In September 1939, a surgeon named Archibald McIndoe arrived at a small hospital in East Grinstead, about 30 miles south of London. The war had just begun, and the air force was about to meet an injury it called the Airman's Burn. Fighter pilots sat close to fuel tanks full of high-octane petrol. When a tank was hit in combat, it ignited, and the cockpit filled with fire. Pilots threw their hands up to shield their eyes, so the deepest burns fell on the face and the backs of the hands. McIndoe was one of only four experienced plastic surgeons in the country. His burns unit was a single ward, known as Ward 3, inside the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital. Its patients would later found a club with its own rules about drink. But was the usual treatment helping these men at all?
Archibald McIndoe and the Guinea Pig Club
Surgeon Archibald McIndoe rebuilt burned pilots' faces, and 39 founding members started the Guinea Pig Club in 1941.
The Airman's Burn
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Airman's Burn?
It was the name for deep burns suffered by fighter pilots when high-octane fuel tanks ignited in combat. Pilots threw their hands up to shield their eyes, so the worst burns fell on the face and the backs of the hands.
Why was the Guinea Pig Club called that?
Its members were living test subjects for new and unproven plastic surgery techniques. The club was founded on July 20, 1941 as a social and drinking society, so the men could support one another through the trauma of their operations.
How did McIndoe change the way burns were treated?
He persuaded the RAF to ban tannic acid, which formed a hard shell that made skin contract and die. He used saline baths instead, which kept wounds open and clean and made later skin grafting more successful and less painful.
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