In Love and War Nursing Heroes

In the aftermath of the Battle of Britain, airmen filled a small town where pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe established revolutionary surgical and therapeutic treatments. For the child Liz Byrski, growing up in East Grinstead, the burnt faces of these airmen filled her nightmares. In her late 60s, Liz returned to make peace with her memories and to speak not only with the survivors—known as the Guinea Pig Club—but with the nurses who played a vital and unorthodox role in their treatment, sometimes at a significant personal cost.

Liz Byrski is a senior lecturer in writing in the School of Media Culture and Creative Arts at Curtin University. She is the author of eight bestselling novels, including Gang of Four and Family Secrets, and twelve nonfiction books, including the memoir Remember Me. She is a former journalist and ABC broadcaster and was an advisor to a minister in the Western Australian government.