ECW - Blackwell's Pike

[MondayKnight]

Once, long, long ago........ I was stationed at an Air Force Base far away (Ok, Ipswich).  While there I was lucky enough to find a bunch of great Englishmen who introduced me to the ECWS and I spend two years fighting for Thomas Blackwell's pike.  I recently found several packs of ECW figures and I remember we were basically dressed in black and dark greys.  There are two things I am missing for complete my project:

1) I can not find a good image of any standard for Blackwell's units (something I can make into a homedone banner OR even better a decal sheet containing his colors in 15mm). 

2) and more importantly for actually painting his pike unit, any record of any battles they actually participated in.  When they are finished I would be interested in putting together a game for our local convention with Blackwell's pike front and center!

Thanks!

Will

[1ngram]

Look here: http://wiki.bcw-project.org/royalist/foot-regiments/sir-thomas-blackwell

You will see there is also a reenactor group.

ken

[MondayKnight]

Cool!  Thanks........ Yep, that was the ECWS unit I belonged to.  Now I have the flag image I can build from! 

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

I started a thread here for ECW re-enactors photos:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=123815.0

If you have any photos of your time with Blackwells, please post?

[robh]

Cool!  Thanks........ Yep, that was the ECWS unit I belonged to.  Now I have the flag image I can build from!

I am not convinced by that flag. When I was a member of the ECWS incarnation of the regiment (Musketeer) the flag was based on the family arms not the Oxford pattern. Paul W (then Ensign now Captaine I believe) was very serious about the research.
It should be : White field with charge of 3 gold (or potentially black) greyhounds (depicted running) and the red cross in the canton. The dogs one above the other on a higher left to lower right slope (bend in heraldic terms)

As "my" regiment I also field Blackwell's in my ECW Royalist army (6mm) but always brigaded, given the maximum historic strength never reached 100 total all ranks it does not represent well in most gaming figure ratios.  At some of the events I took part in the re-enactment regiment strength was actually greater than the historic counterpart.

Best regiment in the ECWS 

[MondayKnight]

Best regiment in the ECWS 

Always was!  At one point Blackwell's have about 10 US Soldiers in their ranks, none of us small fellows.  We rarely lost a push unless we were double teamed.  We used to laugh that Blackwell raided the colonies for more troops!

Glad to hear the regiment is still going strong, but I doubt many of the members would remember a bunch of GI's from the late 1980s. 

-W

[ecwcaptain]

If you look at the most recent research from Stuart Peachey, etc., from Partizan Press/Caliverbooks, they believe Blackwells carried colours with a black field (unknown devices), and were probably dressed in blue uniforms (or at least coats) as they arrived with the Queen's convoy days after the refit of the Oxford Army. That said, it's nice to field units you re-enact, regardless. For me, in the US, I made sure I painted the King's Lifeguard of Foote (the unit I was C.O.) of, the best.

[Radar]

Peachey and Prince argue that the Queen's Escort (Blackwell, Eure, Queen's Lifeguard, Tyldesley, and D'Arcy) may have benefited from any surplus clothing from the 1643 clothing issue, but it is pure supposition. If their theory is correct they could have received red or blue clothing, or even a combination of the two.

We know that Blackwell's benefitted from the winter clothing issue after Lostwithiel (Sept 1644) but no colours were recorded.