The Guinea Pig Club, Emily Mayhew
The Guinea Pig Club, Emily Mayhew
List: $34.49 | Sale: $24.15
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The Guinea Pig Club
Archibald McIndoe and the RAF in World War II

Author: Emily Mayhew

Narrator: Karen Cass

Unabridged: 7 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/01/2019

Categories: Nonfiction, History

Synopsis

The history of the Guinea Pig Club, the band of airmen who were seriously burned in aeroplane 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 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 honoured place in society as heroes of Britain’s war.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lauren

You will not have read a World War Two history like it. Dr Mayhew tells the story of Britain's aerial conflict through the stories of the men that fought it and sacrificed for it. It is a sensitive and original look at how the dog-fights and thousand bomber raids really affected the servicemen involv......more

Goodreads review by Phil

The subject of burns-injured airmen from WW2 could easily be written up emotively, but this excellent narrative of the early history of plastic surgery and the ground-breaking work of Archibald McIndoe with the RAF comes with objectivity and captures the essence of the Guinea Pig Club and the town t......more

Goodreads review by Andy

It's pretty dry, really. Only people who have some experience with burn treatments like me would probably be interested in it.......more

Goodreads review by Catherine

What a fascinating read, brought about because Betty Cranmer, of Granby Colorado, once worked as a nurse under McIndoe in East Grinstead. McIndoe was born in New Zealand and went on to pioneer plastic surgery techniques for the many RAF pilots badly burned while serving in WWII.......more

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