Shell shock was not properly recognised during WWI. As a result men suffering from this condition were treated as cowards and then shot by firing squad under the military laws.

In WWII it was treated much more sympathetically. There is a scene in BoB where one of the men is taken off the line after seeing several comrades blown up. It was the straw that broke the camels back.

Conscientious objectors were at times lambasted and given white feathers, however many did serve but no carry a gun.

Here are two pieces of verse that describe both.

In the Ambulance; Wilfred Gibson

Two rows od cabbages,
Two rows of curly-greens,
Two rows of early peas,
Two rows of kidney-beans.

Thats what he keeps muttering,
Making such a song,
Keeping the other chaps awake
The whole night long.

Both his legs are shot away,
And his head is light,
He keeps on muttering
All the blessed night:

Two rows od cabbages,
Two rows of curly-greens,
Two rows of early peas,
Two rows of kidney-beans.

The Conchie: R F Palmer

He came to the depot a figure of shame,
A 'conchie' refusing to fight,
Who said 'twas no glory to kill and to maim,
To see who was wrong and who right!

We thought it a slight on the Medical Corps
When they drafted a 'conchie' to us,
And thougth it an insult in that time of war,
A soldier should make so much fuss.

We called him a coward and laughed him to scorn,
Each evening when he knelt to pray,
We said he was yellow and should have been born
As a woman, but nought would he say.

In the African desert one hot August day,
When the fighting was heavy and grim,
A messenger came from headquarters to say
That our chances of survival were slim.

When darkness descended our stretchers we took
To bring in the wounded and slain.
Tho' Jerry was shelling, by hook or by crook
We went out again and again.

At last we finished our task for the night
We reported and answered our roll,
The 'conchie' was absent. We guessed that in fright,
He'd bolted and missed the recall.

Another day passed in the tropical heat
And when the sun sank in the west,
Another six miles we'd been forced to retreat
And the enemy gave us no rest.

As we lay under cover the following night,
And stared out across 'No Man's Land',
We saw in the glare of a stray Verey Light