Roundhead seal
This object is a striking example of how England’s parliament cared for its troops during the British Civil Wars
A 17th-century sigil for wounded veterans
Welfare provisions for wounded soldiers and families are commonly assumed to be relatively modern institutions, but it is surprisingly poignant to discover that official care for the living casualties of war was provided for the veterans of the British Civil Wars in the mid 17th century.
This evocative wax artefact is the official seal of Parliament’s ‘Committee for Sick and Maimed Soldiers’ and depicts a wounded soldier who has lost a leg, with an inscription that declares, “Justice for the Maimed Soldier.” The seal’s existence sheds a fascinating light into Parliament’s care for its troops.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Edgehill in October 1642, Parliament passed an unprecedented act that recognised the state’s responsibility to provide welfare for its wounded soldiers. Even more strikingly, it also cared for the widows and orphans of killed Parliamentarians. A committee to enforce the act shortly followed, and it initially raised £200 for the wounded to be cared for in purely military hospitals in London.
These hospitals, such as the
Savoy Hospital, had quite advanced healthcare with a strict emphasis on hygiene. The medical staff would regularly change linen and towels and thoroughly clean the buildings. They also devised complex systems of war pensions.
As the war progressed and grew ever more bloody Parliament raised £4,000 to meet its welfare commitments by imposing county levies, sequestering the properties of Royalists and Roman Catholics and excising funds from receipts on food, alcohol and animals. The system was therefore not universal and only benefitted Parliamentary soldiers and their families, but the committee’s initiatives were groundbreaking and a landmark development in humane state intervention.
“IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE BATTLE OF EDGEHILL IN OCTOBER 1642, PARLIAMENT PASSED AN UNPRECEDENTED ACT THAT RECOGNISED THE STATE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE WELFARE FOR ITS WOUNDED SOLDIERS”