Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux was the eldest son of Sir Richard Devereux, who was created a Knight of the Bath on 20 February 1547 and died that same year, in the lifetime of his father, The 1st Viscount Hereford. Walter Devereux's mother was Lady Dorothy Hastings, daughter of The 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, said to have been a mistress of Henry VIII. Through his paternal ancestry he was related to the Bourchier family, to which previous Earls of Essex had belonged: John Devereux, son of Walter Devereux who died at the Battle of Bosworth, married Cecily Bourchier, sister of Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex.
Walter Devereux (died 1402)
In the “Wonderful Parliament” of 1 October 1386 Richard II was forced to accept a commission of 11 members to control the royal household for 1 year to counter growing anger with his financial excesses. Walter's cousin and ally, Baron John Devereux, was a member of the commission. The Lords Appellant led this movement and included Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester; Richard FitzAlan, Earl of Arundel; Thomas de Beachamp, Earl of Warwick; and later Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby; and Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham. The Earl of Arundel was appointed admiral of the fleet on 10 December 1386, and Sir Walter Devereux served under Captain Sir Thomas Mortimer in his naval expedition. Arundel took command of the fleet on 16 March 1387 at Sandwich, and led them in the Battle of Cadsand on 24 March. Fought off Margate, the English were victorious over a Franco-Flemish fleet ending the threat of a French invasion. The English pursued the remnants of the enemy to Sluis, and then pillaged the surrounding countryside before bringing the fleet back to England on 14 April. They then made another foray to Brest in Brittany before returning to England in June 1387.