Shell Shock as a Self-Inflicted Wound, 1915–1921

Abstract

On 7 November, 2006, the British government announced that it would issue pardons to the 306 British soldiers executed for military offences during the First World War. This marked the culmination of a long-running campaign for pardons led by the Shot at Dawn organization. According to this association, most of those “brutally gunned down by the authorities” were “clearly suffering from shell-shock” (Shot at Dawn 3). As an example, the organization’s webpage details the case of Harry Farr, who had been diagnosed and treated, apparently successfully, for shell shock, six weeks prior to his execution. While Farr’s case has gained considerable notoriety, having been the subject of a court case seeking his pardon brought by his daughter against the Ministry of Defence, the link between shell shock and execution is by no means as clear in all 306 cases (Todman).1 The popular view, however, is that “many of those shot for cowardice were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after enduring months of artillery bombardment in the trenches” (‘300 WWI soldiers receive pardons’ para. 1). As Gertrude Harris, Farr’s daughter commented on hearing of the government’s intentions, “I have always argued that my father’s refusal to rejoin the front line… was in fact a result of shell shock, and I believe that many other soldiers suffered from this, not just my father” (‘Victory for 93 year old’ para. 1).