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‘I ought to have been killed at the War’: Studying Australian First World War Veterans who Died by Suicide, presented by Jessie Lewcock.
In February 1945, a Sydney doctor established that NSW veterans of the First World War were significantly more likely to die by suicide than civilians, and called for immediate action to help veterans of the then-current war avoid the same fate. Replicating the methodology used in NSW, this paper finds that suicide was also a serious problem for South Australian First World War veterans, and aims to provide historical context for the current issue of veteran suicides.
Jessie Lewcock is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Adelaide. She was the 2019 recipient of the University of Adelaide Library’s Hugh Martin Weir prize.
Full abstract and profile can be viewed on the Conflict and Society seminars page.
