The Man Who Rebuilt the Faces of WW1

The Man Who Rebuilt the Faces of WW1

The mechanised warfare of the First World War brought unprecedented new levels of firepower and destruction to the battlefield and with it horrific new injuries. Advances in medicine also meant that soldiers were surviving injuries that previously would have been fatal. Many of these men were left with horrific, disfiguring facial injuries which carried with them not just a physical trauma but a social stigma as well. One man made it his mission to help them and in the process developed many of the techniques that formed the basis of plastic surgery as we know it today.


Dr Lindsey Fitzharris joined Dan on stage at the Chalke Valley History Festival to talk about the extraordinary career of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies. They discuss the realities of combat injuries, how Gillies established the first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction and the profound impact he had on the lives of his patients.


Warning: This episode contains discussions of surgery and battlefield injury.


This episode was produced by Mariana Des Forges, the audio editor was Dougal Patmore.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe to History Hit today!


To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(1491)

The Plague of Athens

The Plague of Athens

In 430 BC, in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, the powerful city-state of Athens was struck down by a disastrous plague. Athenians fell sick with a dizzying array of symptoms, from fevers and vomit...

10 Jan 202425min

2. Thomas Cochrane: The Battle of Basque Roads

2. Thomas Cochrane: The Battle of Basque Roads

2/3. Thomas Cochrane and his crew of the HMS Imperieuse embark on their greatest and most audacious scheme yet; Cochrane leads a flotilla of burning vessels and exploding bomb ships piled high with gu...

8 Jan 202450min

The WW2 Witch Trial of Hellish Nell

The WW2 Witch Trial of Hellish Nell

What made a working class woman from Edinburgh become such a threat to British intelligence services during the Second World War, that they tried her as a witch?In today's episode, we're telling you t...

4 Jan 202438min

3. Thomas Cochrane: From Disgrace to Freedom Fighter

3. Thomas Cochrane: From Disgrace to Freedom Fighter

3/3. After a meteoric rise to fame, Cochrane finds himself in front of a court and stripped of his titles for fraud on the London Stock Exchange. Known for his ingenuity and schemes, Cochrane breaks o...

3 Jan 202451min

1. Thomas Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander

1. Thomas Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander

Dan tells a story as dramatic, unlikely and exciting as any ever penned by an author about one of Britain's greatest sailors. Thomas Lord Cochrane was a naval commander with an illustrious career in t...

3 Jan 202439min

The Romanovs

The Romanovs

The Romanov family were the first imperial dynasty to rule Russia, reigning from the early seventeenth century until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Including such illustrious names as Peter the Great...

2 Jan 202429min

Fall of the Aztec Empire

Fall of the Aztec Empire

The Aztec Empire was a large and sophisticated one, stretching at its height from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico. But in August 1521, after a last stand on the steps of their temple buildings...

1 Jan 202439min

England & Portugal: The Oldest Alliance in the World

England & Portugal: The Oldest Alliance in the World

If you’re enjoying a glass of port during the festive period, you have the world’s oldest treaty to thank.Winston Churchill once described the Anglo-Portuguese alliance as ‘without parallel in world h...

27 Dec 202339min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
historiska-brott
p3-historia
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
rss-brottsligt
rss-massmordarpodden
rss-seriemordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
konspirationsteorier
nu-blir-det-historia
palmemordet
militarhistoriepodden
krigshistoriepodden
vetenskapsradion-historia
rss-historien-om
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter
bedragare
rss-folkets-historia