Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley

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Walter Devereux (c. 1431 - 1485) was a minor member of the English peerage and a loyal supporter of the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses. He was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field, fighting for Richard III. Walter was born in Weobley, Herefordshire. At the age of only thirteen, Walter married Anne Ferrers - who predeceased him by seventeen years - and became Baron Ferrers of Chartley in right of his wife in 1462. As a Yorkist, he held many offices under Edward IV. In 1461 and 1469, Walter was commissioner of array for Herefordshire, Shropshire and Gloucestershire, as well as Worcestershire in 1469. He also served in 1470 and 1471, as joint commissioner of array for Herefordshire, and then again in 1474 for Herefordshire and Shropshire. Walter's military career was also thorough. He fought at Towton in 1461, where he was made a Knight of the Garter. He also fought at Barnet and Tewkesbury.

[edit] Death

Walter Devereux supported King Richard III during Richard's reign, and fought at Bosworth on the 22 August 1485. There, Lord Ferrers commanded in the vanguard under John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, alongside Sir Robert Brackenbury and Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. Devereux was slain during the initial fight with the Earl of Oxford's opposing van, fighting next to the young John, Lord Zouche. An in-law, Sir John Ferrers, was also killed at Bosworth.