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Citation: Sturgeon-Clegg, I.S. (2007). Long-term effects of living through both evacuation
and the bombing of London during the Second World War as perceived by those who
experienced them : A qualitative study. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, City University London)
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Long-Term Effects of Living
Through Both Evacuation and the
Bombing of London during the
Second World War as Perceived by
Those Who Experienced Them:
A Qualitative Study
By
Imogen Sarah Sturgeon-Clegg
For
Top-up DPsych in Counselling Psychology
At
City University
Department of Psychology
And
North East London Mental Health Trust
Submitted: October 2007
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CONTENTS
Chapter: Page:
Dedication 5
Acknowledgements 6
Declaration 7
Overview of Portfolio 8
PART I: Research Thesis 11
Long-Term Effects of Living Through Evacuation and the Bombing of London during the
Second World War as Perceived by Those Who Experienced Them: A Qualitative Study
Acknowledgement 12
Abstract 13
Chapter 1: Introduction 14
1.1. The East End 14
1.2. The Second World War 17
1.3.1. The Second World War Bombing of Britain and London 18
1.3.2. Evacuation 21
1.4. Psychological Literature of the Second World War 23
1.4.1 Attachment Theory 23
1.4.2 Contemporary Literature Regarding Evacuation and Bombing 25
1.5. Life Review, Reminiscence and Regret 28
1.6. The Long-Term Effects of Evacuation: the Current Literature 32
1.6.1. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 32
1.6.2. Trauma in Older People 33
1.6.3. The Long-Term Effects of Evacuation: Current Literature and Research 35
1.7. This Study 40
Chapter 2: Methodology 44
2.1. Epistemological Reflexivity 4
2.2. Researcher Reflexivity 49
2.3. Ethical Aproval 51
2.3.1. Ethical Considerations 51
2.4. Participants 53
2.5. Interview 54
2.6. Data Colection Procedures 56
2.7. Data Preparation 56
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2.8. Data Analysis 57
Chapter 2: Methodology condt Page:
2.8.1. Use of Grounded Theory to Analyse Data in this Study 58
Chapter 3: Analysis 60
3.1. Introduction 60
3.2 Demographic Information 61
3.3. Who I was at the time of the War 62
3.4. Who I could have ben 73
3.5. Who I am as a result of the War 78
Chapter 4: Discussion 117
4.1. Explanation of Model 117
4.2. Theoretical Model 118
4.3. Overview of Analysis 119
4.4. Substantive Findings 121
4.5. Relationships to Existing Literature 124
4.6. An Evaluative Appraisal of this Research 131
4.6.1. Recommended Criteria for Evaluation 132
4.6.2. Evaluative Appraisal 133
4.6.3. Further Researcher Reflexivity 135
4.7. Implications for Counselling Psychology 137
4.8. Implications for the World 139
4.9. Implications for Further Research 140
4.10. Conclusion 141
Appendices 142
References and Bibliography 207
PART II: Extended Literature Review 218
The Dissonance between the Medical Model and the Neuropsychological Model: Are
Psychological Interventions Appropriate for WW II Veterans?
Chapter 1: Introduction 219
1.1. Introduction 219
1.2. Justification for this Paper 219
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1.3. The Cohort Who Fought in the War 220
1.4. A Brief History of Trauma Therapy 224
Chapter 2: The Dissonance between the Medical and Neurological Model 227
Chapter 3: An Evaluation of Suggested Psychological Interventions for Veterans of
WW II suffering from War Trauma 229
3.1. A Cognitive-Behavioural (CBT) Approach (Robbins, 1997) 229
3.2. A Psychoanalytical Approach (Crocq, 1997) 231
3.3. Group Therapy for Older Veteran with PTSD (Snell & Padin-Rivera, 1997) 233
3.4. A Self- Help Approach to War Trauma (Matsakis, 1996) 235
Chapter 4: Conclusion: Recommendations for Working Therapeutically with WW II
Veterans 238
References and Bibliography 241
PART III: Client Study 248
Working with Clients with War Trauma who are Avoidant: reflection on a learning process
1.1. Introduction 249
1.2. Brief Biographies of Harry, Alan and Joe 249
1.3. The Neuropsychological Model of PTSD 250
1.4. Avoidance 252
1.5. Psychological Interventions for War Trauma 257
1.5.1 Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy 258
1.6. Working Therapeutically with Avoidance 259
1.6.1. Harry 260
1.6.2. Alan 263
1.6.3. Joe 265
1.7. Conclusion: A Reflection on Learning 267
Appendices 269
References and Bibliography 274
4
DEDICATION
This portfolio is dedicated to
My Grandparents who served
JLK, RAK & CC
and
Those with whom I worked who inspired me
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is with gratitude that I would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following
people: Diane Foster, for inspiring the formation of the idea that became the research thesis
in this portfolio, Dr Georgina Charlesworth for encouraging my application for funding of
the research project and for making it, and the DPsych a reality, Professor Martin Orrell and
his team in the North East London Mental Health Trust Research and Development
Department for awarding the funding for the research project and for their support
throughout, to all the organisations such as Age Concern, the Alzheimers Society, and the
many GP’s surgeries I approached who assisted with advertising for participants, to Dr
Deborah Rafalin of City University for her supervision, energy, knowledge and support
throughout the production of this portfolio, to Julia for her patient typing and to Chris and
her colleagues at the Aubrey Keep Library for their assistance and support. I would also like
to express my gratitude towards my colleagues, friends and family for their patience,
understanding, ideas and views, particularly to Jo, Jan, Elizabeth and Kate for their
hospitality when providing places to study. Most especially I would like to express my
eternal gratitude to Simon for accompanying me down this long road and for keeping me
grounded.
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1
DECLARATION
“I grant powers of discretion to the University Librarian to allow this thesis to be copied in
whole or in part without further reference to me. This permission covers only single copies
made for study purposes, subject to normal conditions of acknowledgement”.
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City University Research Studies Handbook 2007/08
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OVERVIEW OF PORTFOLIO
Overall this portfolio is concerned with the psychological effects of War. Specifically it is
concerned with the long-term effects of events and actions on civilian children in London
during the Second World War (1939-45) and appropriate psychological interventions for
veterans suffering from war trauma as a result of both the Second World War and Korean
War (1950-1953).
The reader of this portfolio will find three papers. The first paper is a research thesis
concerned with the long-term effects of experiencing both evacuation (the removal of
children and some mothers from cities vulnerable to enemy bombing to areas in the
countryside considered to be safer) and the bombing of London during the Second World
War (1939-45). This study is unique in its field. Previous research studies (e.g. Foster,
Davies & Steele 2003) have used quantitative methods such as postal questionnaire surveys
to explore the long-term effects of evacuation alone. The study in this thesis used one-to-one,
face-to-face interviews where participants were asked in an open manner what they consider
to be the long-term effects of both these experiences. Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss
1967) methodology was used to analyse the resulting data. The resulting multi-dimensional
concepts and model that emerged echoed the existing literature broadly concerning
attachment e.g. Bowlby 1940; A.Freud in Bridgeland 1971), identity (e.g. Breakwell 1986),
trauma (e.g. Hunt 1997) life review (e.g. Garland & Garland 2001) and, of course both the
contemporary and current literature regarding the long-term effects of evacuation and other
wartime events (e.g. Bowlby 1940; Foster et al. 2003). However it also, most importantly,
introduced several new and significant ideas relating to the effect of these wartime
experiences on the formation and development of identity and physical and psychological
survival.
The second paper addresses the appropriateness of the psychological interventions currently
available for veterans of the Second World War suffering from war-related trauma, with an
identified dissonance between the medical and neuropsychological models (e.g. van der
Kolk, McFarlane & Weisaeth 1996) in mind. The identification of this dissonance has
occurred both through an exploration of the literature concerning the experiences, beliefs and
attitudes of the cohort of people who served in the Armed Forces during the Second World
War and by the author who works therapeutically with members of this cohort. It is asserted
by the author that those members of the cohort who formulate their difficulties within the
medical model may experience difficulties engaging with ideas and interventions that reside
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within the neuropsychological model of post-traumatic stress disorder and, specifically, war-
trauma. Four different therapeutic approaches (Individual Cognitive-Behavioural and
Psychodynamic therapy, group and self-help approaches) devised for working specifically
with veterans of the Second World War suffering from war trauma were reviewed for their
appropriateness with the unique beliefs and attitudes of this cohort and the identified
dissonance at the centre. Additionally accounts of the development in understanding of war-
trauma and subsequently post-traumatic stress disorder are given as well as an account of the
development of both medical and psychological interventions to place the identified
dissonance and four therapeutic interventions under review in context. The paper concludes
with a suggestion of combining elements of all four therapeutic approaches in order to work
beneficially with Second World War veterans.
The third paper is a reflective account of the author’s learning process while working with
three veterans of the Second World or Korean War suffering from war-related trauma all of
whom were highly avoidant of addressing their traumas in therapy. The neuropsychological
model of post-traumatic stress disorder (e.g. van der Kolk, McFarlane & Weisaeth 1996) is
used to formulate these three clients’ difficulties, both generally and specifically to formulate
their avoidance, and to inform the mainly cognitive-behavioural approach that was used to
work with them and their avoidance therapeutically. The author reflects upon how she
applied what she learnt with one client to the difficulties of those she worked with
subsequently and how she may have worked differently with the benefit of greater
knowledge and the opportunity for reflection. To conclude she suggests a possible
therapeutic model for working with clients with post-traumatic stress disorder who are
avoidant.
These three papers are not only connected by their relationship to war but also by their
relationships to specifically the Second World War as well as trauma and to the profession of
Counselling Psychology. The three papers are concerned with the effect that the Second
World War had those who experienced it either as a child who was evacuated and witnessed
the bombing of London or as an adult seeing action in one of its many theatres of War.
Interestingly the two Korean War veterans who are discussed were both evacuees during the
Second World War. Regarding trauma, it might be assumed by the reader that all three
papers are centrally concerned with war-related trauma. Of course, the second two are
without a doubt, but the research thesis produced interesting and perhaps surprising findings
regarding factors that the participants believed mediated the potentially traumatic effects of
elements of the War. In terms of Counselling Psychology, a central tenet of the profession is
that its members are reflective practitioners. Throughout these three papers, the author has
fully reflected upon her process. As part of her reflection on the epistemological position of
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