fifteenth century. It also traces the treatment of the battle in sixteenth -century English histories and in the literary output of, amongst others, Shakespeare and Drayton. After examining how later historians interpreted the battle, it concludes with the first full assessment of the extremely rich administrative records which survive for the armies which fought 'upon Saint Crispin's day'.

This is the story of Frank Bailey, a man whose ordinary demeanour in civilian life hid a record of active service and heroism in the Great War.He embarked on a 36-year long career with the Essex Regiment when he left his tiny rural community and enlisted a few weeks after the death of Queen Victoria. This remarkable journey took him far away from England to the colonies, the beaches of Gallipoli and the trenches at Beaumont Hamel in The Somme.It is a touching personal story which starts with a dramatic rescue and youthful memories of this quiet man and along the way unearths an unknown family and a brother killed in action. With the men of Essex, we relive the gross horrors of the now infamous campaigns of the Great War, including the famous tank battle at Cambrai where Frank earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry in the field.After surviving that terrible conflict, grandad Frank finally retired with honour as a Major and his story is indeed that of A Major Soldier.

Collects the names of every soldier known to have served the English Crown from 1369 to the loss of Gascony in 1453, and seeks to investigate the different types of soldier, their regional and national origins, and movement between ranks.

The Civil War fought between Charles I and his Parliament is one of the most momentous conflicts in English history. This book provides a wholly new perspective by revealing the extent to which the struggle possessed an "ethnic" dimension, and the impact of that on the forging of English national identity. Stoyle reveals the acute fear of foreign invasion that gripped England after 1640, when the insular English were placed on the brink of what they perceived as a national emergency. Stoyle sets the creation of the New Model Army within that context, arguing that its appearance represented the culmination of a campaign by Oliver Cromwell and others to forge a purely "English" military instrument, one purged of the foreign solders who had been so prominent in earlier Parliamentarian armies. This self-consciously "English" army eventually succeeded in wresting back control of the kingdom by defeating the king's forces, re-conquering Cornwall and Wales, and expelling all foreign agents.