LOSS OF MEMORY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17125, 4 December 1929, Page 5

LOSS OF MEMORY

STRANGE CASE AT PERTH PERTH, Nov. 20. A young man, who speaks English, German, Italian, and Mongolian, who was found in a street suffering from injuries to the head, has since been an inmate of the Perth Hospital, hut his mind is a blank regarding ins name and anything prior to the accident. All attempts to identify him have tailed, lie. was unconscious when admitted to hospital, and until after an operation was performed on the injured head a few days later. He has been given the name of William Brown by the hospital authoril ies. Commonwealth authorities were asked to repatriate him, but this could not be dotie because it was not known to ;which country ho belonged. He seems to be a native of some Northern European country. Ilis loss of memory lias 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, fait the difficulty arose that nobody could say how long he had been in Australia, ft is thought ho was a seaman on an American ship, because, when recovering from the effects of the anaesthetic after his operation, lie spoke of Kan Francises), New York, and oilier American ports. His left arm and left leg bear scars which he thinks might have been caused by gunshot wounds, but lie has no recollection of the war. An attempt may now be made to place him in an old men’s home, where ho will receive all necessary medical attention.