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During World War One, it became clear to many experts 鈥� both in the medical world and the military 鈥� that large numbers of combatants could not cope with the strain of warfare.

By the end of war, the army had dealt with 80,000 cases of 'shell shock'. Among the places where treatment was offered was Brindley Heath in Staffordshire. A hospital was built to treat wounded soldiers and troops taken ill at the nearby military training camps. It also treated soldiers suffering from shell shock until 1924.

Shell shock itself has been described as a 鈥渄ifficult term鈥� as it鈥檚 an umbrella term for a range of war neuroses. The man who coined the term, a medical officer called Charles Myers, became unhappy with the term as many men suffered the symptoms of shell shock without having even been on the front lines. Medical officers used other terms such as 鈥渄isordered action of the heart鈥� and hysteria.

Some treatments were experimental. Electric shock treatments were tried, as were talking therapies, rest treatments and hypnosis. Reportedly, during WW1, four-fifths of men who had entered hospital suffering shell shock were never able to return to military duty.

Location: The Cannock Chase Military Pensions Hospital, Brindley Heath, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 2UH
Image: Wounded soldiers at the Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Brindley Heath. Photograph courtesy of the Museum of Cannock Chase. Copyright unknown.

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