´óÏó´«Ã½

I left school in 1944 and with no careers advice available it was a choice between teaching or working in a bank. Until an RAF officer came into my fathers printing firm, asking if he knew anyone who would be interested in working at the hospital with the Guinea-Pigs.

I jumped at the chance! The department , called the Welfare Dept had two functions: 1) to provide a vocational/careers advice for the men who couldn't return to their previous occupation due to gross disfigurement & hand injuries and 2) to keep the men entertained (the non-serious bit!). They were mainly healthy young men, despite their injuries & they had to be entertained during the long years of treatment.

Patients came from all over the world — Poles, Canadians and even a Russian. These patients had mainly acquired their injuries due to air crashes on active service from the Battle of Britain onwards. Flying suits protected their bodies and limbs, but not their faces and hands. The burns that were received destroyed flesh and muscle - horrific injuries. Mr. Archibald McIndoe (later "Sir" Archibald), perfected the technique of plastic surgery which involved replacing lost tissue with healthy skin from other parts of the body. There were various grafting techniques but one of them which was rather grotesque, involved making a tube of healthy skin (a pedicle), from an undamaged part of the body and joining it to a injured portion such as the face or nose. After a few weeks it could be released assuming all had gone well, and the new skin was in place. Early corneal grafts were also attempted, but sadly were not successful.

During this period the patient looked rather hideous, but when I went to work at the hospital, it became my life and I thought of little else and I soon got used to the distressing injuries that I saw. I even went into the operating theatre to watch the operations because I thought I ought to.

The Welfare Department was run by the RAF and we had 2 offices. I worked for Flight Lieutenant Wheeler who was in charge of the Vocational Advice testing system, which was employed to find out what different jobs people could do when they couldn't return to the Air Force or their previous jobs. He had 2 RAF women clerks who gave all the patients the tests to ascertain what skills they had and more suitable career choices they could make. The other more serious occupation the patients had between operations, was that instead of pursuing the usual Occupational Therapy of basket weaving and making rugs, we had so called "industrial therapy" where the chaps used to go and assemble little mechanical items for which they got paid. I used to go round and deliver their pay whilst they were in bed, and sit on their beds and chat!

The adjoining office was run by a Warrant Officer and a Sergeant. They were responsible for the entertainment side of the patients welfare and we had to keep them out of mischief! Also in-between the operations they were able to walk about, carouse etc etc. A superb entertainment system was available to them - this consisted of concerts & shows put on in the hospital wards. The patients were invited to a number of very nice local country houses and mansions. In addition we took them up to shows in London etc.

The patients were still there after the end of the war - and I remember taking them up to Sir Michael Redgrave's house in Chiswick to watch the Boat Race. He had a front garden that went down to the river. At the time, Vanessa and Corin were in the nursery and I remember being very impressed that the lavatory had fitted book-shelves - which I thought must be the height of luxury!

We also used to put on classical music evenings for the patients and this was my first real experience of classical music. I do remember 2 famous classical musicians who came down to hospital and gave recitals in the wards. One memorable recital in Ward 3 (the main RAF burns ward), was given by the pianist Solomon. A reasonable grand piano was available as Archibald McIndoe played the piano himself. I was also a pianist and was very excited to meet Solomon and give him tea before the recital. You can perhaps imagine the ward with the patients in beds and the staff and visitors crowding round to enjoy the recital. I can't remember what he played, but I do remember that it was very well received by the audience. Later on we also had Benno Mosseivitsch another famous pianist of the period.

We also provided weekly recorded classical music concerts which patients could attend, but were also broadcast to the wards. We also put on plays in the wards and had visits from famous light entertainers of the time, down from the ´óÏó´«Ã½ & London stage.

All these diversions were countering the terrible psychological suffering the men were going through. In many cases their lives were utterly changed - their appearances would never be restored to their original state and apart from their careers being changed, their relationships were in many cases ruined. Some wives and partners couldn't cope with the appearance of their men and there were terrible tragedies which underlined their time at the hospital - operations could go on for years. At the beginning, the first things that had to be done were functional - like lips, eyelids etc being replaced. Later on they went on to make cosmetic improvements as far as possible, with periods of convalescence both in the neighborhood and at home inbetween. When the war in Europe ended in 1945, it continued in the Far East and at all times, although we had mainly RAF patients, we also had Army and Navy patients. All the patients received psychological counseling for their problems.

My recollections of the period that I worked at the hospital - 1944 -1948, were mainly happy ones. There was always something exciting going on and it was very satisfying to feel that I could do something useful in an extraordinary period. I feel extremely privileged to have worked there and I shall never forget my 4 years at the hospital - I still know 2 of the patients who live locally. I have been to a few of their reunions, gradually alas, not so many are still alive.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.