One of the prices of war

Mike Phipps reviews Hidden Wounds by Aly Renwick, published by Barbed Wire, price £4.99 paperback. Hidden Wounds is available from Barbed Wire, PO Box 958, London W14 0JF.

In World War One, traumatised soldiers were shot for cowardice. In World War Two bomber crews were ordered to shoot down their own comrades' aircraft if they were seen as defecting from missions by flying off course to neutral countries. Still today the MoD scarcely recognises the existence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

One study of Vietnam veterans showed that 20% of them had been exposed to violent atrocities - 9% had actually committed them. National servicemen in Malaya literally collected the heads of "communist terrorists" they killed. In Aden, units had "kill charts" and competed to see who could kill the most curfew breakers.

The great strength of Aly Renwick's book is that it explores the link between the atrocities of military conflict and their effects on soldiers who go on to commit violent crime in civilian life. Case after case is cited to show how post-traumatic stress led former soldiers to attack violently friends and strangers alike, in a seemingly motiveless way, with often fatal consequences. A compelling book.

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