While there is no evidence to suggest any connection to my ancestors, it is interesting to look at some of the people through the ages who have carried the name Noers, Norreys, Norris or Nurse.

In this article I look at John Norris, considered one of the best soldiers of his time.

The eldest son of Baron Norreys was Sir John Norris(Figure 1)¹. He was born about 1547 to Sir Henry and his wife Margery. Sir John was considered the most accomplished soldier of his day and was a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth (see “John Norris (Soldier)” 2023)

As a young man he seems to spent time with Sir William Cecil, while his father was ambassador in France, and during a visit to his father in France he had his first experience of fighting during the clashes between the Protestants and Catholics.(see “The History of Parliament” 1964-2020)

In 1577 John led a force of English volunteers to the Low Countries where they 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. He campaigned in Flanders throughout the late 1570s and early 1580s

In 1584 he returned to England to encourage Elizabeth to declare war on Spain to free the States General from Habsburg domination. In May 1585 he commanded an English army of 4400 men which Elizabeth sent to support the States General, where his untrained army was able to hold off the Duke of Parma in a fight at Aarshot.

In December of the same year the Earl of Leicester arrived with a new army. During an attack on Parma, John was wounded but managed to break through and relive Grave. Leicester knighted him for this victory at Utrecht on St George’s Day. However the two commanders fell out and quarelled for the rest of the campaign.

At the beginning of 1588 he was recalled to England where he was presented with an M.A. by the University of Oxford. Later in the year when the Armada was expected he was, under Leicester a marshal of the camp at West Tilbury.

In 1589, Sir John was part of Drake’s 23,000 strong expeditionary force on a mission to destroy the shipping on the coasts of Spain and to put a pretender on the throne of Portugal, and later in that same year Sir John was elected MP for Oxfordshire, although there is no record of him speaking in Parliament.

Sir John died on 3^rd September 1597

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