On 17 June 1429 he had licence to accompany Cardinal Henry Beaufort on a crusade against the Hussites. However the forces assembled for the crusade were sent instead to France to assist the Duke of Bedford after the English were defeated at the Battle of Patay on 18 June 1429. He played a major role in Henry VI's coronation expedition in 1430. During this phase of the war the English suffered reverses, and lost ground to the south of Normandy, and on 4 October 1430 Willoughby was granted the "comté" of Beaumont-sur-Oise in compensation for the "comté" of Vendôme.