LOST MEMORY RESTORED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22779, 15 January 1936, Page 8

LOST MEMORY RESTORED

SUDDEN SHOCK AS CURE RARE CASE OF EX-SOLDIER (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY. January 8. Genuine instances of loss of memory, where the victim recovers after a sudden shock, are sufficiently rare to arouse' considerable interest in the case of Norman Pinkstoue, aged 49, a Cootamundra (New South ,Wales) fruit agent, who wandered, his mind a blank, for two months through two States, before an accident restored his normal state of mind. Scientists discussed his case, and Mr G. F. K. Naylor, assistant psychologist at the Australian Institute of Industrial Psychology, said that while it was uncommon, it was not unparalleled. Loss of memory came about, he said, because of a person’s numerous personalities, one of which was in contact with everyday affairs, others being outlets for his imagination. There was no sharp line of demarcation between the normal and abnormal, and continued brooding or daydreaming tended to enlarge the proportions of one of the minor personalities until finally it could assume the ascendency over the normal state of mind. The subject would then forget what he was and begin living the existence of which he had been dreaming. Once such a lapse had occurred, said Mr Naylor, a recurrence was possible, especially if the subject had been a victim of shell-shock. Wherb there was any mental instability a sudden shock could easily upset the normal course of a man’s life. Pinksttme, a shell-shocked Digger who saw his brother killed only a few feet away from him at Lone Pine, came to Sydney towards the end of October to consult a nerve specialist, bringing about £6O in cash with him and expecting to be back at his Cootamundra home with his wife and three children within a few days. It is believed he made arrangements to see a specialist for treatment following the development of a nervous trouble. He disappeared completely and all efforts to trace him failed, until he rediscovered himself after two months. He was camped near the home of the Rev. Mr Lawton, of Jerilderie. in Riverina, where he burnt a hand at a fire, and collapsed. When he recovered, his memory had returned. Mrs Lawton said that the man came up to the manse and told her that he had burnt his hand when he fell oyer beside the fire. He had been suffering from loss of memory, but the shock had restored his recollection. His name, he said, was Pinkstone, and he wanted his wife, at Cootamundra, to know that, he had recovered. “ I took him along to the chemist, who dressed his hand, and then called the doctor, who later took him to the hospital,” she said. “He told me he had a brother at Wagga, and that he had been harvesting in many parts of Victoria. When I told him he had been missing for two months, he seemed greatly surprised. He said that he had been saving money to get back home, although he could not remember where his home was.” When found, Pinkstone had £1 in lus pocket. Pinkstone was reasonably welldressed, his hair was cut, and he was shaved. He carried a small swag, billy and clothes wrapped in a leather overcoat. , The emotional strain of meeting his wife and children was great, and since his return to Cootamundra, it. has been necessary for him to have complete rest.