I came across this passage the other day by Siegfried Sassoon (not the "Buy Shampoo? I just prof and go..." one
but the WW1 writer) written in 1936."Shell shock. How many a brief bombardment has its long-delayed after-effect in the minds of these survivors, many of whom had looked at their companions and laughed while the inferno did its best to destroy them. Not then was their evil hour, but now; now in the sweating suffocation of nightmare, in paralysis of limbs, in the stammering of dislocated speech. Worst of all, in the disintegration of those qualities through which they had been so gallant and selfless and uncomplaining - this, in the finer types of men, was the unspeakable tragedy of shell-shock."
I hope that the current court case amongst other things changes attitudes and more specifically the situation where a blind eye is turned to a type of suffering for which loyal and brave men were never prepared. We can berrate the legal system but on occaison it addresses injustice without regard to the cost to the wrongdoer. Let's hope it does so in this instance and makes the powers that be realise that if they want to carry on denying and disregarding the suffering - then it will cost them.
If left in a dark and sheltered place the problem can only fester and grow. I don't want to labour the point but I admire the courage shown by the men above in opening up.
I wish you all the very best whether involved in the current litigation or not (Yorkie - I think a dab of iodine on the you know what should do the trick
).
