4 ‘It was a tough life and I did all I could to lighten the men’s burden’
-
Carol Acton
Abstract
Medical personnel taken as prisoners of war were no longer on the sidelines, bound up with the usual medic-combatant binary. They faced the same privations and brutality as those who witnessed and took part in the fighting. This chapter analyses the ways in which British medical personnel in both European and Far East camps articulated their experiences in published and unpublished memoirs writing after their repatriation. In addition to their own physical and psychological struggles, P.O.W. medics often carried the primary administrative as well as medical burden for others’ survival. An examination of their writings shows the extent to which resilience rather than breakdown became crucially important not just in the camps, but also in the way these men construct their experiences after the war.
Abstract
Medical personnel taken as prisoners of war were no longer on the sidelines, bound up with the usual medic-combatant binary. They faced the same privations and brutality as those who witnessed and took part in the fighting. This chapter analyses the ways in which British medical personnel in both European and Far East camps articulated their experiences in published and unpublished memoirs writing after their repatriation. In addition to their own physical and psychological struggles, P.O.W. medics often carried the primary administrative as well as medical burden for others’ survival. An examination of their writings shows the extent to which resilience rather than breakdown became crucially important not just in the camps, but also in the way these men construct their experiences after the war.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘These frightful sights would work havoc with one’s brain’ 31
- 2 ‘Over there’ 55
- 3 ‘You damn well just got on with your job’ 79
- 4 ‘It was a tough life and I did all I could to lighten the men’s burden’ 116
- 5 Claiming trauma 147
- 6 Crying silently 178
- 7 Fatal injury 210
- Conclusion 241
- Bibliography 250
- Index 262
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Introduction 1
- 1 ‘These frightful sights would work havoc with one’s brain’ 31
- 2 ‘Over there’ 55
- 3 ‘You damn well just got on with your job’ 79
- 4 ‘It was a tough life and I did all I could to lighten the men’s burden’ 116
- 5 Claiming trauma 147
- 6 Crying silently 178
- 7 Fatal injury 210
- Conclusion 241
- Bibliography 250
- Index 262
