The Reconstruction of Warriors by Er Mayhew
The Second World War produced a unique band of heroes: a small international group of men that were uniquely celebrated and lauded for their remarkable courage. The group was the so-called Guinea Pig Club, the band of airmen who crawled from burning aircraft but suffered the worst imaginable burns and crash injuries. The 647 survivors included British, Canadian, Czech and Polish airmen. Before the war, no one had anticipated airmen would survive mid-air fires. Consequently, provision for their care was virtually non-existant. Their rehabilitation was placed in the hands of one plastic surgeon named Archibald McIndoe at a hospital in East Grinsted, in the south of England. McIndoe quickly 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 patients a place in society as Allied war heroes. The Canadian government was so impressed with his work that it funded a Canadian Wing at the hospital. For the first time official records have been used to fully explain how the patients were injured, treated, then paraded as heroes. Using gripping first-hand accounts, Emily Mayhew paints a genuinely-moving picture illustrating incredible courage and triumph.
"It has been described as the most exclusive Club in the world, but the entrance fee is something most men would not care to pay and the conditions of membership are arduous in the extreme Sir Archibald McIndoe"
Emily Mayhew is the narrator of a forthcoming BBC documentary on the Guinea Pig Club and was a key advisor on an award-winning Canadian documentary which will be screened on satellite TV.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781853676109 |
| ISBN 10 | 1853676101 |
| Title | The Reconstruction of Warriors |
| Author | Er Mayhew |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Greenhill Books |
| Year published | 2004-09-05 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |