The hidden cost of war: the psychological effects of the second world war and Indonesian confrontation on Australian veterans and their families

Transcription

1 University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2003 The hidden cost of war: the psychological effects of the second world war and Indonesian confrontation on Australian veterans and their families Kristy Muir University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Muir, Kristy, The hidden cost of war: the psychological effects of the second world war and Indonesian confrontation on Australian veterans and their families, PhD thesis, School of History & Politics, University of Wollongong, Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library:

2 University of Wollongong Thesis Collections University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Year 2003 The hidden cost of war: the psychological effects of the second world war and Indonesian confrontation on Australian veterans and their families Kristy Muir University of Wollongong Muir, Kristy, The hidden cost of war: the psychological effects of the second world war and Indonesian confrontation on Australian veterans and their families, PhD thesis, School of History Politics, University of Wollongong, This paper is posted at Research Online.

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4 THE HIDDEN COST OF WAR: THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND INDONESIAN CONFRONTATION ON AUSTRALIAN VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from School of History and Politics UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG by Kristy Muir (B. Arts, Hons) 2003

5 CERTMCATION I, Kristy L. Muir, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of History and Politics, University of WoUongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Kristy L. Muir 21 March

6 Contents Introduction 1 Gatekeepers and oral history 25 2 The extent of psychological casualties in warfere and mental illnesses in war veterans 50 3 'Idiots, imbeciles and moral defectives': an aetiological history of psychiatric casualties in war 73 4 'Immediacy, proximity and expectancy': treating mentally ill service personnel during the world wars Promises and post-war policies: the treatment of mentally iu veterans after the world wars A changed man: the interviewees Bastardisation and bloody kiuing fields: changing views of the causes of mental illness in military personnel and veterans Bugles, flags and victory parades: the homecoming experience Addicted, aggressive and anti-social: living with a post-war mental iuness For better or for worse: families, the other victims of war 296 Conclusion 338 Appendix 346 Bibliography 348 in

7 List of Tables Table 1: A comparison of Australian military casualties 62 Table 2: Number of volunteers rejected by the AIF in the Second World War with a 'nervous disease' 89 Table 3: Hospitalisation of members of the AMF with Psychiatric Disorders between 1 July and 30 September IV

8 List of Illustrations Figure 1: Anne Goddard's husband, bottom right, photographed with his crew Courtesy of Anne Groddard Figure 2: James O'Brien, seated bottom far right Courtesy of James O'Brien Figure 3: A girl on a bridge in Yugoslavia, which is about to be torpedoed by a Beaufighter Squadron Courtesy of James O'Brien Figure 4: The bridge after it has been torpedoed. The girl has been swept away in the debris Courtesy of James O'Brien Figure 5: Second World War servicemen training aggressively using the bayonet, 23 AprU1942 Negative by R. Dunstan, reproduced with permission from the AWM Figure 6: Repatriated Australian servicemen receiving their cigarette issue at a Victorian Rest Home m Melbourne, 10 July 1943 Reproduced with permission from the AWM Figure 7: Soldiers receiving their beer ration from members of the 2/4*^ Field Ambulance Reproduced with permission from the AWM P Figure 8: The entrance of Ward Z where neurosis cases were treated, 4* Australian General Hospital, Libya Tobruk, August 1941 Reproduced with permission of the AWM Figure 9: Austtalian troopsfi^om 'D' Company, 3'^'^ Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, emerging from the jungle near Sungei (River) Kesang, South of Terendak, Malaya with captured Indonesian infiltrators, 29 October 1964 Reproduced with permission from the AWM PO Figure 10: Tony Fox of the 3'^'* Battalion, RAR, on patrol through waist-deep scrub on border patrol duties in Sarawak Reproduced with permission of the AWM DUN/65/1018/MC

9 Abbreviations ABC AGH ADF AIF AWM DGMS DVA LMF NAA NCPTSD PTSD RAAF RAF RAN RSSILA RSL TPI WCS WAAAF Austtalian Broadcasting Commission Austtalian General Hospital Austtalian Defence Force Austtalian Imperial Force Australian War Memorial Director General of Medical Services Department of Veterans' Affairs Lacking Moral Fibre National Archives of Australia National Centte for War-Related Post-Traumatic Sttess Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Royal Austtalian Air Force Royal Air Force Royal Austtalian Navy Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Austtalia Returned Services League Totally and permanently incapacitated Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force VI

10 Abstract Psychiattic casualties of war and mental illnesses in veterans have been officially recorded since the First World War. These psychological problems have affected the Austtalian military and devastated some veterans' lives. This thesis examines the psychological effects of the Second World War and the Indonesian Confrontation on Australian veterans and their femilies. Oral history testimonies reveal that the social consequences of war are remarkably similar for some exservice personnel, despite the conflicts they served in. The symptoms of mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, social isolation, addiction and nightmares, not only severely debilitate some mentally ill veterans' home, working and social lives, they also have a profound and lasting effect on these veterans' families. The case studies' experiences are set within a historical and cultural context. Archival and clinical material is used to ttace the extent of psychological problems in service personnel, the perceived causes of these problems, and the policies and tteatment methods used by mental illness experts and the Austtalian governments. Much of this history has been dominated by the predisposition doctrine: mental illnesses were attributed to the individual, rather than the war experience. This docttine, along with the psychological effects of war, continues to leave its legacy on contemporary veterans and their femilies. Vll

11 Acknowledgements First and foremost I am indebted to those veterans and their femily members who allowed me into their homes and their lives. The interviewees are the foundation of this thesis. I am incredible grateful to them for sharing intimately private and personal details of their lives and I hold great responsibility for shifting the interviewees' experiences from the private to the public sphere. An enormous thanks goes out to my supervisors Associate Professor John McQuilton and Dr Stephen Brown. John McQuilton was always enthusiastic and wiuing to help. He showed an abundance of patience and invested many hours reading drafts, advising and encouraging me throughout my candidature. Stephen Brown proved to be a diligent editor and a great help when John was away. Without the patience and support of my family this thesis may have never made it to the printery. Much love and many thanks go out to them for their domestic, emotional and team editing support. And finally, to Jamie: for never asking if I had finished yet, for always accepting the hours I put in, and for always being there, I thank you. vui