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[page 19]
35
(2).
case, it is usually one shell only which causes the trouble. Of course a great deal depends upon the nervous state of the man at the time but if a shell explodes immediately in front of him so that the red flame or flash is right in his eyes it seems in many cases that the recollection of the sight of that flash is passed on from the eyes to the brain and thence to the nervous system. The effect is more pronounced if the same explosion killed a couple of men alongside. A man might have his back turned on a shell which blew several men to bits and spared him by some miracle and he would not turn a hair: it seems a recognised thing that he must get that flash into his brain through his eye. The effect of shell shock is to make a man shake all over. He cannot rest and any sudden noise such as the dropping of a mess tin will make him jump. I have seen a couple of cases of the sort in the trenches, men who were as cool as cucumbers, men who had been exposed to any amount of shell fire both here and in Gallipoli. A week or two back behind the lines has generally fixed them up but of course some are never able to face it again.
"No Man's Land" which is the space between the opposing front lines is always a place of interest and excursions out there at night are tinged with a certain amount of adventure. Just where we have been the lines are from 300 to 400 yards apart and the intervening land is quite flat with a bit of a stream running parallel to the trenches. For some distance out from the front line each side has a barbed wire entanglement designed to prevent surprise attacks. This wire is constantly being damaged by shell and mortar fire and as fast as it is destroyed it must be repaired. Consequently parties set