Sir Archibald McIndoe FRCS - The Guinea Pig Club.

As Flight Lieutenant Tom Gleave led the attack on a formation of Ju 88 bombers over the south coast, his Hurricane was hit. "A long spout of flame curled up from the starboard wing, up the cockpit and across my right shoulder. I had some crazy notion that if I rocked the aircraft the fire might go out. Instead the flames increased until the cockpit was like the centre of a blow-lamp nozzle." A great flash and explosion blew Gleave out of the cockpit. Pulling the parachute ripcord, he floated down. Fire had consumed his nose, shrivelling the nostrils into tiny holes between his eyes. His hands, arms and legs were burned so badly he could no longer use them.
Gleave's salvation was Dr Archibald McIndoe. Born in 1900 in New Zealand, McIndoe was a plastic surgeon who rebuilt the faces and bodies of mutilated fliers. In ward 3 of a brown wooden hut behind the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital in East Grinstead, he and his team gave hope and a new life to Gleave and many others fried beyond recognition.
For Gleave, McIndoe built a new nose; for others, he rebuilt entire faces, ears, limbs and more. He also encouraged their mental rehabilitation, helping them to come to terms with their terrifying appearance. Wives, girlfriends and servicewomen were asked to meet the Guinea Pigs, as the men were known, at special dances. Although they recoiled in horror at first sight, the women were mindful of the men's plight. "I gritted my teeth," recalled ATS Vera Cole, "walked straight up to one of them and began to talk. Other girls followed my example. Soon their scarred hands and faces faded into the background."
Thanks to McIndoe, Gleave and the other courageous young men could rebuild their lives. McIndoe was knighted in 1947 - one of many honours he received before he died in 1960.

http://www.vulch.cwc.net/heroe.html

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Tom Gleave wrote a superb first-hand memoir of his experiences entitled ' I Had A Row With A German ' by 'RAF Casualty', Macmillan, London, 1941.

In it, he gives a moving account of the first time his wife sees him after his narrow escape from death.

'My hands, forearms and legs were encased in dried tannic acid ; my face, which felt the size of the proverbial melon, was treated in the same way, and I peered through slits in the mask.

I heard footsteps approaching my bed, and then saw my wife standing gazing at me.

She flushed a little and said,

'What on earth have you been doing with yourself, darling ?'

I found it hard to answer.
'Had a row with a German', I replied.
She tried to smile, and sat down by my side.'

Today, it's fashionable to sneer at the 'stiff upper lip' attitude, but people were different, then.

( BTW, in my study I have a piston from Hurricane L1965, P/O CD Francis - Tom Gleave's 253 Squadron wingman, shot down and killed the day before Gleave fell ).

( SUDDEN THOUGHT : Am I infringing copyright, here ? )

[ 14. August 2003, 10:44 AM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

The Guinea Pig Anthem

We are McIndoe’s army,
We are his Guinea Pigs.
With dermatomes and pedicles,
Glass eyes, false teeth and wigs.
And when we get our discharge
We’ll shout with all our might:
“Per ardua ad astra”
We’d rather drink than fight
John Hunter runs the gas works,
Ross Tilley wields the knife.
And if they are not careful
They’ll have your flaming life.
So, Guinea Pigs, stand steady
For all your surgeon’s calls:
And if their hands aren’t steady
They’ll whip off both your ears

We’ve had some mad Australians,
Some French, some Czechs, some Poles.
We’ve even had some Yankees,
God bless their precious souls.
While as for the Canadians -
Ah! That’s a different thing.
They couldn’t stand our accent
And built a separate Wing


http://www.queenvic.demon.co.uk/gpig.htm

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Outstanding foresight on the part of the British Government to put together the resources that allowed that surgeon to treat those men so well. Outstanding humor on their part in dealing with their situation. Stiff upper lip indeed. I salute them. [img]graemlins/salute.gif[/img]

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PEOPLE SLEEP PEACEABLY IN THEIR BEDS AT NIGHT ONLY BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO DO VIOLENCE ON THEIR BEHALF. GEORGE ORWELL