COLONEL JOHN PICKERING'S REGIMENT OF FOOTE
A Regiment of the Sealed Knot
The Pickerings Team
The movers and shakers of the regiment
Commanding Officer - Mark Atkins
I joined the SK in 1997 and am currently not dead. I became a musketeer in my first year and gradually was promoted up the ranks. I held the position of second in command for 10 years and then took over the Regiment in 2023. My rank on the field is Major and as Commanding Officer hold the honorary rank of Lt Colonel. The SK takes up a huge part of my life, I've organised more events now than I care to remember and for the next couple of seasons its my goal to grow the Regiment further and encourage its members to 'step up' - bringing younger members through- ready to take over the responsible positions and roles in the years to come.
My family does all of this with me, my kids have been born into this hobby and both of them are still actively involved as 'grown ups'.
2nd in Command - Keith Gibson
As 2nd in Command to Mark, our CO, my role is very much as a buffer, a confident, a taker of tasks and a point of contact for our external contacts. I deal with things as they come up the chain of command via the Officers and the members themselves, as well as things that come down from Mark and those above him. My role is to help the workload of the CO by handling day to day tasks and ensuring he doesn’t try and do everything himself.
I also take the lead in the organising some of our events from initial contact with clients to making sure we all turn up on the right day at the right place.
Having been in the Knot for over 15 years now, I've held this, and other senior positions in other regiments. It's great to see our new members come through, our more established members taking on roles within the regiment and ensuring that the regiment is fully recognised for the good work we do.
Pike Commander - Steve Ball
A man who seems to like hurting himself by running when he could drive, and enjoys throwing himself out of planes. Plus he likes collecting cannons.
Musket Commander - Mark Atkins
On the field of battle I'm in charge of the Regiments musketeers, responsible for their training, safety and well being. Its also important that we enjoy ourselves, but when you're dealing with black powder safety will always take precedence. It takes time, practice and common sense to be a musketeer - you must pass a safety test to use a musket in sealed knot events and obtain the correct documentation- i.e. Shotgun and explosives certificate from your local police constabulary. Ear plugs are also recommended.
Drum Major
Hi! I am Michelle and I have a role in "Picks" as the Drum Major. I coordinate the drummers at Major events and we support the regiment and Parliament army by beating commands and marches that can be heard across great distances - further than a shouted command (even Marks!).
I’ve been “knotting” since I was fresh out of university and now, 20 years later, I’ve raised 2 kids in the SK and we love our family hobby! You meet some amazing people from all walks of life, but it feels like a huge welcoming family because we all have this in common. You don’t have to be an expert in the history of it (I’m certainly not ) but if you love camping, social and relaxed weekends with a bit of an organised scrap, BBQs and beer tents, then you will love the Sealed Knot and the Pickering's Family.
