Introduction

The damage wrought by war can be a lifelong legacy of mental turmoil. Reginald Dack Baker (originally from Norwich) served in the Royal Australian Field Ambulance regiment from August 1914 to near the end of the war. During that time he served in some of the bloodiest theatres of war, including the Western front and Gallipoli.

Returning to Australia after the war, in 1923 he was sectioned and was an patient at the Goodna Asylum in Brisbane. Upon his release he came back to his native city, Norwich and lived there for the rest of his life (dying in the 1960s).

This blog attempts to make some sense of the remarkable collection of six journals he compiled. They betray an obsession with the idea that radio waves were being used to control and kill innocent people. In places there are brief references to his service in WW1. There are also letters from a 'sweet heart' who he left in Australia, Kitty.

For Reginald Dack Baker the legacy of his war years was a life sentence of mental ill-health and obsessive delusion. It is a tragedy.

Monday, 22 June 2009

Inside the Pages...(click on images to enlarge)

Click HERE to go to blog introduction.



One of the leaflets - Baker's attempt to warn the world about the conspiracy - , which recur throughout the volumes


Typical example of Baker's montage style.


A reference to Baker's time tending to the wounded and dying 'boys' on the Somme battlefield...



Photo of Baker - note red blot to the left of his picture. These recur throughout the volume, and are often rubbed so that the grain of the paper flakes.

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