The Guinea Pig Club.

The "Guinea Pig Club" was formed in 1941 by a group of airmen who had sustained grievous injuries--mostly serious burns of the hands and face--and been treated by a team of plastic surgeons led by a remarkable New Zealander, Archibald McIndoe, at the Queen Victoria Hospital at East Grinstead in England. The most senior "Guinea Pig" was Tom Gleave, a fighter pilot who had been shot down during the Battle of Britain, and who carried out his duties as "Chief Guinea Pig" until his death in June 1993. This paper describes Tom Gleave's arrival at the Queen Victoria Hospital, and the formation and development of The Guinea Pig Club.