THE English Civil War came to Oswestry last week to remind the town of its past, thanks to a Rotary club.

Sir Percy Chisholm, a mythical Cavalier from the 17th Century, suddenly burst in on the weekly meeting of Borderland Rotary, everyone was stunned – and rightly so.

Sir Percy – or Justin Soper as he is known – joined the meeting to explain how the Battle of Oswestry was fought.

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He said: “I am here to remind those that know, and tell those that don’t, about the Battle of Oswestry, which took place during the English Civil War on June 22 and 23, 1644 when Parliamentarians led by Lord Denbigh and Sir Thomas Myddelton attacked and took control of the Royalist garrison in Oswestry, commanded by Colonel Edward Lloyd.”

The English Civil War was fought between the Royalists, who supported the King Charles I and the Parliamentarians, led by Oliver Cromwell, and it lasted from 1642 to 1651.

At that time, Oswestry was far smaller, and the castle was surrounded by dwellings and shops, within a town wall, which is now only remembered in street names, but the central layout was much as it is today.

“On that fateful day,” continued Sir Percy, “Colonel Lloyd had, in fact, been replaced by a Colonel Shipman as Lloyd was thought to be rather too fond quaffing ale and feasting handsomely and neglecting his duties.

“And so, a Parliamentarians force arrived, surrounded the town, and drove a small Royalist force out of St Oswald’s Church after a short exchange of fire.

“They then brought up a canon and partly destroyed Newgate, (just by what is now, Festival Square), but not so that their troops could enter the town.

“Seeking a volunteer to clear the way, George Cranage stepped forward, on the promise of pay, a liberal amount of ale and the loan of an axe he cleared the wreckage of Newgate.

“The shock of this panicked the Oswestry garrison and they hastily retreated behind the gates of the outer bailey.

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“Well,” said Sir Percy grandly, “George Cranage was at it once again, having been plied with much strong drink and promised more money he was armed with a petard – a bomb in today’s parlance – and advanced to the inner gates where he set and detonated the devise to much effect and the garrison again scrambled, in disarray, back to the Castle itself.”

He was then asked for a photograph by the club which he said he did not know what it was, and was thanked.