Reconstruction Of Warriors, The: Archibald Mcindoe, The Royal Air Force And The Guinea Pig Club
by E. R. Mayhew /
2011 / English / EPUB
36.6 MB Download
The history of the Guinea Pig Club, the band of airmen who were
seriously burned in airplane fires, is a truly inspiring,
spine-tingling tale. Plastic surgery was in its infancy before the
Second World War. The most rudimentary techniques were only known
to a few surgeons worldwide. The Allies were tremendously fortunate
in having the maverick surgeon Archibald McIndoe - nicknamed 'the
Boss' or 'the Maestro' - operating at a small hospital in East
Grinstead in the south of England.McIndoe constructed a medical
infrastructure from scratch. After arguing with his superiors, he
set up a revolutionary new treatment regime. Uniquely concerned
with the social environment, or 'holistic care', McIndoe also
enlisted the help of the local civilian population. He rightly
secured his group of patients - dubbed the Guinea Pig Club - an
honored place in society as heroes of Britain's war.For the first
time official records have been used to explain fully how and why
this remarkable relationship developed between the Guinea Pig Club,
the RAF and the Home Front. First-person recollections bring to
life the heroism of the airmen with incredible clarity.
The history of the Guinea Pig Club, the band of airmen who were
seriously burned in airplane fires, is a truly inspiring,
spine-tingling tale. Plastic surgery was in its infancy before the
Second World War. The most rudimentary techniques were only known
to a few surgeons worldwide. The Allies were tremendously fortunate
in having the maverick surgeon Archibald McIndoe - nicknamed 'the
Boss' or 'the Maestro' - operating at a small hospital in East
Grinstead in the south of England.McIndoe constructed a medical
infrastructure from scratch. After arguing with his superiors, he
set up a revolutionary new treatment regime. Uniquely concerned
with the social environment, or 'holistic care', McIndoe also
enlisted the help of the local civilian population. He rightly
secured his group of patients - dubbed the Guinea Pig Club - an
honored place in society as heroes of Britain's war.For the first
time official records have been used to explain fully how and why
this remarkable relationship developed between the Guinea Pig Club,
the RAF and the Home Front. First-person recollections bring to
life the heroism of the airmen with incredible clarity.