Helpline: 0300 102 1919
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We remember the Guinea Pigs this Remembrance Day
Seventy-five years ago this summer, a handful of burned airmen formed The Guinea Pig Club. Today, we remember and celebrate the service of the Guinea Pigs and their surgeon, Sir Archibald McIndoe.
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Honouring The Guinea Pig Club
On 2 November, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh unveiled a memorial to The Guinea Pig Club at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire.
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"His burns never bothered me but people did stare"
Mary Perry met her husband Jack after he was severely burned when his Halifax bomber crashed in 1944. Mary saw past his injuries to marry the handsome 19-year-old Flight Engineer 66 years ago. She tells us why she saw past the disfigurements when others struggled.
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"Archibald McIndoe did change my life, he made life worth living"
At 22-years-old, Robert 'Mac' Mathieson was left blinded when his Lancaster's windscreen suddenly exploded. Due to the nature of Mac's injuries, he was treated by the pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe, becoming one of his 'guinea pigs.'
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"The friendships I made with the Guinea Pigs will live with me for the rest of my days"
Guinea Pig Jan Black was 20-years-old when he arrived in Belfast on a freighter carrying meat, provisions and 180 volunteers from Buenos Aires. His dream was to become an RAF pilot. Two years later, the only survivor of a plane crash, he was left fighting for his life with terrible burns.
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"People coming towards you would weep and cry or walk on the other side of the road"
When his Halifax bomber exploded Guinea Pig Jack Perry suffered 80 per cent burns to his hands, face, and ears. Jack dedicates a large part of his recovery to Sir Archibald McIndoe and 'the town that didn't stare'.
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"The Club will go on until the very last one of us finishes his journey's end"
At 88 years old, John Miles is the only remaining post war Guinea Pig. In 1951, John was on a basic training exercise when the Harvard he was flying crashed and caught fire. Due to the nature of his injuries, John was treated at East Grinstead Hospital, where he met Sir Archibald McIndoe.
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"They christened me 'Fingers' because I had none!"
Alan 'Fingers' Morgan will never forget his 21st birthday. It was the day that would change his life forever and set him on course to become one of McIndoe's Guinea Pigs.
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"I remember my mother coming into the ward and asking which one is my son"
Doug Vince was 22 when his Stirling Bomber was shot down by a German aircraft. He suffered extensive burns when he freed himself from the wreckage and was subsequently treated at East Grinstead Hospital by Sir Archibald McIndoe.
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"There was a mirror on the wall and I was just horrified by what I saw"
Sandy Saunders was just 22 years old when his aircraft crashed and caught fire in World War Two. Sandy miraculously freed himself from the wreckage and was subsequently treated at East Grinstead Hospital for severe burns across his face and body.
The Guinea Pig Club was formed in 1941 to support aircrew who were undergoing reconstructive plastic surgery after receiving burn injuries in the Second World War. Visit our Guinea Pig Club site.
