Cultural Context
Shell Shock
Shell Shock was a term used during the First World War to describe the psychological trauma suffered by men serving on the war's key battlefronts - France, Flanders, along the Isonzo and in Gallipoli.
The intensity of the essentially artillery battles fought along these war fronts - most notably in France and Flanders; hence the tag popularly applied to the disorder - often caused neurotic cracks to appear in otherwise mentally stable soldiers.
Men who saw service of any great length on an active front quickly came to recognize the symptoms of shell shock among their fellow men. Recognition in the form of military authority was rather slower to develop. At first shell shock victims were believed to be suffering from the direct physical effects of shell blasts, or from a form of monoxide poisoning.
Symptoms varied widely in intensity, ranging from moderate panic attacks - which sometimes caused men to flee the battlefield: a crime which was invariably regarded as rank cowardice and which resulted in a court martial for desertion - to effective mental and physical paralysis.
Sent home to recover many shell shock victims recovered over time, whereas many others continued to feel its effects for years afterwards.
Treatment for shell shock was primitive at best and dangerous at worst; psychological theories governing its treatment developed only gradually. Reliable figures relating to the total number of shell shock sufferers are not available.
The intensity of the essentially artillery battles fought along these war fronts - most notably in France and Flanders; hence the tag popularly applied to the disorder - often caused neurotic cracks to appear in otherwise mentally stable soldiers.
Men who saw service of any great length on an active front quickly came to recognize the symptoms of shell shock among their fellow men. Recognition in the form of military authority was rather slower to develop. At first shell shock victims were believed to be suffering from the direct physical effects of shell blasts, or from a form of monoxide poisoning.
Symptoms varied widely in intensity, ranging from moderate panic attacks - which sometimes caused men to flee the battlefield: a crime which was invariably regarded as rank cowardice and which resulted in a court martial for desertion - to effective mental and physical paralysis.
Sent home to recover many shell shock victims recovered over time, whereas many others continued to feel its effects for years afterwards.
Treatment for shell shock was primitive at best and dangerous at worst; psychological theories governing its treatment developed only gradually. Reliable figures relating to the total number of shell shock sufferers are not available.
Craiglockhart War Hospital
The large victorian building at Craiglockhart was requisitioned by the military in 1916 and turned into a war hospital for the treatment of shell shocked officers. In 1917, Wilfred Owen was sent to Craiglockhart to recover from "Neurasthenia" (a more scientific term for "shell shock"). At around the same time as this, Siegfried Sassoon was sent there after having his Declaration against the War read out in the House of Commons, his friend and fellow poet Robert Graves having convinced the review board that Sassoon was suffering from shell-shock (although he clearly wasn't), thus avoiding a Court Martial.
Owen met Sassoon at Craiglockhart in August 1917 and was strongly influenced and encouraged by him. Also, the work of the doctors at Craiglockhart was ground-breaking for the time and the friendship between Sassoon and his Doctor, Dr. W.H.R. Rivers was to become life long — a fictionalised account of the beginning of this relationship is documented in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration (Penguin, 1992), soon to be released as a motion picture.
Owen met Sassoon at Craiglockhart in August 1917 and was strongly influenced and encouraged by him. Also, the work of the doctors at Craiglockhart was ground-breaking for the time and the friendship between Sassoon and his Doctor, Dr. W.H.R. Rivers was to become life long — a fictionalised account of the beginning of this relationship is documented in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration (Penguin, 1992), soon to be released as a motion picture.