They are long gone but not forgotten

by Louisa Adjoa Parker (Weymouth)

If it wasn’t for this battle, he says, shaking his head, history would have been changed. England could have become a colony of France. It was during the civil war. Royalists were planning to bring a French mercenary army into the port.

In February 1645 William Sydenham got hold of the conspiracy. The King sent 6500 men to secure the town, but a trap had been set. In every house in the High Street, an armed soldier was hidden. There were cannons in the street.

He describes it, as if remembering. It was 12 noon, 27th February. The army was lured in. When secured in the area the soldiers blew them into pieces. 500 people died right here, next to the Town Hall and the Boot Inn. Blood ran down the street.

The battle was kept quiet but not quite forgotten. Last February we marched from Sandsfoot Castle to the Town Hall, firing musket salutes and laying wreaths for the dead.

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What Louisa Adjoa Parker says about They are long gone but not forgotten:

Inspired by talking to members of the Chapelhay Community Partnership, who are developing the formerly deprived area of Chapelhay, to create an arts, heritage and cultural ‘hub’ for community use.