…Including some personal reminiscences by Bob Partridge, formerly Commanding Officer (amongst other things).

(this is an article written by Bob in 1992, which was found floating about on the web - johno)

The Sealed Knot was formed in 1968 (as you must all know). Almost immediately the initial enthusiasts began raising regiments and recruiting their friends, who recruited their friends etc. etc.

Prince Maurice's Regiment was probably formed in 1968 or at the latest in 1969. It was raised by Maurice Burton-Crawford in the West Country. Maurice was at that time living in Brixham (my hometown). I distinctly remember seeing recruiting posters on local shops in early 1969. I was keen to join then, but none of my school friends were interested so I forgot all about the Sealed Knot until 1975 when I was working in Bridgewater in Somerset.

The Sealed Knot were reenacting the Battle of Sedgemoor. Working for Barclays Bank, my branch manager was a member of the local Lions Club who were sponsoring the event and a few of us were "volunteers " to help with distributing posters and selling programmes. This was no hardship as there were several of us in digs during the week with little else to do and we stayed for the weekends activities. For a week, the town was full of oddly dressed people, who seemed to spend most of their time in pubs. The battles and parades were wonderful and two of us decided we just had to join. Not knowing anyone in the Sealed Knot, we wrote off to the Membership Secretary and were advised that we had been posted to Prince Maurice's Regiment as Dragoones. (We had expressed a preference to be Royalists). We were told to contact Maurice Burton-Crawford, the Commanding Officer, who would give us further details of uniform etc. (I will admit that at this time I had never heard of Prince Maurice and assumed that the Regiment had been named after Maurice Burton-Crawford, who had assumed the title of "Prince" within the Society ... I was probably only slightly wrong on this!).

By the time we joined, the campaigning season was almost over. Maurice had moved to Horrabridge in Devon so all our contact with him was through the post to begin with. We were given details of uniform and set about making them. At this time there were hardly anyone making costumes and very few merchants, so most people had to make their own uniforms.