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 (1411–1459)
On 2 July 1440 the Duke of York was again appointed Lieutenant of France. On 28 January 1441 Walter Devereux was appointed Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire, and on 18 February 1441 entrusted with collection of a tenth and fifteenth to fund an expedition by the Duke to defend English possessions in France. In May 1441 Walter Devereux was granted protection and appointed an attorney while in France in the company of Richard, Duke of York. During 1442 he was captain of the garrison at Arques (Normandy), and on 18 August led a garrison detachment to support the Siege of Conches, which surrendered on 7 September. Henry VI diverted an army promised to York to the Duke of Somerset, and Devereux was back in England on 16 February 1443 when he was appointed again Justice of the Peace for Herefordshire.