ABSTRACT
On 11 March, Fauconberg led the van northwards from London. The Duke of Somerset had his muster on the gentle plateau swells between the villages of Towton and Saxton, tents and bothies crowding behind the formidable barrier of the River Aire. Andrew Boardman, in his excellent and definitive study of the battle, comments on the difficulties over these actions, lumped together as the 'Battle' for Ferrybridge. Jean de Waurin gives a different view of the battle. He describes Edward, from Pontefract, dispatching John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, to scout the Lancastrians at Ferrybridge. At one point Edward was saved by the swift action of a Welsh retainer Davyd ap Mathew. In recognition of this, and in addition to material reward, the King granted his saviour the honour of standard bearer and the insertion of 'Towton' into the family arms.
