The dark and hidden legacy of World War One

[queencorgi1]

Dear All

Recently I have come across several examples of World War One veterans who, although not diagnosed with 'shell shock' or any other mental illness manifested symptoms of serious trauma later in their lives. This emerged, for instance, in previously devoted husbands and fathers who became abusive towards their families; alcoholism; intense depression; withdrawal and 'unapproachability'. All these symptoms and others have of course been recognised much more recently in veterans of such conflicts as Vietnam, the Falklands, and the Gulf wars, and one label given to them is post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you have come across examples of this sort of behaviour during your research I should be very glad to hear from you.  Use only the first names of anyone referred to, if you would prefer to maintain anonymity not only for yourself but for those whose problems you are describing.

I should be grateful though if you could be as precise as possible in describing the problems (not just 'he was a difficult man' but how he was difficult, and how it affected his family) and, most importantly, your reasons or your family's reasons for ascribing the subject's behaviour to his wartime experiences.

Thank you for reading this post!!