Bullets, Boots and Bandages

Had I been in the UK to view the BBC TV 4 program Bullets, Boots and Bandages which aired last Thursday evening I'd have seen the host examining long scrolls, lists of sick soldiers from the time of Henry V, during the Hundred Year's War between England and France. These are part of the collection at TNA, see their notice.

The programme explains the history and importance of supply in making an army effective, the kind of thing the BBC does so well. Did you know tinned food was available as early as the first quarter of the 19th century, or that they had telegraph communications to Balaclava via an undersea cable during the Crimean War.