'How many deaths will it take to be told
that too many people have died?'
Over the
centuries, disability has been hidden. The blind ninety-year-old Dandolo
breached the walls of Constantinople. Paralyzed from the waist down, wheelchair-bound
Roosevelt stood propped up for public pictures. The one-armed Nelson won the
Battle of Trafalgar. Each were so successful, they couldn't be classed as
disabled.
English history
forgot one hundred poor souls, who probably never made it to the battle between
Oliver Cromwell and his Roundhead cavalry, who went on to defeat King Charles
1's at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644.
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Recently found
in mass graves at a ruined York church, 113 skeletons were arranged neatly in
parallel rows, mostly laid on their side or face down in the dirt. No buckles,
buttons or jewellery were found, indicating they were probably buried naked. Given the probable 17th century date, it is
likely that they relate to the largest battle in the Civil War.
Evidence suggests
that the bodies could well have been Cromwell's soldiers who died from disease
while laying siege to the city. Although the Royalist army was well-provided
for behind the city walls, the besieging Parliamentary forces suffered severe
deprivation, making them susceptible to illness and diseases such as dysentery
and typhoid. Most of the skeletons had old broken bones and signs of past infection.
Back then, they wrapped a wound with honey and oats as an antibiotic.
There was no
such thing as disability in those days. People were just who they were. They got on with life as best they could and
probably banded together for mutual support. Army life would have offered them
a living, where they could do ancillary jobs like guarding the ammunition or
working in the kitchens.
I'm too soft
to have survived during those times. Perhaps we should try harder to manage
unaided—those of us who can.
