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Seale Hayne opened as specialist military hospital in May 1918. Its chief medical officer claimed a cure for shell shock. Yet, even today, his methods and techniques remain a secret.

Over 300 men were treated at Seale Hayne. Arthur Hurst claimed many could be cured in five minutes. Reports at the time suggested that at Seale Hayne, ‘the blind could be made to see, the deaf to hear and the paralysed to walk’.

Hurst chose Seale Hayne for his hospital because of its location, its land and the opportunity it offered. Built as an agricultural college (and used by the Land Army at the start of the war), it was an idyll away from the conflict with farm land for soldiers to work.
His rehabilitation techniques were radical at the time.

Seale Hayne was also unusual in treating all ranks in the same place and creating an atmosphere of recovery.

In his publications, Hurst described his techniques as suggestion, persuasion and re-education. On film, they were recorded in War Neuroses, made by Pathé.

In 1918, Hurst was offered support from the Medical Research Council to record the post treatment histories of his patients. There is no evidence of this, but a 1922 War Office Enquiry supported his pragmatism, use of explanation and atmosphere of cure.

The military hospital closed in June 1919.

Today Seale Hayne actively collects and displays evidence of its past as a shell shock hospital.

Seale Hayne is now owned by the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust, which empowers children and adults with disabilities.

Location: Seale Hayne, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 6NQ
Image: Soldiers making pottery as part of their treatment for shell shock. Picture courtesy of Roy Bartlett.

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