tall, thin, and having a long-beaked nose and high-pitched voice. He
was perceived by the soldiers as being 'cold' because he did not get
personally involved with his patients like Rivers. Brock's form of therapy
was called 'ergotherapy' or 'work cure'. Brock believed that soldiers
had to help themselves by taking responsibility their health both mentally
and physically. He aided them in their physical well being by instructing
them to take cold baths and swim in an unheated pool. Sometimes Brock
gathered the soldiers together early in the morning, while it was still
cold and dark, to go for walks around Craiglockhart.
'Work'
was the other vital element in Brock's therapy and he found jobs for the soldiers
to do that would encourage them to take up new interests or widen a current
one. Wilfred Owen for example was asked to write essays on architecture and
epic poetry based on Greek myths. This is why so many activities were offered
to the patients: golf, tennis, bowling, badminton, swimming, and gardening.
There were less physically demanding activities too such as the natural history
society, debating, dark rooms for photography, model yacht making, carpentry
and the chance to participate in the weekly concert or play. The Hydra hospital
journal was another opportunity for patients to showcase their writing or
artwork.
