Further reading
Week 1
1914–1918 Online [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
BBC - iWonder - Does the peace that ended WW1 haunt us today? Bridget Kendall explores how the First World War redrew the map of Europe. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
War Neuroses Version B Reel 2 For more footage of shell shock victims, visit British Pathé on YouTube.
BBC - iWonder - Did shell shock make us take mental health seriously? Sian Williams – herself a witness to traumatic news events – explores our understanding of trauma. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
Week 2
BBC - Great War Interviews Katie Morter, a civilian in Manchester, recalls a letter that broke her heart. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
BBC - iWonder - Was World War One propaganda the birth of spin? In the first total war, the British government had to learn to talk to the people in a new way. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
Week 3
BBC - iWonder - Did the trauma of World War One lead to great creativity? Vera Brittain’s daughter, Baroness Shirley Williams, remembers her mother, and reflects on the trauma of the First World War. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
BBC - Your Paintings - Christopher Nevinson See more paintings by Christopher Nevinson, and explore the nation’s art collection.
BBC - iWonder - Has poetry distorted our view of mental health? Poet Ian McMillan asks why only certain war poets tend to be remembered and taught. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)
Blackadder Of course, the topic of shell shock has not escaped iconic treatment by comedians. In the 1980s BBC series Blackadder Goes Forth, the hero of the series, Captain Blackadder, hopes to get out of having to continue fighting by pretending to be suffering from shell shock. This is a fictional account that plays with our prior knowledge of the condition and revisits many of the common assumptions that we have about shell shock, and about the First World War from a British perspective.
BBC - iWonder - Did Craiglockhart hospital revolutionise mental health? Claudia Hammond explores the variety of treatments available at the famous First World War hospital. (Some of this content is only available in the UK.)