'...sholde have dystrussyd hym'

In May 1473 John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, attempted to land a small invasion force at St Osyth in Essex. After the Lancastrian defeat at Barnet he had fled to France, by way of Scotland according to one account, and wound up at Dieppe in Normandy. Here he collected a squadron variously estimated at 80-397 men, presumably local mercenaries. Accompanied by his brothers, George and Thomas, and by Lord Beaumont, he set sail to try and revive a spark of Lancastrian resistance in England.

We know of Oxford's attempt at St Osyth thanks to a reference in one of the famous Paston Letters. In a letter dated 3 June 1473, Sir John Paston wrote to his brother, another John, reporting on local affairs. Near the end of the letter he remarks that the Earl of Oxford had tried to land at St Osyth on 28 May, only to be driven off by the Earl of Essex. If Oxford had not beaten a hasty retreat, Paston wrote, Essex:

'...by lyklyod sholde have dystrussyd him' (would have likely destroyed him)

The Earl of Essex was Henry Bourchier, a veteran of the French wars in his late 60s, who had been created earl by Edward IV after the Battle of Towton in 1461. Paston adds that Essex was reinforced by the lords Denham and Durasse, so Oxford must have been severely outnumbered: in the face of superior Yorkist forces, he wisely chose 'not to tarry long', as Paston put it.

Oxford's strategy is obvious. St Osyth, on the coast of north-east Essex, lay only a few miles from his favourite residence of Wivenhoe, in an area where he and his mother had been by far the greatest landowners. He probably hoped to whip up local support, but if so the fugitive earl was sorely disappointed. It seems that Essex was keeping a careful watch on the coast, and hot-footed to crush the invasion before it could gain any momentum.

However, John de Vere shared certain qualities with Robert de Bruce's pet spider: regardless of defeats, he would try, try, and try again. A few days later his little fleet was spotted off the Isle of Thanet, and shortly afterwards descended upon St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.