Mine and Emilys Research

What started out as a European war soon became a global war that lasted from 1914-1918. World war 1 was the first war that involved nations, there where 28 involved from around the world.


Shell Shock

By the end of world war One the British Army had dealt with 80,000 cases of shell shock.

Shell shock is the reaction of some soldiers in World War I to the trauma of battle. It is a reaction to the intensity of the bombardment and fighting that produced a helplessness appearing variously as panic, or flight, an inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk

The Term "Shell Shock" was created in 1917 by a medical officer called Charles Myers. It was also known as "War Neurosis" "combat stress" and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 

Many soldiers found themselves re-living their experiences of combat long after the war had ended.

During the time there was little sympathy for shell shock victims, the victims where seen as a sign of emotional weakness and even cowardice.

The victims treatment was often harsh and consisted of

• Solitary confinement
• Disciplinary Treatment
• Electric shock Treatment
• Shaming and physical re-education
• Emotional deprivation 

At Newton Abbott's Seale Hayne in Devon, the approach was very different due to the revolutionary approach of a doctor called Arthur Hurst, an army major, who believed he could cure every shell shock victim.

This is a video of the effects of shell shock, it was filmed during World War 1, it shows traumatized soldier staggering and hardly able to walk, its good help with research physicality and how victims would of been effected physically, focusing on how movement is limited and not as fluent as an able bodied person would move.

 

Brigadier-General Frank Maxwell, A Memoir (1921)

Yesterday, when I halted in my walk around the men's quarters here, there was one wretched looking scarecrow standing shaking and perfectly senseless amongst the others of his section. The kind fellows were going to send him to hospital, and all that, but I told them not to, pointing out that he only wanted rest and food and quiet to be perfectly all right; whereas, if they sent him to hospital, wouldn't all the doctors say that he was a funk, which would be bad luck on him, and bad for the regiment. 

This is an account written by Frank Maxwell, it explains how they would send victims of shell shock straight to hospital, and how the victims are similar to scarecrows, the extract contains some good words to describe the movement and physicality of the victims.

• wretched looking
• scarecrow
• standing shaking
• perfectly senseless

With in this research I have discovered that with Shell Shock movement is allot more limited that I first thought, through watching videos of victims trying to stand I have picked up on key elements such as shaking, When sitting down they can be completely still but once they stand or try to stand there body starts completely shaking as if they where loosing control of there own body, I think that shaking as soon as you put pressure on a part of your body visually interesting even if it is the tip of your finger touching your face, We could develope this allot with in our performance and is an interested physical element and aspect to explore further.

This is a video which i referenced above talking about shaking, this video shows clips of victims shaking uncontrollably, with in my Devising page there is a video which explores shaking when trying to stand or walk,  The videos were excellent with helping us devise and explore physical movements because they a true and real videos we are looking at.