Ferdinando Babbington's Company of Shotte
From the Officer of Shotte:
Welcome to Ferdinando Babbington's Company of Shotte or Blackwell’s Musketeers. “Musketeers” you say what like D’Artangan & co, Errol Flynn and Ollie Reed swashbuckling and drinking their way through France!
Not quite, the uniforms are less glamorous perhaps and the usual weapon of choice is the matchlock musket, a smooth bore muzzle loading musket fired by a slow burning cord or 'match'. Mind you we could probably rival Ollie and company in the drinking and roistering front! In addition Musketeers wore a bandolier, a leather belt slung across the left shoulder, from which hung twelve containers each with a measured charge of gunpowder plus a priming flask of fine powder and a bag of lead ball. Each musketeer would also carry a leather bag containing ready-made cartridges, a spare powder flask and a sword.
Musketeers were essentially a 17th Century equivalent of todays Army Private and were used to deliver devastating volleys or fire by individual ranks to keep up a steady rate of fire. It must be said that they were not very accurate guns beyond short distances and more soldiers probably died of lead poisoning weeks after than were killed outright. For hand to hand fighting the musketeer carried a sword but with a musket weighing about 5 to 6 kgs the butt of the musket made an effective club.
The Blackwell’s Musketeers of today!
We are a company which, over the years, has gained a reputation for some excellent volleys, quick (and safe) reloading and generally having a good time whilst doing what we do best - burning black powder and the Regimental drill session on each morning of a muster is where you will be taught and re-taught the forty-something movements involved in safely loading and firing a musket until you are ready to take musket and powder onto the battlefield.
You really don’t have to be experienced with guns or battles and there are no age limits (as long as you are semi fit anyway) to becoming a Blackwell’s musketeer. After all look at me I am now officer commanding the shotte; but I started at Powderham Castle in 1991 as a 4’ 10” asthmatic who had never fired a gun, and only came to a muster to baby sit a mates kids (whilst he was battling) and laze about at the beer tent. However, after a night’s drinking and awakening with a hangover the next day I found a grinning mate outside saying he had volunteered me for musket block and later that afternoon I found my self on the field of battle as a dummy(non firing) Musketeer, which is a good way to gain experience of what is expected of you as you are surrounded by all the older lags who know the ropes and can guide you through.
I never looked back its great fun and a great way of venting the frustrations of work with the added bonus of making long and enduring friendships which I would have otherwise missed out on. So come and give it a go, all are welcome! The Regiment can supply on loan (for a small charge) a musket and all your clothing for your first events. To fire properly you will need a Shotgun Licence and a ‘Licence to Acquire Explosives’/ Black powder Licence (the Regiment can assist with the administration and finance of obtaining these licences when required) like me you can start by taking the field with a ‘dummy’ musket for which no licence is required, whilst still learning all the necessary drill movements.
Laura Simpson,
Lieutenant of Shotte
Oh to be a musketeer...
If you’re reading this thinking "do people join just from reading this website?" – the answer is "yes". My name is Mel Burgess and I joined Blackwell’s Musketeers back in 2005 from reading something like you are reading now. Without sounding over-sentimental, it really is one of the best things I’ve ever done! I turned up at my first muster on my own with a tent garishly decorated like a Union Jack. I was soon "noticed" and then taken the mickey out of. I think I knew I’d made it then and, once the muster was over, I couldn’t wait for the next one. It’s still the same now.
Our comrades in the Pike Block do a sterling job, which involves a great deal of physical prowess, but I can assure you the musketeers fight just as hard. There is nothing like the buzz you get when you go to fire – that earth-shattering noise made by an entire block firing really gets the adrenalin going. It makes your ears ring sometimes too! Blackwells Musketeers have a good reputation at being fast at what they do and being prepared to get stuck into all the messy jobs that other regiments shy away from. You get to practice your stunt falls when you are supposed to get shot and then take on some amateur acting skills when you’re meant to be dying in agony. On top of that, it’s not all firing. When we play club musket, we turn the weapon around and go in for a bit of hand to hand violence – all pretend, of course.
It may seem a little overwhelming when you first see it all, but everyone will make sure you know what you’re doing, and it soon becomes second nature. It’s funny thinking I only joined a few years ago, because I really feel part of it now. I’m proud I know how to use a 17th century musket, and that I know how to make my own cartridges to fire with. Yes, it does hurt a bit getting up in the morning and going to receive your gunpowder, whilst the Pike boys and girls take it easy, but it’s well worth the effort. Everything I know I learnt from scratch and if I can do it – anyone can!
And then there’s the social side too. I’ve seen and experienced some fantastic things. I’ve danced like a loon in my kit, got thrown off a mechanical bull at high speed, and spent evenings in conversations that may mean everything or nothing at all. Blackwells are a wonderful group of people. I have made friends with people that I would never have known unless I’d turned up in that Union Jack tent all those years ago. These are friendships that can’t be imitated. There’s a sense of loyalty and comradeship that you just can’t get anywhere else, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Mel Burgess,
Musketeer,
Proud to fight in Black..