World War 1

The first World War was a defining period for Plastic Surgery, particularly in Britain.

It was the first mechanised conflict, characterised by trench-based assaults. Heads and faces became particularly vulnerable to bullet, blast and shrapnel wounds. Often severe, gaping, ragged and badly contaminated  wounds were being survived, leaving men not only functionally disabled, but also grossly disfigured. At the time, this very large number of facial wounds were of a type and complexity not previously encountered by the surgeons to whom they presented on all sides of the conflict.

These daunting injuries, accompanied by their psychological and social consequences demanded a new type of surgical approach. This space, and its neighbour, the Sidcup Gallery tell the story of the "Strange new art" which developed in response.