Shell shock

Shellshock; it’s strange you know, the way it gets blokes. Those who are normally a bit wild and up for a fight become all quiet and moody where as those who are a quiet and sullen become talkative and excitable. I’ve seen young soldiers fresh out of England crack under the strain with shellshock and even the officers suffer from it, but they’re treated different to us as they go off to a nice convalescent home for rest and therapy. For us rankers things are different, a quick visit to the Medical Officer who’ll either tell you to pull yourself together, or he’ll send you for a spell in hospital with a bit of electric shock therapy. It’s awful you know, some of the lads you see with shellshock shake so bad they can’t stand up and I once saw a chaps face frozen, his eyes open in terror all of the time. It’s gonna take a long time for all of us to get over this war, that is if ever we can.