The Guinea Pig Club

The Guinea Pig Club 

Portraits by Nicola Kurtz 


Portraits by Nicola Kurtz



The ‘Guinea Pigs’ were airmen treated for serious burns 

by the pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe 

during the Second World War.



McIndoe developed many new techniques to treat 

their injuries – hence the name ‘Guinea Pig’.



By 1945 the Guinea Pig Club had 

over 649 members. 

Their experiences forged lifelong bonds.



From ‘The Guinea Pig Anthem’ 

Sung to the tune of ‘Aurelia’, Samuel Wesley, 1864 

We are McIndoe’s army, 

We are his Guinea Pigs. 

With dermatomes and pedicles, 

Glass eyes, false teeth 

and wigs. 

And when we get our discharge 

We’ll shout with all 

our might: 

“Per ardua ad astra” 

We’d rather drink than fight



The final reunion of the Guinea Pig Club 

took place earlier this year. 

Their portraits, and their stories, will be 

preserved by the Hunterian Museum.



Bill Foxley 

Injuries to 

hands, face and 

eyes. 

“My strongest 

memory of the 

hospital is 

getting 

married, and 

all the staff 

and town coming 

to the 

reception.”



R M ‘Mac’ Mathieson 

“My plane 

crashed and my 

face got 

mashed.” 

Two years and 

ten operations 

at Queen 

Victoria 

Hospital.





John Southwell 

“My main memory 

is of the 

wonderful 

dedication of 

Sir Archie, 

Ross Tilley, 

Norman Park and 

the nurses and 

orderlies.”



Derek Martin 

Crashed into 

sea. Injuries 

to head and 

face. 

“My main 

concern was to 

return to 

flying.”



Stanley Crampton 

Burns to head 

and hands. 

“My nose was 

reconstructed 

from forehead 

and body 

grafts, and 

various skin 

grafts were 

taken from my 

legs.”



Dr Sandy Saunders 

“McIndoe 

influenced me 

to enter 

medical 

training. His 

sympathetic 

understanding 

of the 

psychological 

needs of 

patients was my 

inspiration.”



Douglas Vince 

Burns to face, 

hands and arms. 

“Being a Guinea 

Pig means so 

much – lifelong 

friends, 

help and 

comradeship.”



Eric Pearce 

Crashed during 

flight-testing. 

“The orbit of 

my left eye was 

broken and the 

eye pushed 

back, and my 

hands and legs 

were damaged.”



John Rogers 

Facial injuries 

after crashing 

during night 

flight. 

“I am honoured 

to have been a 

member of such 

a unique group 

who endured so 

much.”



Alexander Shankland 

Plane crashed 

on take-off. 

“As I was 

escaping 

through the 

hatch an 

explosion 

occurred which 

caused my 

burns.”



Jack Toper 


knees and 

hands. 

“I have enjoyed 

a relationship 

with a unique 

group of men.”





Henry Ernst 

One of two 

survivors from 

a crew of six. 

“I would like 

my ashes spread 

over the site 

where our plane 

came down.”



Jack Perry 

Engine caught 

fire, causing 

burns to face, 

hands and legs. 

“Being a Guinea 

Pig means 

everything – 

especially 

being able to 

help many far 

more badly 

burned than I.”



Tommy Brandon 


hands, arms and 

back. 

Spent four 

years at Queen 

Victoria 

Hospital and 

underwent more 

than 20 

operations.



Dennis Neale 

Injuries to 

face and head 

from propellor. 

“To explain 

what being a 

Guinea Pig 

means is very 

emotional. I 

feel honoured 

to be a member 

of such a 

brotherhood.”





Alan Morgan 

“I went to 

close the door 

which had 

opened because 

of flak, and I 

passed out 

because of lack 

of oxygen.” 

“My hands 

touched the 

airframe door, 

and I lost all 

my fingers to 

frostbite.”



John Miles 


flight 

training, 

suffered burns 

to arm and leg. 

“It’s a rare 

privilege to 

belong to the 

club.”



Norman ‘Paddy’ Ireland 


take-off. 

Suffered burns 

to face and 

hands. Spent 

two years at 

Queen Victoria 

Hospital.



Owen Jones 

Lancaster 

bomber crashed 

on landing. 

“A small metal 

spear went 

through my nose 

and lower right 

jaw, stopping 

on my right 

shoulder.”



Desmond O’Connell 



“My strongest 

memory of Queen 

Victoria 

Hospital was 

that Archibald 

McIndoe really 

was going to 

make me 

better.”



A S ‘Red’ Woolf 

Shot down over 

Stuttgart. 

Suffered a 

broken thigh 

and gangrene to 

foot and ankle, 

repaired by a 

cross-flap 

operation.





André Brown 

“The plane 

exploded and 

luckily I did 

not break any 

bones so that I 

could walk 

away, but 

unfortunately 

badly burned.”



Bill Holmes 

“I am proud to 

be an only 

slightly 

toasted member 

of the club”



K G Cooper 



Spent four 

years at Queen 

Victoria 

Hospital and 

underwent 23 

skin grafts.



Roy Nelson 

Crashed 

following 

engine failure. 

Burns to face 

and right hand. 

“The care and 

attention we 

received and 

the comradeship 

of the Guinea 

Pigs eased us 

back to 

normality”



With thanks to: 

The members of the Guinea Pig Club 

Nicola Kurtz 

Emily Mayhew 

Bob Marchant and the Queen Victoria 

Hospital Museum, East Grinstead

The Guinea Pig Club

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