John Norreys - Early Military Career

Early Military Career

When his father was recalled from France in January 1571, Norreys stayed behind and developed a friendship with the new ambassador, Francis Walsingham. In 1571, Norreys served as a volunteer under Admiral Coligny, fighting on the Huguenot side during the French Wars of Religion.

Two years later, Norreys served as a captain under Sir Walter Devereux, recently created first Earl of Essex, who was attempting to establish a plantation in the Irish province of Ulster. He supported his elder brother William, who was in command of a troop of a hundred horse which had been recruited by their father, then serving as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.

When Essex entered Antrim to attack Sorley Boy MacDonnell, it was to Rathlin Island that Sorley Boy and the other Scots sent their wives and children, their aged and sick, for safety. Lord Essex, knowing that the refugees were still on the island, sent orders to Norreys, who was in command at Carrickfergus, to take a company of soldiers with him, cross over to Rathlin, and kill what he could find. Norreys had brought cannon with him, so that the weak defences were speedily destroyed, and after a fierce assault, in which several of the garrison were killed, the Scots were obliged to yield at discretion, and all captured, except the chief and his family, who were reserved for ransom, were killed. In total, two hundred were killed in the castle. It was then discovered that several hundred more, chiefly women and children, were hidden in the caves about the shore. They were attacked and all massacred. A fort was erected on the island, but was evacuated by Norreys, and he was recalled with his troops to Dublin within 3 months, when it was clear that the colonisation would fail.

In 1577 Norreys led a force of English volunteers to the Low Countries, where he fought for the States General, then in revolt against the rule of the Spanish King Philip II at the beginning of the Eighty Years' War. In an engagement at the battle of Rijmenam (2 August 1578), his men were driven back by 3,000 troops under the command of John of Austria (Don Juan de Austria), the king's brother; Norreys had three horses shot from under him. Throughout 1579, he co-operated with the French army, and was put in charge of all English troops, about 150 foot and 450 mounted. In February 1580, he relieved Steenwijk and went on to match the Spanish in operations around Meppel. On April 9, 1580, his troops conquered Mechelen and brutally sacked the city in what has become known as the English Fury.

On account of these successes, essentially as a mercenary, he boosted the morale in the Protestant armies and became famous in England. The morale of his own troops depended on prompt and regular payment by the States General for their campaign, and Norreys gained a reputation for forceful leadership. After more campaigns in Flanders in support of François, Duke of Anjou, Norreys was sent back to the Netherlands as an unofficial ambassador of Elizabeth I. In 1584 he returned to England to encourage an English declaration of war on Spain in order to free the States General from Habsburg domination.