ABSTRACT
Provincial merchants and the younger sons of gentry who had settled in London became men of great importance to the Parliamentary cause by sending money, munitions and men from the City into the counties in addition to providing additional funds for central government. These were common crimes throughout public administration at that time and pension and hospital provision, with little prestige or parliamentary lobbying influence, attracted particular attention. In contrast to the extensive organisation that had previously been established for the administration of army casualties, the Navy Board was not best placed to provide the same amount of time and effort for its task. Parliament remained aware of the numbers of Edgehill casualties who had remained in the Warwick area too badly injured to be moved. At times arithmetically inaccurate, with some transactions poorly defined, the committee's accounts nevertheless provide considerable insight into the structure and day to day workings of Parliament's casualty care system.
