Notes on the Psychological Effects of War Conditions on the Civilian Population1

In the introduction to this series of notes it was pointed out that, by neglecting to organize adequately the expert psychological resources of the community, the authorities had let slip a unique opportunity of studying the psychological effects of war-time conditions on the civilian population. By the time the 'blitz' commenced a number of medical psychologists and psychiatrists had already been cooling their heels for almost a year in various Emergency Medical Hospitals. Many others had joined the Services, but only those attached to the Air and Naval arms had had much opportunity of studying psychological reactions to combatant conditions. Apart from dealing with mental casualties from France before and after Dunkirk, psychologists attached to the Army were concerned chiefly with the psychopathic flotsam thrown up by the operation of the Conscription Acts. As has been pointed out, the organization of civilian mental services was based on the assumption of a tremendous blitz which, it was thought, would give rise to huge waves of war neurosis, both acute and chronic. On this assumption it seemed reasonable to concentrate on purely therapeutic measures. But the blitz, when it did come, fell far short of the dimensions anticipated, and it was soon apparent that waves of war neurosis were merely figments of the psychopatholgists' own imagination. Most psychological casualties by-passed the emergency hospitals. There was little or no trained personnel available to study them at their source. Even when medical facilities were provided at, for example, First Aid and Shelter Posts, these were concerned almost exclusively with organic conditions. People suffering from psychological disturbances soon filtered back from Aid Posts into the general population, where they were dealt with, if at all, by local practitioners having no special psychological training. It was impossible to set up even small research centres, or to follow up psych