Sir John Gell’s Regiment of Foot

Flag Illustration	1)
Active	1642 to 1646
Country	England
Allegiance	Parliamentarian
Conflicts	First Civil War
Type	Foot
Colonel	Sir John Gell
Area Raised	Derbyshire
Coat Colour	Grey
Flag Colour	Yellow
Flag Design	Blue Mullets
Field Armies	Gell

Regiment of foot raised by Sir John Gell, commander of Parliamentarian forces in Derbyshire

• September: Gell commissioned Colonel by the Earl of Essex
• October: Company of greycoats raised from Hull
• October: At Wirksworth
• October: In garrison at Derby
• November: Initial recruiting completed
• December: Taking of Bretby House
• December: Detachment at Nottingham

• January: Attempted siege of Tutbury Castle
• 5th January: Skirmish at Swarkestone Bridge
• February: Plunder Elvaston Manor
• 28th February: First siege of Newark
• 4th March: Siege of Lichfield
• 19th March: Battle of Hopton Heath
• May: Promenade in the Vale of Belvoir
• July: Skirmish at Wootton Lodge?

• February: Storm of King's Mills
• March: Skirmish at Eggington Heath
• July: Storm of Wilne Ferry
• July: Siege of South Wingfield
• August: Take Burton on Trent?

• July to September: Siege of Hereford?
• November: Siege of Belvoir Castle

• January: Skirmish at East Stoke
• April: Siege of Tutbury Castle
• October: Disbanded

Major Molanus was sent to Coventry to collect two sakers in November/December 1642. These sakers would be used against Bretby House, Tutbury Castle and Swarkestone Bridge. Gell had received information that Tutbury's garrison were “devoured (of) all the provison they had” ²⁾ so sent 300 foot to take the castle. Gell's men dug in and started bombarding the castle; however Gell's information was incorrect and it was discovered that the Castle had been resupplied. The force under Molanus was quickly diverted to Swarkestone Bridge, attacking the Royalist positions on the 5th of January. The Royalists repelled the attack but in their retreat Gell's men killed seven or eight and wounded many. Part of Swarkestone Bridge was also demolished.

Sir John Gell's foot wore grey coats. His descendants still possess a foot ensign that is highly likely to be one carried by the regiment. It is golden-yellow with five blue stars, probably belonging to the fourth or fifth or captain's company. The flag is now displayed at the National Army Museum in London. Another colour of this type survived until the 1800s but has been lost³⁾.

It is possible that only Gell's own company (and possibly that of his brother and Lieutenant Colonel) were uniformed. The draft of 120 men he received from Hull had been issued with uniform from the Irish stores before they left London. The arrival of one of these men is noted in a later petition. “your peticoner comeing from Hull with that Company of ffoote, called Grey coates”. ⁴⁾ Other men joined the Company later “That your peticoners husband Thomas Milnes was a souldier under Sr William Waller for a certayne time, and after was under Colonell Gell of the grey Coates company.” ⁵⁾. The unit still maintained it's identity in 1645 when a bill recorded the making of “Shooes for Grey Coates” ⁶⁾

An undated bill ⁷⁾ records the making of suits for 4 of the Colonel's and 1 of the Lieutenant Colonel's soldiers unfortunately no colour was recorded, but those for the Colonel's men had 21 buttons each as well as lace. This contrasts with what we know of soldiers from other companies who seem to have been issued with cloth. For example William Hitch a private soldier under Major Mollanus between January 1643 and October 1646 received only 3 1/2 yards of cloth and a pair of coarse stockings and had his shoes repaired. ⁸⁾

The Victorian romance “Master Dod's Blessing” makes specific reference to “Sir John Gell's grey coats, [and] some of my Lord Grey's own blues”, although a 19th-century children's story might not be considered a reliable source.⁹⁾

Sir John Gell

• Colonel Sir John Gell
• Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gell (10/11/42 - 01/10/46)¹⁰⁾
• Major Johannes Molanus ¹¹⁾
• Captain White ¹²⁾
• Captain Saunders ¹³⁾

Gell's are re-eancted by Sir John Gell's Regiment of Foot of the Sealed Knot.