A new musical will tell the story of the surgeon, who invented a number of innovative treatments to heal the wounded airmen during World War II and has shaped plastic surgery over the years.
Andrew Doyle (from Northern Ireland) is a writer and comedian. His latest project has been submitted to The Spectator.
In the 1940s Sir McIndoe discovered new ways to repair skin injuries while working as an intern at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead. The Sussex region was soon known as “the town that didn’t stare”, as the disfigured patients began rebuilding their lives.
His work, which he called the Guinea Pig Club after his 600+ patients, has had a profound impact on modern treatments. It led to the formation of lifelong relationships between the airmen who are now recovering.
The men formed the club in 1941. This was due to the experimental nature and surgical procedures that they had to undergo.
Andrew Doyle from Northern Ireland is a comedian and writer. He has chosen Archibald McIndoe, a New Zealand surgeon, as the subject of his new project. (image: Archibald McIndoe with his patients in the Second World War).
When he was working as a nurse at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead in the 1940s Sir McIndoe (pictured) discovered new ways to repair skin injuries.
As his patients, both disfigured and in recovery from surgery, went on rebuilding their lives, Sussex became known as “the town that didn’t stare”.
Doyle says that around 15-20 of those service men are still living. However, they continued meeting up until just a few years ago.
Sir McIndoe later moved into Queen Victoria Hospital and established a Centre for Plastic and Jaw Surgery at the start of World War 2.
His expertise included deep cuts and severe facial disfigurement such as loss of eyeslids. He also discovered a variety of other treatments.
Many of his victims had suffered severe burns or were crushed by their aircraft during the Battle of Britain.
This surgeon developed the walking-stalk graft skin graft and realized that submerging a wound into saline promotes healing. It also improves survival rates.
The serendipitous finding was made from the observation of different healing rates among pilots landing on land or at sea.
Many of the methods Sir McIndoe invented in the early days of plastic surgery are still being used today to save lives.
His greatest innovation was the way he removed dead skin to replace it with skin from other areas of his body.
Sir McIndoe claimed that two weeks of cutting the damaged skin under anesthetic would produce better results. It is now standard practice.
Not only did he develop new treatments for badly burnt faces, but he also recognized the necessity of rehabilitation and reintegration of the injured into the normal world.
He gave up the convalescent uniforms to let patients wear their service uniforms.
Not only did he develop new treatments for badly burnt faces, but he also recognized the necessity of rehabilitation and reintegration of the injured into the normal world.
He gave up the convalescent uniforms to let patients wear their service uniforms.
‘He wanted the patients to be happy. He employed pretty nurses. Everyone was allowed to drink and smoke on the ward. They could also wear whatever clothes they wanted. They didn’t observe rank,’ says Doyle.
‘And they had to go into the pubs in town and interact with the community, which was absolutely revolutionary. So, the community became used to seeing disfigured aircraftmen. Anywhere else in the country they’d be glared at, leered at, and treated like freaks.’
In reference to Sir McIndoe’s 600+ patients, the Guinea Pig Club (pictured), Sir McIndoe’s work has had an influence on modern treatment and led to the formation of lifelong relationships between the airmen who are now recovering.
Neville Blond was assisted by Elaine Blond. They convinced locals to send the patients home and support them.
You could often see them around town, despite their injuries. They attended dances, drank in pubs, and watched films. They were often married to local nurses and women who helped them.
They were called ‘His boys’ by Sir McIndoe, while the staff would refer to him as ‘the Boss or ‘the Maestro’.
However Sir McIndoe wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, says Doyle, explaining: ‘He was a nightmare to work with, apparently. He and his wife split up. He was a very egotistical man. They called him “God” on the ward. He was not completely silent. And he could be brutal.’
He liked new patients to sit in the gallery of the surgery to watch as fellow airmen were operated on, insisting they had to ‘witness it, and understand it, so they were no longer afraid of it’.
During the war, the burns victims became very well known due to a documentary about the surgeon’s work.
Following the end of World War II, Sir McIndoe went back to private practice. His specialty was the “McIndoe nose”.
Jim Marshall, one of few members left of the Guinea Pig Club at Erskine Red Cross House, is pictured July 19, 2021
He was created CBE in 1944 and after the war he received a number of British and foreign honours, including a Commandeur de la Légion d’honneur (Commander of the Legion of Honour) and a knighthood in 1947.
The same year, he also traveled to East Africa and began working on Kilimanjaro. He then founded the African Medical and Research Foundation in 1956 with two of his former students, Tom Rees and Michael Wood.
Later, he became one of its founders.
McIndoe, a successful New Zealand printer and singer, was born in Dunedin in May 1900.
He studied medicine at the University of Otago before moving to the American Mayo Clinic for a fellowship.
He moved to London in 1930 and was then appointed as a consultant in plastic surgery for the Royal Air Force in 1938.
When he arrived in the UK, he had a difficult time securing a job until his distant cousin Sir Harold Gillies – a noted plastic surgeon of the First World War – invited him to join his private practice.
Sir McIndoe, who was 60 years old, founded the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation. This medical research center, which is based at the hospital, specialized in the repair of skin wounds. One year after McIndoe’s death, it was opened.
He also offered him a position in the plastic surgery clinic at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London and under Gillies tuition, Sir McIndoe quickly became a leading figure in the field of plastic surgery.
In 1960, Sir McIndoe died at age 60. He created the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation. This was a medical centre that focused on skin wound healing. One year later, it was opened.
After Sir McIndoe’s passing, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh became the president of the club. To those who knew him, he was called ‘one among the boys.
Prince Philip was a frequent visitor to East Grinstead to attend the Guinea Pig’s annual meeting. One of his final public engagements prior to his retirement in 2017, was to unveiled the memorial statue to the club at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The musical will follow Sir McIndoe’s character as he campaigns to raise more funding from the scientific establishment.
Doyle suggests the Medical Council ‘were really sceptical’ because they hadn’t encountered these types of methods before.
The show’s structure will see Sir McIndoe’s character delivering a lecture on his work in order to raise funds, which will include stories of the airmen.
Doyle and the drama are the inspirations for a film about this club. The movie stars Richard E. Grant, McIndoe. Also in pre-production.