The Kettleby Bannerets
The Kettleby Bannerets is a company of men-at-arms squadrons that are professional servicemen. Like all bannerets, they are formed under permissions granted to their lord by the Crown, in this case the Lord Kettlebly. The Kettlebys are on of a number of trusted ducal houses that have ruled the heartlands surrounding the capital for many centuries and as such, the combined force of the Kettleby Bannerets is numbered in the region of five hundred individuals, although this is only a half of the Lord’s foot troops which are expansive.
The Bannerets are recruited mostly from the Duchy of Ketts, (that ruled by their Lord), but occasionally the take on recruits from neighbouring duchies, counties, and baronies. Like all Palish forces, there is equality of opportunity for all races to enlist, but, just as the Duchy of Buntings forces are mostly Darmia, the Kettleby forces are mostly Human. In addition, while women can serve, it is much rarer for them to do so and Kettleby has a segregated squadron for them.
Organisation
Bannerets are typically formed into squadrons. The smallest a banneret squadron can be is twelve soldiers. This will include a commander, cook, tailor, and medic, and may also include a performer. At its largest a Commander would be expected to lead up to fifty men. Cooks and tailors will be expected to provide for up to twenty-five others, while medics will tend to up to twenty. As such, a full squadron will have at least two cooks, two tailors, and three medics. In such cases, a chronicler would be required for the purposes of logistics and would take up the role of quartermaster, and special effort would be made to provision the inclusion of performers from within the unit. The Bannerets were last fielded as a full company during the Ovrunn-Palish war, although the overall number of troops was much smaller during that period.
Equipment
Like all squadrons, it is required that each soldier be trained and required to use particular weapons so as to allow them to function as a cohesive units. In the case of the Kettleby Bannerets, this is the halberd. In addition, they are taught to use longswords and a portion of the squadron will also be given crossbows.
The uniform of the banneret is a gambeson of black and blue vertical stripes, over chain mail, with a broad-brimmed, shallow, kettle helmet. The helmet is less useful at close range, owing to its inability to deflect serious blows, but its main purpose is to reduce the vulnerability the squad has to arrow fire when in close formation. Finally, although seldom used, all bannerets are required to have a shield which carry the arms of Kettleby. Due to the duchy’s wealth, for Kettleby Bannerets, these are metal heater shields.
In addition to the above, all Kettleby soldiers are taught to be able to hunt and either to cook, sew, or advanced first aid. Any of the tertiary requirements can be waived in the event that the recruit is a performer, as they will fill this as their secondary function. With these jobs, the recruit will be issued with suitable equipment so as to be able to carry out this role.