WE HAPPY FEW, WE BAND OF BROTHERS

from Maureen Storey

 This article was originally published in the August 2010 edition of Soul Search, the journal of The Sole Society

This database contains information on men who served in the forces of the English crown between 1369 and 1453. a period that includes Henry V's campaigns in France, most notably the Battle of Agincourt (1415) at which the power of the English archers was so decisively demonstrated . The details were extracted from  www.icmacentre.ac/soldier/database/ whose three databases are each taken from different types of record: namely, muster rolls, protections and attorneys, and Normandy garrison records.

The muster rolls database (94,962 entries in total) was compiled from those for the years 1369-1453 held at The National Archive. The muster rolls cover both land (mainly overseas) and naval expeditions and were probably drawn up in advance of a campaign and then repeated at least once during the formal muster before embarkation.

The protections and attorneys database (25,495 entries in total) also covers the years 1369-1453 and is taken from letters of protection and powers of attorney granted and recorded on Treaty rolls, Gascon rolls, and Scottish rolls, held at The National Archives. Protections and attorneys were legal instruments that were taken out by men prior to undertaking military service and as such can only be taken as evidence of intent to serve and not that the man concerned actually did serve. A letter of protection protected the individual from prosecution whilst serving overseas and by a power of attorney an individual could appoint legal representatives to act for him during his absence.

The Normandy  garrisons database (128,525 entries in total) covers the years 1415-1453. It lists men who served the English crown in the Normandy garrisons during the English occupation of Normandy. The information it contains was taken from records from the period that have since been dispersed to a number of repositories, many in France, as well as The National Archives.