Welsh Journals

Sir Rhys ap Thomas, a Knight of Wales certain, Eight thousand spears brought he; Sir Rhys ap Thomas shall break the array, For he will fight and never flee.' and further: Then Sir Rice ap Thomas drawes Wales with him, A worthy sight it was to see.21 The figure of 'eight thousand spears' is probably a very considerable exaggeration, but even if it were three-fold it means that Sir Rhys provided a very substantial proportion of Henry's army. In addition there were the men of 'North Wales and the valley of the Dee'. Richard III was by no means without adherents in Wales, and one example will suffice. According to Evans: Richard III found at least one loyal Welshman in these parts in the person of Richard Williams, the constable of Pembroke Williams had no force at his command which could resist an army of 2000. He himself probably hastened to Nottingham where the King received news of the landing. This fact has never been fully appreciated, that though Nottingham is nearly 200 miles distant from Milford, Richard was informed of Henry's coming within four days of the actual event, surely a tribute to the loyalty and expeditious movements of Williams. He fought with Richard at Bosworth .22 The significance of the office of constable of Pembroke Castle becomes more apparent when it is recalled that the post had previously been held by Henry, Duke of Buckingham. An important 'preliminary' to Bosworth was informing Richard that the dangerous threat to his Kingship had now materialised; and the hazardous journey by Richard Williams across a difficult countryside at the rate of fifty miles a day should have ensured his name a place in the handbook. It was one of the great rides of British history. There is another striking example of silence on all matters of Welsh interest in The Battle of Bosworth. In his disastrous attempt during the massive cavalry charge, to reach Henry Tudor, it is said that Richard Ill's lance transfixed Sir Henry Brandon, the Standard-Bearer at the initial impact. Other accounts state that Richard's weapon was a battle-axe. The fact of Brandon's death is duly noted in the handbook, but it would have been equally appropriate to state that immediately afterwards in the throes of that desperate struggle Henry entrusted the Standard of the Red Dragon for the rest of the day to Rhys Fawr ap Meredydd o Hiraethog, a man of massive strength and stature.23 This is further evidence, were it needed, that Henry had the close support of his fellow-countrymen at the most critical moments of that battle.24,25 In vain does one look for the name of Rhys Fawr ap Meredydd in the literature provided at the Battlefield Centre. There he shares an undeserved oblivion with Rhys ap Thomas and other compatriots. In Wales Rhys Fawr has not been forgotten. After the battle of Bosworth he