Shellshock

[j.amburn]

Hi all

i am doing a report on the effects of shellshock on soldiers. I wanted to show a video to my history class as part of my presentation. however, i cannot find any video footage of shellshock victim on the internet aywhere....i have been looking for three days. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me.


Thanks in advance...

Jon

[Reverend Bob]

Hello Jon, there was once some WWI documentary footage on a program called the Great War.

The term Shell Shock is rather out of date, it was a diagnosis used during the First World War to describe psychological trauma from Combat that resulted in a nervous disorder, you my wish to widen your search.



Cheers
Bob

[j.amburn]

Thank you for the quick reply bob, but i have tried searching many different names for PTSD. I still ava had no luck with a video of it....

[sapper]

In WW2 it was called battl exhaustion. I am more than aware of what it does to men, As I have personally witness what happens to a man when he has been through battle after battle. Eventually, someone will succumb, For the mind can take so much, and no further.

Being I have seen this first hand in the full heat of battle, I know exactly what it is like for the poor devils that are afflicted. One thing is certain, A Shell or Mortar wound, in my mind, is much preferable to what happens to a mans mind when he succumbs to battle exhaustion. For there is no way back from the worst of battle wounds. The whole mind is gone....My best mate suffered from this terrible affliction.

But I am not surprised, he had seen, and taken part in some pretty rough times, including the battle of the
"Bloodiest Square Mile in Normandy" Not nice!

Sapper
Normandy Veteran

[angie999]

PTSD takes many forms and it would be impossible to encapsulate its effects, many of which maynot be outwardly visible, in a short video clip.

[Paul Reed]

I don't think you will find this video on-line to download; it is held by an image archive who typically charge £250 per second for using film like this. As mentioned there is some footage of WW1 soldiers, but I have never seen any for WW2.

[sapper]

Nor me Paul. Only the real thing. One thing I will say, there is no one instance of battle exhaustion. it manifests itself in some pretty bizarre ways. Largely depending on the individual.


We were fortunate in having very few cases. But I am aware of some very unpleasant instances where the poor devil has gone completely off his rocker. Better the loss of a leg or arm anyday, that to suffer battle exhaustion.
Sapper

[Reverend Bob]

Right Sapper, I think Jon would do best with an oral/written report, skip the video. Volumes could be filled with what is not seen in a persons mind, nightmares and cold sweats are some of my demons, sometimes I'll wake up shouting something, most of which I can't fully remember when awake, unless my Wife tells me what I said in my sleep.


Cheers
Bob

[sapper]

I am told that I used to shout a bit back when I came out of hospital. So my sisters tell me.
But having been wounded twice. I would be surprised if I had no nightmares. For sure I did have a pretty rough time. in some of the most violent actions. But that was a long time ago. There was a time when my idenitiy was questioned, as folk thought "How can he recall of of this" Must be a fraud! What they did not think is, How could you ever forget...

But that is getting away from the main theme. Battle exhaustion. a severe wound of war.
Sapper

[Reverend Bob]

Sapper, the mind does funny things, some sort of built in defence system perhaps, there are things I can't recall at times, then some things like names, voices, or faces will come racing back, certain sounds or smells at times will link up with some stored memory.



Bob