srv Posted 21 February , 2004 Share Posted 21 February , 2004 Hi, can anyone help. I have just purchased medals to an RAF sgt who on his papers shows that he was hospitalised in 1917 with shell shock. He later went on to be an airship rigger. I thought you would need to come under continuous bombardment to suffer shell shock.Has anyone out there any ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Burgoyne Posted 21 February , 2004 Share Posted 21 February , 2004 one would be all it took to put me in stock but joking apart, if a shell landed every close it would be a big shock to the nerves. Plus every one is different, some men would not be bothered by a shell or two landing near them. Plus it does not have to be a shell, shell-shock is just a term used, seeing something unpleasant may put a man into shock. I think they call it post battlefield stress now ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lesley Posted 21 February , 2004 Share Posted 21 February , 2004 he was hospitalised in 1917 with shell shock. Just curious, did the record actually say shell shock? I have an OBLI private who was invalided out with what was described as "dementia attributable to service" which today would probably be known as post traumatic stress disorder. He was sent home from Salonika. Ironically he was not fit for service, but neither was he sufficiently unfit to claim a pension! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 21 February , 2004 Share Posted 21 February , 2004 I have just purchased medals to an RAF sgt who on his papers shows that he was hospitalised in 1917 with shell shock. Do you have any indication of the Sergeant's unit in 1917? The RAF was formed on 1 April 1918, by amalgamating the RFC and RNAS, so he must have been in another service at the time that he was sent to hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Posted 22 February , 2004 Share Posted 22 February , 2004 I have come across many instances of men being buried by a shell who suffered from shell shock. Understandably so. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srv Posted 22 February , 2004 Author Share Posted 22 February , 2004 he was hospitalised in 1917 with shell shock. Just curious, did the record actually say shell shock? I have rechecked and yes it states shell shock,his record also confirms that he joined the RFC in 1916. I have never come across this type of injury in the RAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 22 February , 2004 Share Posted 22 February , 2004 RFC (and other aviation services) ground staff did come under fire on occasions. The Germans frequently bombed enemy aerodromes at night and some aerodromes, especially those at the northern end of the Western Front, were within reach of long-range artillery. The ground elements of Balloon units were also within artillery range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevenbec Posted 27 February , 2004 Share Posted 27 February , 2004 I don't know if this is the same but I have some records of something similar. There appears in 1917 during take off of an aircraft with bombs which crashed. The base personal rushed to the scene only to have the bomb explode killing one and wounding a number of others. It was reported that there were some suffing from the shock of the explosion. This was in the 1st Sqn AFC in Egypt/Palestine. The man killed was named 2/AM Fell. Purhaps your man had an accident some thing similar? Does his personal file show why? All AIF have an accident report for such things. S.B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 9 March , 2004 Share Posted 9 March , 2004 There is another, and more likely, explanation for a member of the RFC to have shell shock. RFC men were positioned at artillery batteries to operate the wireless receivers when Corps aircraft were engaged in artillery observation duties. Hence, if the artillery unit concerned was subject to enemy counter-battery fire, the RFC men were in the thick of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srv Posted 9 March , 2004 Author Share Posted 9 March , 2004 Thanks for all the replys, the artillery radio operator seems the most likely scenario. Now why didnt I think of that. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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