No Parliamentary General had a higher military reputation than Sir William Waller, known as “William the Conqueror”. After defeating the Royalists besieging Gloucester he took Tewkesbury, then headed towards Upton. Instead, on 13 April 1643, he suffered a surprising defeat at Ripple Field, and by the younger and less experienced, Prince Maurice, Charles I’s nephew. Waller’s plan was to restrict the Royalists to the lane they approached along from Ryall, then destroy them with a Roundhead charge as they burst out into the open field. Unfortunately, for Waller, Maurice attacked the flanks as well as the centre. It was Waller’s men who were driven into the lane and the Cavalier cavalry who won the day.