The latest stamp issue coincides with the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Tewksbury, said to be one of the defining battles of the Wars of the Roses.
Choosing how to mark a significant series of events in a country's history is difficult. Different historians will have their own thoughts on which was the most significant battle - if the Lord Protector of Henry VI, Richard Duke of York, hadn't led an attack on London which resulted in the Battle of St Albans in 1455 then things might have turned out differently, but once that started it was downhill all the way.
History Hit records Five Key Battles, with the second one being the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 where Richard was killed, but what happened between the two? And Tudor Times records 17 in total!
As Commonwealth Stamps Opinion summarised it when the issue was announced:
Wars of the Roses, 550th anniversary of the Battles of Barnet (14 April 1471) at which
Warwick The Kingmaker was killed, and Tewkesbury (4 May
1471) at which Edward IV crushed the Lancastrians and killed Edward
Prince of Wales and other important Lancastrians, hence securing his rule
until his death in 1483.
Following the various accounts is sometimes confusing. The name 'Edward' for instance occurs on both sides as you will see in the preceding paragraph, so by reading on isolated battles it is not always easy to know who is fighting whom and for what.
Rather than issue 17 or more stamps Royal Mail has selected 8 battles and portrays them in this set in reverse chronological order, thus ensuring that the Battle of Tewkesbury gets maximum exposure as it is on a 2nd class stamp.
Additional details about the depictions from the artist's Facebook page below the images.
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Wars of the Roses stamps. 2nd class: Bosworth and Tewkesbury.
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Wars of the Roses stamps. 1st class: Barnet and Edgecote Moor.
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Wars of the Roses stamps. £1.70: Towton and Wakefield.
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| Wars of the Roses stamps. £2.55: Northampton and St Albans 1. |
Artist's notes:
2nd class - Battle of Bosworth. King Richard is shown dressed in gilded armour, befitting a monarch
demonstrating his right to wear the crown of England as God's anointed
ruler, his surcoat and horse caparison bearing the Royal Arms and his
Standard fluttering above him. His trusted companion, Sir Robert Percy,
points out Henry Tudor amongst the enemy host, prompting the King to
make the decision to lead his household knights and retainers in their
thundering charge towards the challenger to his throne.
2nd class - Battle of Tewkesbury. Having reclaimed the throne of England and defeated the Earl of Warwick
at the battle of Barnet, the Yorkist King, Edward IV, marched his
forces from London to intercept those of Margaret of Anjou (wife of the
Lancastrian Henry VI) and her son, Prince Edward, who had landed at
Weymouth and were heading for Wales where supporters awaited them.
Denied
entry to Gloucester and it's bridge over the River Severn, Margaret was
forced to march her exhausted army to the next crossing point - at Tewkesbury.
Here, with the Royal army hard on their heels and insufficient time to
cross the river, they turned to confront their pursuers, the two armies
meeting on the 4th May 1471. Following a heavy bombardment
from the King's artillery, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, led the
Lancastrian right wing through the deep ditches and hedges that
intersected the battlefield and attacked the Yorkist left, under the
command of Edward's younger brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
However, the other Lancastrian divisions failed to support the attack
and Somerset's men were soon outflanked and routed, the rest of
Margaret's army disintegrating in defeat.
1st class - Battle of Barnet, fought on Easter Sunday, 14th April 1471. Edward IV leads his army through the fog that enveloped the battlefield and into the thick of the action, his banners flying above him and Knights of the Body beside him. Opposing the King are soldiers wearing the red livery of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, Edward’s one-time great ally, and in the background can be made out the ‘Kingmaker’ himself, along with his brother, John Neville, Marquess of Montagu.
1st class - Battle of Edgecote. As Sir Richard Herbert cuts his way through the rebel
army, his brother, the Earl of Pembroke, nearby, banners bearing the
Earl of Warwick’s badges are spotted advancing on the flank. Warwick,
often referred to as the ‘Kingmaker’ and once one of the Yorkists’
principal supporters, had now revealed himself as the force behind the
rebellion against his one-time great ally, King Edward IV. The battle
weary Yorkists assumed these approaching banners to herald the arrival
of the vanguard of Warwick’s army (it was not, but rather some local
‘rascals’ rounded up by one of Warwick’s retainers, John Clapham
Esquire, as a ruse to give that impression), prompting their collapse
and rout, and the two Herbert brothers, Sir William and Sir Richard,
were captured and taken to Northampton, where they were summarily
beheaded the following day on Warwick’s orders.
£1.70 - Battle of Towton, fought on a bitterly cold 29th March 1461. The Yorkist archers,
with the wind and driving snow at their backs, shoot their deadly
volleys of arrows into the advancing Lancastrian army, while Edward IV
and his knights and men-at-arms move through the ranks to meet their
oncoming foe.
£1.70 - Battle of Wakefield. On
December 30th, 1460, the heirs of the Lancastrian Nobles killed at St.
Albans found themselves able to avenge their fathers' deaths when their
army trapped the Duke of York and Earl of Salisbury in Sandal Castle,
near Wakefield. Lured out from the safety of the castle walls and into
open battle, York's heavily outnumbered force found themselves
surrounded and in the fierce melee that followed, York and many of his
followers lost their lives, his son, Edmund, among them. The Earl
of Salisbury was captured and taken to Pontefract by the Duke of
Somerset where he was summarily executed, his head joining those of the
other Yorkist leaders over the gates of York.
£2.55 - Battle of Northampton. Edward, Earl of March, kneels before Henry VI and proclaims his loyalty, having defeated the Royal army at Northampton
on 10th July 1460. The Earl of Warwick and Yorkist troops look on,
while one of the guns that failed to fire in the rain stands impotently
in the foreground.
£2.55 - Battle of St. Albans, the first battle of the Wars of the Roses, the market place still retains the medieval
layout and buildings such as the Abbey and clock tower provide fixed
points to help locate the events of 1455. The painting shows the
Earl of Warwick (centre) raising his visor to greet the Duke of York,
who is indicating towards the Castle Inn where the Duke of Somerset made
his last stand.
Technical details
The 50 x 30 mm gummed stamps are in horizontal pairs in sheets of 30/60 and are printed in Litho by ISP (Cartor). The battles have been "re-imagined by Graham Turner, a leading historical artist specialisting in medieval, military and motorsport subjects". Copyright Royal Mail.
Other products are a First Day Cover, stamp cards, and a presentation pack.
The presentation pack contains a useful explanation and timeline of the battles and key protaganists.
A framed set of stamps is available from Royal Mail for £29.99.
The stamps are available from the Royal Mail website shop from 20th April.
