MILITARY ROLES

Scroll down for pike, artillerie and musket. For guidelines on our uniforms see Our Regiment.

Officers (Commanding Officer, Second in Command, Company Commanders): The regiment is led by the Commanding Officer, known as the CO, followed by the Second in Command (2iC), then each discipline is lead by a Company Commander.

Ensign/Standard Bearer: Ensigns are ranking officers, standard bearers are appointed, therefore the clothing of an ensign would be better than a soldier but not as good as the higher officers. Standard bearers can either wear soldier's kit, or slightly smarter at the discretion of their commanding officer.

Drummers: Drummers play a special part in the regiment, as they give signals and orders during a battle when shouts cannot be heard, as well as providing a beat for us to march to.

If there is a spare drum within the regiment then one can be loaned, although if you decide to stay with our drum corp you'll eventually have to buy your own (especially as drums come in different sizes and we may not have a loan one which suits you). They are worn with a strap or sash across one shoulder, most drummers find the sash is much more comfortable as it spreads the weight of the drum. Drumsticks should be wooden, solid, shaped, and without leather padded heads.

Predominantly a non-combatant role, you still get the thrill of being in the middle of the battle. You don't need any special musical talent to drum, so long as you can keep a beat you will be taught the rest by experienced drummers, forming a drummers' corp when on the march behind the colours but ahead of the pike and musket.

In the English Civil War, drummers were not boys but instead seasoned soldiers, usually able to speak a foreign language, better educated and better paid than the fighting men (although some of them will have previously been soldiers). They were sent to parly with the opposition, although this is a dubious honour given that at least one was killed, put in his drum and his body rolled back to his army!

Cavalry: We don't have a cavalry unit, but there are specific cavalry regiments which skilled horse riders can join, either with or without their own horse. There is a requirement to pass a test before being able to ride with our cavalry.

Pioneers & Fireworkers: There is an independant company who manage our pyrotechnics, made up of people seconded from other regiments who have the appropriate licenses.

Sir Thomas Glemham's Pike Company

Armed with a 16ft pole called a pike and protected by a steel helmet and 'back and breast' armour, the pike form in to blocks. Pikemen are a trained unit, who fight against other pike blocks and counter cavalry charges. Being a pikeman is one of the most physcially demanding but exhilarating roles in re-enactment. Pikes are supplied by the regiment, helmets can be loaned out initially but you will probably want to get your own that fits you once you decide.

Pike is best!!

My name is John and I am a pikeman in Sir Thomas Glemham's regiment of The Sealed Knot Society, and I am going to tell you why I enjoy being a pikeman.

With back and breast armour and my trusty sword, my main weapon a seventeen foot pike (a long shaft of wood which would have had a metal spike on the end) and my head protector - a morion or pot as we call them - I am ready to take part in the battle. This is how soldiers would have dressed and fought during the civil war.

I and many other's are ready to fight for the King: we form up and get ready for the push of pike, the order goes out for close order and we all close up together, usually about sixteen to twenty of us together in one regiment, up against the same strength Parliamentarians. We move forward to engage, then we move forward and backwards before we break, form up and do it all again, about three or four times until we move the enemy. By this time the sweat is running down your back: we continue for about twenty minutes, meanwhile musket and cannon are going off all around and horsemen galloping towards you - it sets the adrenalin running!

When the battle is over, we form up and make our way back to campsite, you take off your armour, morion and put down your pike; peel off your shirt which is usually sticking to your back, and retire for a few well earned beers, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

I feel during the battle and afterwards that I have been transported back in time and that I am actually fighting a real battle for the King along with real men and women from that time and how exciting and exhilerating it is. If you want to feel the same come along and join in.

John Todd

Sir Thomas Glemham's Artillerie Company

If you enjoy loud bangs and lots of smoke then artillerie is for you! Gunners work as a team loading and firing working replica cannons to form support for front line troops. Glemham's have a number of cannons including King's Wrath, Queen's Scorn, a pair of falconets, and a number of smaller cannons called robinets and gallopers.

"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl" - Frederick II of Prussia

We have three cannons at the moment.

The largest of the three is named King's Wrath: this cannon has a bore of two and a half inches and is one of the largest guns in the regiment and the society. Its type is known as a Falconet. It fires a six ounce charge of black powder and is compacted with grass wad, with a crew of six people to run the gun during the battles we re-enact.

The second cannon is a Robinet called Queen's Scorn (pictured below), she has a bore of two inches and fires a charge of four ounces of black powder, needing a crew of five people. This is her second year and she had proved herself on the field many times, 'singing out' as loudly the bigger King's Wrath.

Our other cannon is called Stumpie, it has a bore of one and seven eighths of an inch. It fires a one ounce charge and is used at small events mainly. This cannon needs a crew of four people and can be moved at speed around the battlefield, its type being known as Gallopers or Battalier pieces.

We have a fourth piece due to join the Company once it has undergone rigorous testing to prove its safe to fire: he will be called Prince Valiant.

Team work is important as each crew person must do his or her job correctly or the cannon will not fire. The crew are commanded by a Gun Captain, he or she has been trained and tested and holds a certifcate of competence from the Sealed Knot. The cannons are fired in groups of three or four, these are known as batteries and they can fire individually or together. The Gun Captains take their orders from the Battery Commander who has an overall view of the battle, and knows where the best site is for their battery. The cannon belch out fire and smoke and the audience love to see and hear them. There is a thrilling aspect to artillerie work - the adrenalin stirs and much satisfaction is gained from a well run cannon.

Working the cannon

Each member of the crew has a job to do, these must be done correctly or the gun cannot be reloaded.

Each new member has to undergo some training before being allowed to crew on the battlefield. The Gun Captain gives the orders and loading then takes place, one step at a time!

The Orders

Search your piece. The breach is searched for burning debris using a pole with a corkscrew type end.

Wet mop your piece. A pole with a wet sheep skin mopped end is pushed down the barrel to extinguish any burning embers.

Dry mop your piece. A pole with a dry sheepskin mopped end is pushed down the barrel to dry out any water.

Vent your piece. At this stage the primer puts his or her thumb over the touch hole to stop sparks getting down the touch hole.

Put up your powder. A pre-bagged measured charge is placed into the barrel.

Push home your powder. Using a ram rod, the charge is pushed into the breach of the gun.

Push home your wad. The wad of grass is placed into the end of the barrel.

Ram your piece. The rammer then compacts the grass using the ram rod in a thrusting motion four or five times.

Prick your touch. The primer, using a non-ferous brass skewer, airates the powder from the bottom of the touch hole.

Prime your touch. The primer fills the touch hole with the loose powder from a powder flask or horn.

Cover your touch. The primer covers the touch till the cannon can be fired.

The Gun Captain shouts "Have a care" to warn others he is about to fire the piece. If it is safe, the Gun Captain fires the cannon using a linstock or field staff. This is a pole with a slow burning match cord attached to it, if it is safe he touches the burning cord into the powder in the touch hole, this fires the cannon.

Match cord is a natural rope soaked in a solution of saltpetre and warm water, it is left to dry out totally before use, the longer the rope is left in the solution the quicker it burns.

We are always looking for gun crews and people who want to become Gun Captains.

Battery Commander
David Murry-Fenwick

Sir Thomas Glemham's Musket Company

Musketeers are the mobile fire power of the regiment using matchlock muskets and swords on the battlefield. The musketeers form in to blocks and fire together to create a lethal volley of lead, although of course we don't live fire!

To become a musketeer, you will also need a shotgun certificate and a black powder licence, and help and guidance with gaining these will be provided by your regiment. It is worth bearing in mind that you will need to buy your own musket, and be able to store it to the satisfaction of your local police force. Prior to this, you can take to the field with a dummy musket which looks the part, but is not capable of firing.

At the back of our musket blocks you will usually see somebody with no musket or a dummy musket and wearing gloves, who occasionally takes all the lit match from the musket block. This is to allow our musketeers to fight hand-to-hand safely, once they have disengaged from the enemy and gone back to firing mode, they have to retrieve their lit match.

Whilst pikemen may say they are stronger than musketeers, muskets are quite heavy to carry too!

Life as a Musketeer

The musketeer is the mobile fire power of our 17th century army. We are equipped with a matchlock musket, a coat or suit of clothes, which often included a Montero (a soft hat similar to a balaclava), a bandolier, bullet bag and powder flask, and a sword for close combat.

The musket is a muzzle-loading weapon that relied on a charge of gunpowder ignited by a length of cord, or 'match', soaked in saltpetre. Numerous commands were required to prepare and fire it, so the rate of fire was fairly slow and largely ineffective, so they fought in blocks of up to 400 men as fighting en-mass enabled the accuracy question to be overcome, whilst also making the block easier to defend from cavalry.The musket is a muzzle-loading weapon that relied on a charge of gunpowder ignited by a length of cord, or 'match', soaked in saltpetre. Numerous commands were required to prepare and fire it, so the rate of fire was fairly slow and largely ineffective, so they fought in blocks of up to 400 men as fighting en-mass enabled the accuracy question to be overcome, whilst also making the block easier to defend from cavalry.

As a musketeer in the Sealed Knot you will be firing in blocks from 10 to 200 (army volleys), as well as engaging pike, cavalry and other musket blocks with clubbed muskets and sword - providing you have passed your Sealed Knot sword test, which is essential for safety.

Below, B'Stard's Battalia, including Sir Thomas Glemham's, show how safe firing can be achieved in a musket block in the midst of a battlefield:

Other necessary equipment for a musketeer, other than regimental dress, a sense of style and a certain degree of subtle wit and charm, are a powder horn, leather gloves and authentic leather shoes: either latchets or startups. We encourage members to buy their own muskets and swords, so there can be more of a financial investment when joining Sir Thomas Glemham’s Musket Company. However, we do of course have limited amounts of dress, swords and dummy muskets that we can lend to new members until they are able to buy their own.

Everyone who joins the Musket Company needs obtain appropriate licences, which we can help you fill in. To draw black powder and ‘live fire’ a musket on the battlefield you will need a shotgun certificate and a black powder acquire and use licence (this enables you to use but not to store black powder).

We offer full training in both musket and sword, as you will not be able to use either on the field without passing a Sealed Knot test. New members can, however, take a 'dummy' musket on the field so they can familiarise themselves with the drill and firing procedure. Safety is paramount and we take pride in our level of training and skill at arms that we achieve. We use proper 17th century drill in order to have the highest standards of authenticity.

So if you feel you’d like to have the flamboyance and status of being one of the King’s Musketeers come along and join in!

Alan Flower
Musketeer