Harold Gillies: The Face of a Hero
Short Term Effects
Returning Home
"Thousands of men suffered long-term disabilities as a result of the First World War. Improvements in plastic surgery and facial reconstruction techniques brought some relief. But many were left to fend for themselves with little financial or social support from the state.
Gillies recognised that the disfigured men he treated would be disadvantaged in the job market. So he introduced training schemes to give the men interests and new skills.
His patients responded to their injuries in different ways. Many went home, grateful for and happy with the work done for them. But some men never left The Queen's Hospital, unwilling to present themselves to a curious and sometimes hostile world."
~ As stated by the National Army Museum
Wounded veterans at Eden Hall Convalescent Hospital, 1918,
Source: National Army Museum
"In the spring of 1917, as the United States entered the war, the American Red Cross founded the Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men in New York, headed by Douglas McMurtrie. Intended to address all disabilities, the charity was soon overwhelmed by veterans who had survived the devastating effects of modern warfare. McMurtie, observing the efforts of the European belligerents to retrain disabled men, believed America could become a leader in that effort and make it possible for disabled veterans to have meaningful and adequately compensated employment. The Soldiers Rehabilitation Act (Smith-Sears Act), passed by Congress in June 1918 to provide federal funds to assist disabled veterans, served as a model for future federal legislation on disabilities."
Source: Library of Congress
A print of men training to be able to work with a disability, 1919,
Source: Library of Congress
"The American Red Cross founded the Institute for Crippled and Disabled Men in New York City in 1917 to train amputees and individuals with damaged limbs. Soon, injured veterans became a main constituency. Here men with partial arm amputations are taught welding."
~ Library of Congress
"Thomas Kelly, a private in the Gordon Highlanders, received a 100% disability pension after having both of his legs amputated above the knee. Kelly received 12 months of training in boot-repairing under the instruction of a private employer. However he wasn’t able to obtain employment as a boot repairer and was advised that he was unfit for such work."
Courtesy of the National Archives
Kelly attempted to open his own business in 1921, however, it was forced to close soon after. He sent out a letter asking to be trained in basket making at Erskine House.
The letter:
‘I left a good job to join the soldiers, but now when I am maimed and not fit for manual labour, this country has no further use for us. Yet it was to be a country fit for heroes to live in. I think you will better let me know if you are going to give me training – yes or no. Then I will know how to act by writing to His Majesty and explaining my case to him.’
~ Private Thomas Kelly