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The Historical Regiment
As a result of an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city magazine & armouries, he fled London in the winter of 1642. Arriving in Oxford on the 9th of March, he was given permission to raise a foot regiment for the King and was commissioned as a Colonel in the Kings' Army. Interestingly the unit was referred to as "The London Regiment" in Royalist newssheets and it appears that either by fortune or design, Marmaduke Rawdon originally commanded a band of exiles from that city. Although the number of men under Marmaduke Rawdon's control was never great, probably only reaching 250 - 300 men at its height, it also included recruits from Oxford, Berkshire and Hampshire. In July 1643, John Paulet, the Marquis of Winchester and owner of "Basing House" the largest private residence in England, petitioned the King for a garrison to protect his property from the local Parliamentarians, commanded by Colonel Richard Norton. Colonel Rawdon and his company commanders, Lt Colonel Thomas Johnson, Major Thomas Langley and Captains Isaac Rowlett, William Rosewell and Robert Amery, jointly formed the garrison of Basing House together with the Marquis of Winchester's own regiment, commanded by Lt Colonel Robert Peake.
Colonel Rawdon's Regiment fought long and hard to defend Faringdon from the Parliamentarians and on 28th April 1646, whilst under siege, Marmaduke Rawdon eventually succumbed to an illness contracted during the bitter winter of 1645/6. The Regiment then continued the defence of Faringdon, under the command of Lt Colonel William Rosewell, until the surrender of Oxford in May 1646.
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Marmaduke Rawdon was an Officer of considerable knowledge, having been a member of both the "Honourable Artillery Company", and the Red Regiment of the London Trained Bands, where he achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel under the command of Phillip Skippon.
Colonel Rawdon and his men remained at Basing House until May 1645. During their garrison of the house they endured two sieges, two attempted stormings of the house and numerous local skirmishes including a major attack led by the famous Roundhead General, Sir William Waller. In spite of these successes, for which Rawdon was knighted, in May 1645 the Marquis of Winchester decided he no longer wanted to have Protestants in his garrison and Colonel Rawdon was requested to leave. The King instructed Colonel Rawdon to fight his way to Faringdon in Oxfordshire, with the help of Royalist Cavalry under the command of George Lord Goring, where he was to provide a garrison. This meant that nearly two-thirds of the garrison marched away, shortly before the fanatical Oliver Cromwell arrived at Basing to deal with the "Nest of Papists".