In 1519 Lord Dilbert O'Lacey, fourth Earl of Pomfret, despatched land forces to annex the nearby Kingdom of Knottingley, then known simply as East Pontefract. In a campaign of slash and burn, the Pomfret forces swept all before them, quickly running the population of Knottingly into the wastes of Goole.
With the support of French mercenaries and an unexpectedly violent cohort of Italians (proto Mafians) Knottingly struck back under the leadership of Beau d'Oca. Trained in tactical warfare in the French Foreign Legion, Beau d'Oca brought charriots across from Holland (Now The Netherlands) while the French monarch loaned ships.
A heavily armed Pontefract flotilla of gun ships and galleons which set sail in September 1522 came upon the French-sponsored fleet in the mouth of the River Calder. All Knottingley ships were stood down for vittles, the consequence of which was drastic. While d'Orca's forces were scattered,
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| Bon Marche in 1508 |
Bon Marche, the French commander held firm but, outgunned by the Pontefract forces, was forced into the shallows around Tanshelf. With an off-shore breeze building to strong, gusty conditions as the tide began to turn, the French flotilla was forced back into the range of the Pontefract guns and commander Geoffory Boycott - the so-called Drake of Ackworth - was able to deploy his forces ship by ship to destroy the French fleet literally ship by ship.
"It was a sad day for a proud sea-faring nation," commented Boycott in his journal. A French captain, now unaccredited but perhaps Bon Marche himself, wrote "C'était un jour triste pour une nation fière de navigation."
With the French support now in tatters, O'Lacey was able to march triumphantly through all of Knottingly, taking control even of western parts of Goole by 1530.
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| Beau d'Oca (Centre) with Stills and Nash |
Dale Winton, a rare glimpse |