Spike Milligan

by Spike Milligan

  Bankruptcy number – 672

  The Editor

  The Daily Mirror

  6 March 1998

  Dear Sir,

  Last Christmas I tried to get some underprivileged children to come and stay with my wife and me for Christmas with lunch, presents and to spend Christmas week with us. However, out of a nation of over fifty-five million people, I was unable to make this happen.

  Sincerely,

  Spike Milligan

  16

  Mental Health

  Charles Denton Esq.

  British Broadcasting Corporation

  Television Centre

  London W12

  14 June 1967

  Dear Charles Denton,

  Your offer about a person being concerned with some situation or place does appeal to me, because the place I am concerned about is the world and the person homosapiens.

  Love to meet you for a drink because I am literally bursting apart at the seams with grief at the Christian world as it is in relationship to what it should be and even sadder what it was.

  My particular concern is people with mental illness being a victim myself I can speak with great authority on this subject.

  Anyhow, if you get your secretary to ring mine on PAR 2768 to arrange a meeting we can have a drink together.

  Regards,

  Spike Milligan

  Dictated by Spike Milligan and signed in his absence

  [Charles had asked Spike to meet him to discuss a future programme on the state of the world.]

  Miss Jan Black

  Rag Committee, 1969

  Gloucestershire College of Education

  29 November 1968

  Dear Editor,

  You say your Mag is in aid of mental health! Dear Miss, there’s no such thing, if there was anybody in position of power with any semblance of mental health, do you think the world would be in this bloody mess. Young minds at risk is different. – Anybody with a young mind is taking a risk – young means fresh – unsullied, ready to be gobbled up in an adult world, bringing the young into a visionless world of adults, like all our leaders. Their world is dead – dead – dead, and my God, that’s why it stinks! They look at youth in horror – and say ‘They are having a revolution’, but what do they want. I say they don’t know what they want, but they know what they don’t want, and that is, the repetition of the past mistakes, towards which the adult old order is still heading. War – armistice – building up the pre war standards – capitalism – labour – crisis – war and so on. I digress.

  Mental Health. I have had five nervous breakdowns, and all the medics gave me was medicine – tablets – but no love or any attempt at involvement, in this respect I might as well have been a fish in a bowl. The mentally ill need LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE, as yet unobtainable on the NHS or the private world of psychiatry but tablets yes, and a bill for £5. 5s. 0d. a visit – if they know who you are, it’s £10. 10s. 0d. a visit – the increased fee has an immediate depressing effect, so you come out worse than you went in.

  As yet, I have not been cured, patched up via chemicals, yes.

  Letter unfinished, but I’ve run out of time, sorry.

  Regards,

  Spike Milligan

  Father Michael Gibbons

  St Colman’s

  Inishbofin

  Co. Galway

  18 March 1968

  Dear Father Gibbons,

  Thank you for your offer of a sanctuary. Having had so many so called Christian Monasteries turned down direct requests for help in allowing me to overcome my mental problems, they immediately refer me to the National Health service.

  I believe in Jesus, and I find that Christianity has almost forgotten him.

  This Nashdon Abbey (I think that’s the name and how you spell it) with central heating, no travel problems, having to travel on packed tubes – a nice warm cosy situation, in fact, ‘cut-off’ from Christian Society.

  There is a lot of re-thinking to be done on a massive scale, from the Pope downwards, before that simple Christian message of ‘Go ye among them’ comes back again.

  I possibly will come and see you one day, you sound a nice person, and that’s how we start being Christian.

  As ever,

  Spike Milligan

  Major-General C. M. F. Deakin CB, CBE

  Mental Health Research Fund

  London W1

  26 April 1968

  Dear Major-General Deakin,

  Your letter of the 11th April to hand. Strange you should write to me because I don’t know whether you know I myself am a victim of mental ill health. In fact sometimes I find it very difficult to carry on.

  But what is difficult is the complete lack of understanding by people in mental homes, and I mean, doctors, matrons and nurses, who seem to have absolutely no idea of what emotional understanding they should adopt to gain the confidence of the patient.

  At the present moment mental health means one thing only, and that is giving the sufferer drugs; this is not difficult, I could buy the drugs and administer them myself, but as I say there is no understanding of the actual emotional needs.

  In fact, my friend actor and writer, Barry Humphries likewise suffers in the same way as I do, in fact, at the time of writing he is in Beech Hill Nursing home, North London, and I am about to go into Bowden House Clinic, Harrow on the Hill. Both Humphries and myself are agreed that the attitudes of nurses and staff to patients is terrifying; not because the staff are heartless, it is just that nobody has instructed them in the actual needs of the patient, that is apart from giving them medicine. Barry Humphries and I have agreed to write a white paper explaining where the doctors etc. fall down. There is one thing I will point out right from the start, you don’t smile when you go into a mental sufferers room, it looks exactly the same as someone smiling at a funeral.

  Anyhow, by all means let us meet, perhaps you would care to have lunch with me and we can talk about the charity side then. I don’t feel much disposed to charity at the moment, as I am about to pay 53 gns. a week to go into a home where, in fact, all you really get are tranquilisers. I will get my manager Norma Farnes to contact you after I have pulled out of the present depression.

  Sincerely,

  Spike Milligan

  Dictated by Spike Milligan over the

  telephone and signed in his absence

  Miss Marjorie

  Kent

  18 June 1968

  Dear Marjorie ,

  You will drop dead when you discover I am answering your letter of the 12th March, 1966. I may have answered it already, if I have then I will stop writing immediately.

  I did enjoy your letter, and understood all the contents and meanings, and I enjoyed the poetry very much, despite the remark that the editor had pruned one of the pieces.

  It’s all very painful and hopeless, isn’t it. What can you do, you just go on living.

  If ever you are in London, and would like a drink or something like that, or perhaps you would like to be hit with an iron club, let me know.

  Anyhow, I am always willing to see people, and talk to them there is little else one can do.

  Sincerely,

  Spike Milligan

  Mr Christopher Mayhew, MP for Woolwich East

  Chairman

  National Association for Mental Health

  c/o House of Commons

  14 October 1970

  Dear Mr Christopher Mayhew,

  I can only compliment you on your concern for the mentally ill. Having been a victim of mental illness since the war, and having been in and out of what are laughingly called psychiatric establishments, I am only too well aware of the lack of understanding and love between doctors, nurses and patients. I mention the word ‘love’ because it is an essential ingredient for the recovery of the mental patient, and whereas medics will prescribe drugs there is absolutely no attempt to offer what is the greatest remedy of all, that is, love and understanding.

  Of course, secon
dly, as you say, the almost complete indifference in the election manifestos to this problem of mental illness makes it necessary for a man like yourself to take action. If there is anything I can do to help please let me know. Perhaps you might like to take lunch with me some day and you can hear from a mentally ill person where the shortcomings lie. Believe me, if you haven’t suffered mentally you can never really understand the problem – it is like a language, you have to know it to understand.

  I do as much work as I can for various mental illness organisations. If I can help you, you just have to say the word.

  I saw written on a wall in Finchley ‘Psychiatry Kills’. Very strange words, but it had an essence of truth in it.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike Milligan

  [One of literally hundreds of letters Spike received from the general public with mental health issues. This was his answer.]

  Philip Esq.

  London E2

  8 June 1971

  Dear Philip,

  Just write your troubles on a piece of paper and see if I can help. This is because you can’t get through on the ’phone I have been away filming and I am filming off and on until the middle of June.

  Okay – write.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike

  Philip Esq.

  London E2

  21 June 1971

  Dear ,

  Thank you for your letter. I am sorry I am so busy.

  I do not misunderstand you at all and do not be afraid to write to me because I am only too willing to help people who are having trouble, especially young people like yourself. I think you are a splendid person, , and I would be proud to have you as a son, so don’t let people say anything to the contrary.

  You keep on trying your way with music. Remember there are also musics outside of the pop world, for instance Ravel and Debussy wrote exquisite music even though it’s not electronic. It is electrifying to those who like it.

  Like you say, words never sound the same on paper, but don’t worry just write when you feel like it and I will try and see you if and when I can, but right now I really am a busy man.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike

  Esq.

  Cornwall

  13 February 1973

  My dear ,

  I got your letter and one does not have to read more than a few lines to realise that you are going through it. It’s a cross you have to bear, , nobody is quite to blame for people like us getting ill, it’s just that you were born with a great emotional range, and of course after such a panorama, your emotions are terribly naked and vulnerable in areas that other people do not possess.

  You will get better because you have got fire inside. Try doing what I do, try and enjoy the fact that you are having a breakdown in your own miserable way, and think that you have not got any work to do, and at the same time you are getting paid for it. It may not make you feel better, but at least you will know that you and your wife are provided for during your illness.

  Of course I understand it only too well, but as for trying to explain it, you know, as I do, it is impossible, and yet the damn thing is so positive. If it is any help . I do know, whom I consider, a good psychiatrist, but bearing in mind that nobody can ever quite cure this illness, but there are psychiatrists who can alleviate it to a degree.

  I know the BBC can be terribly wearing, because there is no such person as BBC consequently it has no heart, and the people who live in such an organisation either accept the status of being entirely unemotional or people like yourself who fight the inertia which comes with such an organisation. What makes me sick about all this is I don’t suppose for one moment Charles Curran even knows that you are not working, now how can you expect a firm to be run with heart if the man who runs it does not know what is going on in the lower echelons. But don’t carry any malice or hatred , that only makes you burn faster and the heat is unbearable.

  If I had the time I would come down and see you for a while but alas I can’t.

  I notice you are staying at . Is this the home of the painter, I am almost certain he lives there and he is a friend of mine and a very splendid man whom I met in the war in Italy. If so, please make it known to him he seems to be a very kind man.

  I hope that you are being given some kind of sedative or tranquilisers, because just to send you away is just transferring the illness to a new geographical location.

  I won’t write further , because I think you know that I understand your feelings and how your mind must be searching at the moment to find out if you should take a new angle on life, and suchlike, but it will be the same old life when you get better and it will go on and on and on, and you just have to get used to it Chum.

  I am feeling for you.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike Milligan

  [This is Spike at his best. Compassion was his saving grace.]

  Elizabeth ,

  Norfolk

  27 July 1973

  Dear Elizabeth,

  Thank you for your letter. I like you am a neurotic. Don’t worry too much about only having three ‘A’ Levels, I never passed any exams at all. You don’t tell me how old you are, I presume you are a young woman, and I suppose so do you. I have no idea what to do about mental illness, I am still in the dark, I still live a gloomy life but I have to press on to provide for my wife and four children. There are literally a million or two million people like us, and what you have got to do is to get used to the fact that you will go up and down in life and try and get used to the fact, that does help a bit. There are some drugs which do help, but do not cure. The most important thing to avoid is habit-forming sleeping pills.

  I wish I could help you more. Next stop God.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike Milligan

  Edward Esq.

  Middlesex

  22 September 1976

  Dear Edward,

  Your letter is one of a slow trickle of such incidents, what’s happened to you, and in other people’s lives.

  It’s unbelievable, but then John Profumo was a classical case of what current morality can do, that is, because of Profumo’s sex life he was dismissed from the Foreign Office, where apparently he was one of the most brilliant men in office of this century. What this system is saying is, we have a man here who has a cure for cancer, but because he had sexual intercourse, hanging from a gas bracket, with a prostitute, we do not wish to know the cure for cancer. In your case they don’t even have any immorality to go on to discharge you, but they are willing to put you out to grass because you have an illness, an illness in fact which does not incapacitate your ability to teach, which makes it even more perverse.

  But then, this is the society that we are living in, a very hard, thick, tasteless, plastic, self-indulgent mob.

  We are isolated (that is you and I, and our kind), and the mob rushes around us because it says that we are different, in fact, in a strange way, King Louis and Marie Antoinette, through no choice of their own found themselves King and Queen of France, and the mob didn’t like it – alas the mob that doesn’t like us runs the country, and there is no way out for us except to commiserate with each other; and strangely by this isolation I feel myself more a Prince than a figure of scorn.

  Yes, do send me a book of your poetry, I am sending you one of mine.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike Milligan

  Andrew

  London W5

  19 August 1977

  Dear Andrew,

  Briefly, I still suffer with depression, they started in about 1953, and the smallest action or word by someone can bring it on again. However, I have come to the conclusion that one has to live with it, it’s best to take this approach, and I am certain I am right. If one is born with one leg shorter than the other, no drug in the world is going to make it grow any longer, so say to yourself OK I am stuck with it.

  Now, good news, I have got much better at being
able to accept it in the last five years, and they are not as frequent as they used to be, and I realise that if it happens they will pass off, like any other illness.

  I realise the Hell of it, but that’s what life is all about. I have been on all the drugs, but now I do not take any, except 10 mg. Triptozole at night, which I am also gradually reducing to 5 mg. I don’t know if any of the drugs ever did me any harm, as I am still physically very fit, but I have no idea what effect they have upon the mind, other than in my case, to make it very dull and sleepy.

  As to a Faith Healer, I have no idea whether they work or not, as you are writing to me eight months after you have been attending a Faith Healer, I presume that it was a waste of time, and I have always suspected that it has just been the hope that is imbibed in Faith Healing that gives one a sense of relief, but then at the end of the Faith treatment, you are back to square one.

  If you feel a definite benefit from any of the drugs, then my advice is to maintain taking them. Each person is chemically different, and therefore each drug acts differently, on each person, the only thing is to try them all in turn, and see which one acts best on you, though I must say I have met people on drugs who are still depressed …

  I have had ECT, when I came to, I just cried and cried and cried, I feel that it might have broken the tension in my head, but then so would being thrown into the River, and half drowning, it’s the same shock effect.

  It boils down to ECT is making you have an accident under anaesthetics, it didn’t do me any harm.

  As for going self-employed, that is the best idea of all. I needless to say am self-employed, but even then there comes times when a whole series, proposed by the BBC, has to be cancelled because of mental illness. It is, as I say, a burden one has to carry. This way, one can handle the whole thing much better.

  Love, light and peace,

  Spike Milligan

  Dr John Reid

  Minister of State for Armed Forces

  Ministry of Defence

  London SW1

  18 July 1997

  Dear Doctor Reid,

  A letter from the Prime Minister tells me that you are in fact again planning to look at the issue of British soldiers executed for offences other than murder and mutiny.