Queen Victoria Hospital

As I was passing this none too modern looking hospital I thought it was worthy of a blip. It is the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, which became world famous during and after WW2 for its pioneering burns and plastic treatment by Sir Archibald McIndoe. RAF and allied aircrew who were badly burned or crushed and required reconstructive plastic surgery were treated here and it is where the Guinea Pig Club was formed in 1941. This became a support network for the patients and their families, the patients being known as Guinea Pigs simply because what was being done on them was so new and no-one was over sure whether the operations would be successful.
But it's not just plastic surgery that's undertaken here, thankfully there is a minor injuries unit which our family seems to visit frequently, accident prone lot that we are! The service they give is second to none and, like thousands of others, I can't praise this wonderful place enough.