Joseph R. Tingley

A War of the Mind: Shell Shock and the Role of the Royal Army Medical Corps During the First World War

Abstract:

During the First World War every country was forced to deal with the serious problem of psychological casualties, which were now being seen on an unprecedented scale. These psychological casualties exhibited symptoms ranging from muteness to paralysis. Collectively, these symptoms were labeled as shell shock. In the British military, the care of these men fell to the officers of the Royal Army Medical Corps. However, because of the suspicion with which the military viewed claims of shell shock, the desperate need for military personnel, and the relatively low standing of the medical corps within the military, an extremely toxic environment was created around these men. This environment pervaded every aspect of their treatment and allowed several of these men to be executed for crimes such as cowardice and desertion during the war. By examining the history of the medical corps and its relationship with the British army, we can begin to better understand the British response to shell shock, and why these men had to die.

Thesis Advisor: K. Pinnow