ABSTRACT
T he 20th century has w itnessed particularly horrific forms of warfare in various parts o f the world, but also a recognition that traumatic experiences cause disorders o f psychological functioning, and in m ost recent years a growing awareness o f just how longlasting the effects o f so-called Post-Traumatic Stress D isorder (P T S D ) can be. O ne o f the best-selling books o f 1999 in the U K was Pat Barker’s ‘Another World’; the main character o f which is a 101-year-old veteran o f World War I (W W I), increasingly torm ented in his advanced old age by memories from that war. T his reflects increasing evidence from clinical psychologists that P T S D , far from subsiding in late life, may re-emerge with greater force once the defences o f a busy working life have been rem oved (Bender, 1997; Hunt, 1997; Colem an & Mills, 1997).
