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”.