Or have I?
I have been, for some time, mulling over building a Wars of the Roses (WotR) army. The biggest obstacle to getting started has been not being able to decide which side to represent or at least which side to represent first. Delving deeper into one line of my genealogy (mother's side) seemed to have solved the issue for me... or so I thought.
Comparing a database list of those involved in the WotR to my family tree showed a ratio heavily weighted towards the Lancastrians. There it was. The first retinue(s) were finally going to be planned. Then I decided to go looking for flags/banners/pennants and found a link to the archived Grimsby Wargames Society. On the very last sheet of Yorkist flags was the one name I know is legitimately an ancestor (DNA matched distant relatives); Sir William Skipwith (oddly spelled Skypwyth on the flag sheet).
Now, I really wanted to start with Yorkist troops but I can't seem to find any information at the moment regarding Sir William Skipwith and his possible participation in the WotR. Another probable ancestor, Sir Lionel de Welles, at least has some information available. There are also commercially available banner and livery decals for him, which helps in deciding on my first retinue to build and paint. That said, it looks like the Lancastrians are the only real option for me at the moment unless I somehow managed to stumble on information on the Skipwith connection that has so far managed to evade detection.
