‘Shell Shock’
‘Shell Shock’ Captain John Harris was completely exhausted when he collapsed on 24 July 1916. At Pozières, his battalion had suffered under one of the heaviest bombardments of the war. Harris recalled seeing descending shells in their last 40 feet of flight. ‘The only thing to do was grin and bear it.’ Harris later collapsed and was evacuated from the front line. He had suffered severe shell shock. In 1917, Harris returned to his battalion, but his ‘nerves’ gave way again at Polygon Wood. When shells exploded close by, Harris fell to the ground, shaking uncontrollably. A medical officer remembered Harris as suffering from tremor of the hands. He ‘only answered questions slowly and after some delay’. His commanding officer found him to be imbecilic; all he could say was that he was ‘feeling stupid’. Harris had suffered shell shock for a second time. Upon returning to Australia Harris found it difficult to ease back into civilian life. His medical files indicate that he ...