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See Colours of Infantry Militia in English Civil War
for background information on the Trained Bands. Details of individual colours
are shown for the Yellow regiment; it is mostly sufficient to show just the Sergeant
Major's colour of the other units.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November
2010
Ede-Borrett (1987)
Peachey and Prince (1991)
Keith Roberts:
'London and Liberty- ensigns of the London Trained bands'; Leigh-on-Sea, 1987,
Partizan Press
Peter Young and Richard Holmes: 'The English Civil War - A
Military History of the Three Civil Wars 1642-1651', London 1974, Purnell Book
Services; [www.traynedbandes.org.uk]
'Stand of colours' is a term that was applied to English colours. It was mentioned in a book of Cpt. Thomas VENN: "Military Observations or The Tacticke put into Practice", published in 1672. Here is the complete stand of colours (type VENN B) of existing companies of the yellow regiment. The sheet was yellow, the devices were black 5-point stars rotated anticlockwise 45° thus pointing at the upper hoist corner.
Colonel's colour was a plain yellow flag, Lieutenant Colonel's colour was
yellow with a St. George canton, Sergeant Major's colour had added one black
5-point star, 1st Captain's colour two stars, 2nd Captain's colour three stars,
3rd Captain's colour four stars, 4th Captain's colour five stars as shown below.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8
November 2010
Ian Sumner once wrote that there was no known surviving colours of English
Line Regiments, maybe this is the exception. I have an image of the flag in
question. The description of the yellow band colours in the early 1640s was
accurate but as time marched towards 1690, a slight change was made, I believe,
by the re-positioning of the black star for the sergeant major's colour or maybe
this was the original all along.
This flag is from pre -1690 & post 1690.
The whole flag is not shown in the photo but at least most of it is. The rest of
the flag is currently covered. This flag measures 74 inch's by 81 inch's, yellow
silk in colour, faded with time. The flag was taken into battle, at the Battle
of the Boyne 1690 by one of the Regiment's belonging to William the III.
Question is which one? It was carried by Ensign Watson. There was an
Captain-Lieutenant Watson in the Irish Regiment Establishment, 'Inniskilling
foot'' 1691, possibly he was the ensign in 1690 but where does the flag fit in,
that's my dilemma or was it another Regiment who took it into battle with
another ensign Watson. There were many Watsons in William of Orange's armies at
the time. All went on to become Captains around that time period 1690s.
This yellow silk flag has been kept in the Watson family for generations & has
been used on two other occasions in British & Irish history: as part of British
history - the opening of the Exeter Canal basin, 29 September 1830. The blue
attachment marked "'Correspondence "' was by M Watson:
http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/canalbasin.php.
As part of
Irish history: the Ulster covenant 1912. An ancient yellow silk banner.
http://www.boyneobelisklol1690.com/interesting_facts.php
The flag
has been protected for generations by Watsons who were Commanders, Captains &
Rear-admirals in the Royal Navy (over 300 years RN). Watsons roles in the Royal
Navy were extensive & rich in history. The first known member of the Watson
family was a Page of the Bed Chamber to William The III from 1689-1703.
I
am trying to match the flag to the Regiment who carried it, into the Battle of
the Boyne. Knowing that its history originated from the London Yellow bands is a
good start. Of course now we have identified the flag as being the Sergeant
Major's colour.
I am keenly interested in the Yellow Regiment banners. On this site:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40113/40113-h/40113-h.htm#page41 (Hulme, The
Flags of the World, etc. [hul94] - [hul97] (green cover)) I found this flag on
the plate, belonging to the 'London Train Bands; The Yellow Regiment 1643. This
flag is square at the fly. It is an ancient yellow silk colour & bore a cross of
St George at the upper hoist. There is one device in the middle of the flag, a
black 5 pointed star turned through 45 degrees to the hoist, so its point is
pointed directly at the corner of the canton.
Phillip Edwards, 21
December 2014
This modern text (http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/canalbasin.php)
claims "The flag flying at the bow of the first boat to enter the basin formerly
belonged to William of Orange, when he landed at Brixham, in 1688. The colour
was loaned, for the opening, by a descendent of the Watson family who had held
it since he landed. (FP)"
The attribution is for the information only; the
article in the Exeter Flying Post, 18 June 1879, doesn't word it that way (and
the article itself is also almost 50 years after the event.)
Concerning the blue attachment marked "'Correspondence "' by M Watson:
"... Observing in your last paper (Nov. 28th) an enquiry respecting a banner
under which William the Third (then Prince of Orange) landed in England, I beg
to acquaint you that the banner, (/without/ /inscription/ ) is now in the
possession of the family of the Watsons, having descended to the late Capt.
Joshua Rowley Watson R.N., from his great grandsire from Ireland, who was with
the Prince on his landing in this country ..."
All three agree that the
Watson flag is supposed to be the flag under which William of Orange landed in
Brixham, though. As I understood the story, the troops William III brought with
him from The Netherlands were, as could be expected, Dutch troops. It would seem
unlikely that such an expedition would include a typical London Train Bands
flag.
From
http://www.boyneobelisklol1690.com/interesting_facts.php:
"On the 28th
September 1912, Ulster Day The Boyne Standard, an ancient-looking yellow silk
banner carried by an Ensign Watson before William of Orange at the Battle of the
Boyne on 01st July 1690, was carried after noon religious services flanked by
smartly turned-out guard of men wearing bowler hats and carrying batons, along
Bedford Street and into City Hall to a large round table draped with a Union
Flag where upon the Ulster Covenant was signed in City hall and in other venues
in Belfast"
Now, generally, the Boyne Standard is orange, with a purple
star, but this need not be true for the original.
Concerning the "ancient yellow silk banner", the problem with that, is that
what we have is a website that doesn't seem to give sources. I'll leave it to
others whether London troops were present at the Battle of the Boyne, but this
website simply doesn't tell us where the information comes from. The best I can
find, so far, are the words of Rev. Mervyn Gibson, on the occasion of the 2012
Convenant Celebrations: <http://www.royalyork.org.uk/2011_10_01_archive.html>,
posted 6 October 2011. However, whether these are his own flowery words, thought
up for the occasion, or whether he is quoting some older source, I'm not sure.
However, with 1912 we're in the age of the photo camera. Such an historic
event will surely have been captured, so it's probably possible, somewhere, to
see what that Boyne Standard looked like.
The
illustrations from Hulme referred to, combined with the photograph from
Phillip Edwards, yields this image.
The ratio seemed closest to 7:8, so that's what I used. The difference with the
yellow second captain as we have it are: a smaller canton, a thicker St. George
cross, and the star being centred, rather than placed in the first position
after the canton.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 14 May 2015
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The devices had not always been
ordered per bend. There were e.g. also 2nd Captain's colours having three
stars ordered as a triangle 1:2 and 4th captain's colour having five stars
ordered in quincunx.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael
Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was yellow, the devices were blue piles starting from the canton and
pointing to centre, looking somehow like rays coming out from the canton. The
Sergeant Major's colour was yellow with one blue pile coming out of the
canton, 2nd Captain's colour was the same with three piles.
Ian Sumner,
Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was red,
the devices were white piles wavy radiating from the canton to the centre, the
Sergeant Major's colour had one pile wavy.
Ian Sumner, Christopher
Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The Second Captain's colour had
three piles wavy.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael
Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The
sheet was red, the devices were white discs, the Sergeant Major's colour had
one disc.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider,
8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was white, the devices were red lozenges pointing at the
upper hoist corner, the Sergeant Major's colour had one lozenge.
Ian
Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The
sheet was white, the devices were red piles wavy radiating from the canton to
the centre, the Sergeant Major's colour had one pile wavy.
Ian Sumner,
Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet
was blue, the devices were white discs, the Sergeant Major's colour had one
disc.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider,
8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was blue, the devices were yellow piles starting from
the canton and pointing at the centre, looking somehow like rays coming out from
the canton, the Sergeant Major's colour was blue with one yellow pile.
Ian
Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was green, the devices were white 3-point caltraps rotated anti
clockwise 45° thus pointing at the upper hoist corner, the Sergeant Major's
colour had one caltrap.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was green, the devices were yellow piles
wavy radiating from the canton to the centre, the Sergeant Major's colour had
one pile wavy.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael
Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was orange, the devices were white slipped trefoils rotated anti
clockwise 45° thus pointing at the upper hoist corner, the Sergeant Major's
colour had one trefoil.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
A variant of the 3rd Captain's colour showed the four trefoils ordered rhombish.
Ian Sumner, Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8
November 2010
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010
The sheet was orange, the devices were
white discs, the Sergeant Major's colour had one disc.
Ian Sumner,
Christopher Southworth and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 November 2010