The first world war soldier’s pocket book contained, among other things, an informal will. These books were carried by all servicemen throughout the war. For many years, the last wills and testaments of nearly 300,000 soldiers who died in battle were left decaying and unpreserved in archives around the country. Recently, the original copies of these wills have been collected and preserved in a digital archive set up by the government.

The handwritten wills, carried by the soldiers at all times, were meant to ensure their wages, personal effects and estates were distributed in accordance with their last wishes. Often mud-stained, torn and written in pencil, many of the wills were composed as letters, describing life and circumstances on the battlefield.

The vast majority of wills written on the battlefield left everything to soldiers’ mothers

While preserving the wills, archivists noticed that the vast majority of soldiers left their estates to their mothers. Again and again, soldiers from different regiments, from different parts of the UK, fighting in different locations in Europe left their belongings to their mothers. While a few soldiers left their estates to fathers, wives or girlfriends, the majority of soldiers who died on the battlefield listed their mothers as sole beneficiaries.

Often, the wills included very moving and personal messages to their mothers. It may be that these men, dying in war, in the end turned to their mothers with one final expression of love.

Two very moving examples of these newly-preserved wills can be found here and here.

Posts in Make Up Your Own Mind are random and reflect current affairs, social issues and observations that might encourage further thought. We don’t intend to promote any view of the matters brought to life here, one way or another.

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The Institute of Psychoanalysis has commissioned a short animated film that sets out to demonstrate the purpose and process of psychoanalysis. The patient, dressed in worried black, attempts to resolve a perceived issue with his boss.

Using free association and dreams, the patient uses his psychoanalytic session to work through his troubles at work while his attentive therapist sits nearby. The film touches on several components of psychoanalysis including transference and the Oedipal conflict. But you have to look closely or you’ll miss them!

Created by London artist Georgia de Castro Keeling, the simple but beautiful black and white animation is eye-catching. The film is clever and endearing yet stark. The accompanying musical sound track is perfect. You can’t help but smile when you see this animated film. Whether or not it answers the question in its title is debatable.

Intelligent and unusual. You can view this 3 and a half minute animated film on YouTube.

Posts in Make Up Your Own Mind are random and reflect current affairs, social issues and observations that might encourage further thought. We don’t intend to promote any view of the matters brought to life here, one way or another.

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Schools around the UK have known for some time that many children and adolescents text inappropriate images of themselves from their mobile phones, or upload intimate images of themselves online and email these to other people. The practice of ‘sexting’ is becoming more common as a generation of children grow up entirely comfortable recording the details of their personal lives online. Sexting is defined as self-generated explicit images sent to other people over the internet.

A recent University of Plymouth survey of 500 13-18 year olds revealed that 38% of those questioned had received an explicit image over the internet. 39% admitting sending explicit images of themselves. And interestingly, 58% were not aware that images they had sent were distributed to more than the intended recipient.

Children often don’t realise the consequences of sending intimate images to trusted friends. Once an image has been uploaded to the internet, it is almost impossible to remove. Once sent, control over an image is irreparably lost.

Behaviour blurs the lines of sexual exploitation and the laws around the distribution of indecent images

A police force in Nottingham has warned children who sext that they could face prosecution. They cited a case where a teenage girl sent a topless image of herself to her boyfriend. Both the girl and the boy were investigated for sending indecent images of children. The boy, who had forwarded the image to several friends, received a caution. The experience was distressing for both families involved.

In a letter to Nottingham school officials, Detective Inspector Martin Hill wrote
‘If a person is aged over 10 years and distributes (or shares, even with friends) an indecent image, then they can be arrested and charged… for this offence. If they are found guilty, they must then register as a sex offender.‘

For some people, the practice of sexting raises issues beyond the legal implications. The self-sexualisation of children may have greater consequences. Parents Protect, a UK charity aimed at helping parents protect children from sexual abuse, has created a comprehensive information pack for parents concerned about sexting.

Posts in Make Up Your Own Mind are random and reflect current affairs, social issues and observations that might encourage further thought. We don’t intend to promote any view of the matters brought to life here, one way or another.

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