Walter Devereux (1387–1419)
Walter Devereux assumed a position in the retinue of Henry IV following the death of his father on 25 July 1402 at the Battle of Pilleth. On 13 December 1402 Sir Edmund Mortimer declared his rebellion against Henry IV, but Devereux stayed loyal to the king. He was probably present at the Battle of Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403, and subsequently was knighted. Sir Walter Devereux was placed on a Commission of array for Herefordshire on 8 September 1403 to raise troops for the defense against the king’s enemies who have lately invaded the realm. It is probable that Devereux was present when Henry IV faced off with a combined Welsh and French force in South Wales during the summer of 1405, but no major battle occurred and the English force had dispersed by October of that year. Devereux remained an important supporter of the efforts to suppress the rebellion in Wales as Prince Henry assumed responsibility for the fight. Walter Devereux would be among 14 men below the rank of baron who would be retained for life by Prince Henry (the future Henry V).
Walter Devereux (died 1641)
On 25 December 1634 Walter Devereux lost one of his main benefactors when his grandmother, Lettice, died. His family ties were further strained when in mid-1636 his half-brother, Robert Earl of Essex, became suspicious his second wife, Elizabeth Paulet, was having an affair. He had left her at his sister's house in Hertford in March 1636 to return to his estates at Chartley where he was needed to manage his affairs. It is not clear whether Walter took it upon himself, or Robert set him the task, but by July Walter had acquired evidence of Essex's wife's affair with Sir William Uvedale. The Earl began to plan for a divorce, but Lady Essex then announced she was pregnant. Essex was divided on the proper course to take, but came to the conclusion that if the child was born by 5 November it was possible that he was the father. A stressful few months passed and the child was born on 5 November. A son and heir, who Essex accepted as his own. Within a few months the child died of plague and Essex's marriage was over in all but name.