We are delighted to share that Gordon Bebb, Chairman of the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation (BMRF), has been appointed to the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Court of Patrons.

Eighty years on from the end of the Second World War, the story of the Guinea Pig Club continues to resonate - not only as a tale of survival, but as a lesson in compassion, community, and the power of human resilience.

Founded in 1941 by Sir Archibald McIndoe, pioneering plastic surgeon at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, the Club began as a social group for Allied airmen who had been treated for severe burns and injuries. Its chosen name reflected the experimental nature of McIndoe’s work - a mix of surgical ingenuity, compassion, and what he called “the unorthodox art of rehabilitation”.

Each year, the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation supports early-stage ideas with the potential to change lives. Our Pump Priming Grants provide small-scale funding to help launch ambitious research projects that can pave the way for major breakthroughs. This year’s recipient, Christopher Bricogne from the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, is exploring a new way to detect lung transplant rejection before irreversible damage occurs.