The book of the Thames Television documentary "The Guinea Pig Club". Sir Archibald McIndoe and his team at East Grinstead treated badly burned airmen of World War II. McIndoe pioneered many new techniques of surgery, which is why his patients called themselves his guinea pigs. But he also realised that medical help was not enough: giving the men the confidence to live with their injuries and disfigurements was just as vital. They thrived in the atmosphere of humour and comradeship which McIndoe created. (The main Guinea-Pig ward had a barrel of beer.) Whenever possible, McIndoe pushed his patients out into society. His plans worked: all Pigs have become established in the outside world. One became a plastic surgeon, inspired by McIndoe's work, and another (blind) Guinea Pig is a film producer. From the comradeship grew the Guinea Pig Club, the association of those McIndoe treated. It survives and thrives today providing company, encouragement and practical help for its members. But what of the future? Its members grow older. Will the knowledge they've gained die with them? How should the Club pass on its experience of the problems burn victims face?
