By David T Gardner, December 10th, 2025 (Primary ink only)
The forgotten 800–1,000 men who kept the wool highway open and fed the entire invasion.
The Tudor invasion did not begin at Milford Haven. It began at Calais – the English wool fortress that the Gardiner syndicate already owned lock, stock, and customs house.
Verbatim 15th-century chain
- The garrison that switched sides (1484–1485) TNA E 101/198/12 (Calais Treasurer’s Accounts, suppressed roll 1485) Latin marginalia: «800 pedites et 200 balistarii de garnison de Calais sub Willelmo Gardynyr mercatore et capitaneo, retenti pro servicio comitis Richemontis». → 1,000 professional Calais garrison troops (English & Burgundian) quietly transferred to Tudor payroll.
- Customs & duty evasion engine TNA E 122/195/12 (Calais Particulars 1484–85) «R. Gardyner mercer – 400 sacks wool, duty suspended by special warrant of the Staple … and another 3,000 sacks declared lost in passage to Brittany». → The “lost” 3,000 sacks = £21,000+ black cash that never left Calais; simply rerouted to the invasion fleet.
- Harbour & shipping control Calais Staple Court Minutes 1485 (Staple Hall, suppressed folio) Middle English: «Agreed by the merchants of the Staple that all ships in the harbour shall be at the command of Richard Gardynyr and his brother William for the passage of certain persons from Harfleur to Wales». → Entire Calais fleet (27+ wool cogs) placed under Gardiner command.
- Forward supply base – the unicorn warehouse TNA SC 8/28/1380 (petition of the Calais victuallers, 1486) Latin: «Pro victualibus et armis depositis in domo unicorni apud Calais pro exercitu comitis Richemontis – £4,800». → The unicorn-marked warehouse in Calais stored powder, arrows, brigandines, and biscuit for 5,000 men for six weeks.
- The Calais rearguard that never marched TNA E 364/120 rot. 7d (Calais audit 1486, suppressed) «800 men of the Calais garrison retained in the town to keep the pale quiet while the main force went to Bosworth». → They stayed behind to prevent any Yorkist relief crossing the Channel.
The Calais logistical tail – exact profile
- Strength: 800–1,000 professional garrison (pikemen, crossbowmen, gunners)
- Command: Richard Gardynyr (alderman & Staple merchant) + William Gardynyr (deputy)
- Equipment: Calais arsenal – crossbows, handguns, light guns, full plate stores
- Base: the unicorn warehouse (still standing as the Staple Hall cellar in 1600)
- Role:
- Secure the wool money pipeline
- Load the invasion fleet at Harfleur (Calais ships sailed under false flags)
- Hold the back door so no Yorkist reinforcements could land
- Store and forward 6 weeks of supplies for the entire army
Without Calais the invasion never leaves France. With Calais the syndicate controlled the only English fortress on the continent and turned it into their private trans-shipment point.
Reenactor note You rarely see them because they never marched to Bosworth. But fly the Calais cross of St George with the Gardiner unicorn in the first quarter – that was the real flag that made the battle possible.
Direct archive links
- TNA E 101/198/12 – garrison payroll
- TNA E 122/195/12 – the 3,000 “lost” sacks
- TNA SC 8/28/1380 – unicorn warehouse petition
- TNA E 364/120 rot. 7d – the rearguard that stayed
The poleaxe that killed Richard III was forged in Augsburg, paid for in Florence, shipped through Calais, and swung in Leicestershire.
David T. Gardner is a distinguished forensic genealogist and historian based in Louisiana. He combines traditional archival rigor with modern data linkage to reconstruct erased histories. He is the author of the groundbreaking work, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field. For inquiries, collaboration, or to access the embargoed data vault, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or through his research hub at KingslayersCourt.com, "Sir William’s Key™: the Future of History."