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Shell Shock in the First World War: an Analysis of Psychological Impairment in Canadian Soldiers

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Shell Shock in the First World War: an Analysis of Psychological Impairment in Canadian Soldiers Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-17-2020 1:00 PM Shell Shock in the First World War: An Analysis of Psychological Impairment in Canadian Soldiers. Brigette A. Farrell, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Vance, Jonathan F., The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Master of Arts degree in History © Brigette A. Farrell 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, and the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Farrell, Brigette A., "Shell Shock in the First World War: An Analysis of Psychological Impairment in Canadian Soldiers." (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7299. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7299 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This thesis explores the question of standardization in the First World War Canadian Army Medical Corps ideologies and procedures through a case study of fifty soldiers discharged for being medically unfit. In analyzing their service records, this thesis demonstrates that there was generalized diagnosis, treatment, and common experiences for Canadian soldiers being treated for mental health afflictions in the First World War. However, because of different medical ideologies, scientific-based beliefs in how humanity was hierarchically organized, the influence of class and rank, the impact of the opposing fields of neurology and psychology, and the need for military efficiency over individual wellness there were not and could not have been standardized practices in the medical field during the First World War. Keywords First World War Case Study Canada Psychology Men CAMC Neurology Rank Neurasthenia Mentally Unfit Shell shock Standardization Mental Health Military Health ii Summary for Lay Audience In this research project, the treatment of mental health in First World War Canadian soldiers will be examined to better understand the experience on the ground of being diagnosed with a psychological affliction after the turn of the century. Through the service records of fifty soldiers, this thesis will demonstrate that soldiers with shell shock, neurasthenia, or other mental health affectations were not treated in a standardized system of care, but in a reactive system of care that was focused on maintaining unit strength and returning sick soldiers to the front as soon as possible. Different hospitals with different physicians held opposing beliefs about the cause of shell shock and other mental illnesses, and therefore how to treat them. Neurologists believed it was the result of physical lesions or an injury to the nervous system. Psychologists believed that mental illness was the physical manifestation of a mental weakness and strove to determine the genetic, intellectual, or individual weaknesses that resulted in this mental breakdown. Rank and class affect how a soldier was diagnosed and treated. Officers were given the opportunity to take more time off the front to recuperate in private convalescent centers run by British elites and offering state-of-the-art treatments like electrotherapy. They were also more likely to be sent back to Canada for extended periods of time without having to be discharged from service. Physicians, who were officers, were noted as feeling more comfortable around fellow officers and could therefore perform better. That soldiers experienced different levels of care based on their class and their rank is indicative of a system of preferential treatment that could not have been standardized medically. iii Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their roles in guiding me through the last two years of my Master’s degree. First, I want to thank Dr. Jonathan Vance who asked me every day if I had eaten breakfast. Your patience with me, dedication to the craft of teaching, and genuine good heartedness helped carry me through the ins and outs of this project. Thank you. Secondly, I want to thank my dad, Patrick Farrell, who raised me to never quit. I know you meant medical school, but I would have made a terrible doctor, dad…people would have died. Thank you for always telling me I could be whatever I wanted, as long as I was happy. Finally, to my partner Derek MacIsaac. Your support has helped get me through this. On countless occasions, through numerous pep-talks you helped convince me that I could write a thesis and that I could be a historian. You’re pretty okay. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Summary for Lay Audience ............................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v Introduction ....................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................. 1 1 Diagnosis. ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Pre-First World War Theories and Practices of Mental Health. ............................. 7 1.2 First World War Theories and Practices. .............................................................. 18 1.3 Post-First World War Observations About Mental Health ................................... 32 Chapter 2 ........................................................................................................................... 39 2 Treatment. .................................................................................................................... 39 2.1 The Military and the Medicine. ............................................................................ 42 2.2 The Effect of Rank of Treatment. ......................................................................... 55 2.3 Just What the Doctor Ordered............................................................................... 63 2.4 Psychology and Neurology. .................................................................................. 65 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................... 81 3 An In-Depth Analysis of First World War Canadian Service Records. ...................... 81 3.1 Case Study #1: Private Frederick Bailey and Private Thomas Essery.................. 82 3.2 Case Study #2: Lieutenant Raymond Massey and Lieutenant Frederick Gates. .. 95 3.3 Case Study #3: Private Allen Robertson Darby and Private Charles Stevens. ... 100 4 Conclusion. ................................................................................................................ 109 Bibliography. .................................................................................................................. 117 Appendix A. .................................................................................................................... 124 v Curriculum Vitae ............................................................................................................ 128 vi Introduction Private Charles Stevens was a 24-year-old London, England-born chimney sweep married to Florence and together they had two children. On 13 December 1915, he enlisted in the 72nd Canadian Infantry Battalion in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Two years later, he was admitted to No. 4 Stationary Hospital in Arques, France for “NYD [Not Yet Diagnosed] Shell Shock” after a shell exploded near him at Vimy Ridge and knocked him unconscious.1 After allowing him time to convalesce, his physicians considered him cured of shell shock and neurasthenia and discharged him from hospital. However, on 2 June 1917, he “had a hysterical fit,” fell, and hit the back of his head on stone.2 As a result, Pte Stevens would spend 1917 in and out of hospitals and convalescent stations for shell shock, neurasthenia, hysteria, convulsive delirium, mental observation, and general weakness as his doctors tried to get at the heart of what caused his seizures, and determined if he could be rehabilitated and returned to the front.3 A handwritten note dated July 1917 in his file indicated that Pte Stevens had confessed to murdering his wife and children while on leave in England. I said I was fit, but she kept on saying that I was not fit I said I was going back to camp, but she kept on saying I was not fit and should not be in the army and she said, ‘why don’t you come home?’ I said I was going back to camp, but she kept on saying I was not fit and then she tried to prevent me from going by taking hold of me and in the struggle, I killed my wife and my two children.”4 1 Library and Archives Canada, Personnel Records of the First World War, “Stevens, Charles.” RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9283 - 5, Item Number 250672 Regimental Number 472815.
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