LOSS OF MEMORY

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1929, Page 11

LOSS OF MEMORY

STRANGE CASE AT PERTH.

PERTH, November 21. A young man, who speaks English, German, Italian, and Mongolian, who . was found in a street suffering fi om injuries to the head, has since been an inmate of the Perth Hospital, but his mind is a blank regarding his name and anything prior to the accident. All attempts to identify him have . failed. He was unconscious when admitted to hospital, and until after an operation was performed on the injured head a few days later. Ho has been given the name of William Brown by the hospital authorities. Commonwealth authorities were asked to repatriate him, but this could not be done, because it was not known to which country he belonged. He seems to be a native of some Northern European country. His loss of memory has not applied to his general knowledge, for he is alert, and can read and write perfectly. An attempt was made to provide him with a pension, but the difficulty arose that nobody could say how long he had been in Australia. It is thought he was a seaman on an American ship, because, when recovering from the effects of the anaesthetic after the operation, he spoke of San Francisco, New York, and other American ports. His left arm and left leg bear scars which he thinks might have been caused by gunshot wounds, but he has no recollection of the war. An attempt may now be made to place him in an old men’s home, where he will receive all necessary medical attention.