Thomas Neville

Thomas Fauconberg or Thomas Neville, sometimes called Thomas the Bastard, or the Bastard of Fauconberg (1429 – 22 September 1471), was the natural son of William Neville, Lord Fauconberg, who was a leading commander in the Hundred Years' War and, until joining his cousin, Richard Neville ("Warwick the Kingmaker") in rebellion on the Lancastrian side against another cousin, Edward IV, served on the Yorkist side in the Wars of the Roses. Early life In his youth Thomas was a notable sailor, receiving the freedom of the City of London in 1454 for his work in eliminating pirates from the English Channel and the North Sea. In this he was closely associated with his father's relatives: Lord Fauconberg's elder brother, Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury was a commissioner for the keeping of the seas in 1453–5, and in 1455 Salisbury's eldest son Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was entrusted with sole responsibility for the keeping of the seas, a post he effectively retained for the rest of his life. The Wars of the Roses The Nevilles were the most important supporters of Richard of York, and instrumental in helping his son gain the throne as Edward IV in 1461, assistance for which Lord Fauconberg was rewarded with the title of Earl of Kent. When he died in 1463 without a legitimate male heir, the barony of Fauconberg fell into abeyance between his three daughters: Joan, Alice and Elizabeth. In the late 1460s, Thomas continued to back his cousin the Earl of Warwick when tensions arose between Warwick and Edward IV. When Warwick rebelled and was forced into exile in 1470, Thomas joined him with several armed ships. While Warwick was in France negotiating an alliance with the Lancastrian leader Margaret of Anjou, Thomas took command of his cousin's ships and raided English shipping.