Disability and the Great War

Posted on by elenka1

Wounded soldiers wearing their ‘convalescent blues’ on Victory Celebration Day at the 1st Southern General military hospital, Edgbaston, c. 1918-9 [Ref MS 4616]
This November, to mark the centenary of the armistice, Voices of War and Peace and the Library of Birmingham collaborated to organise an exhibition showcasing work about the First World War that has been carried out by local community organisations since 2014. Two of the projects displayed in the exhibition researched and presented information about injured and disabled soldiers. In honour of Disability History Month, and as Research Assistant for Voices of War and Peace, it seems appropriate to write about what I have learned about disability and the Great War.

The scale of the First World War was unprecedented and unexpected, putting a massive strain not only those on the front line but also on the home front. The injured soldiers returning home created a huge demand for hospital services. In Birmingham, Rubery Hill War Hospital opened in 1915, and then a second war hospital, Hollymoor, opened shortly after. As the war progressed, these hospitals were not enough to keep up with the need for medical services in the area. Large private houses across the Birmingham area were donated, such as Highbury in Moseley, to become treatment centres. The University of Birmingham buildings were also adapted for the uses of war, becoming the 1st Southern General in September 1914. Aston Webb was appropriated as a hospital, as well as ten other buildings on campus, and tents were also erected on the grounds. You can see archival images of the University and Highbury as treatment centres in the exhibition. By 1919, 125,000 patients from across the globe had been treated in Birmingham. These facts and statistics really give a sense of how many lives must have been completely changed by the war.

VAD nursing staff with wounded soldiers in the Great Hall main ward (Aston Webb building) of 1st Southern General military hospital, Edgbaston c. 1914-8 [MS 4616]

By the end of the war, about forty-thousand men had lost their arms or legs, leaving them permanently disabled. Many of them could no longer do the jobs that they had before the war, and some had to completely re-learn how to live independently. Immediately after the war, the war hospitals helped the men recover from their injuries. After serving the war, and literally giving part of themselves to the effort, the returning soldiers expected their country to now look after them in their time of need. Although there were schemes like the ‘Kings National Roll’ (1919) that were implemented by the state, they were mostly unsuccessful. It was charity organisations that provided ‘sheltered’ employment that helped the soldiers rehabilitate themselves. An example of ‘sheltered’ employment would be Thermega, teaching men how to make electric blankets. Another example is training men to be prosthetic fitters at Roehampton. It was charity organisations providing these services that gave these disabled servicemen a second chance after the war.

The help of these organisation was, of course, greatly appreciated. However, men like Jim Simmons were still not impressed with the treatment of disabled soldiers. Ex-private Simmons was born in Moseley, Birmingham in 1893. In 1916, he was badly wounded in the war, leading to him having his lower leg amputated. Once healed, he prominently spoke out and protested against the war until its end in 1918.  Once ended, he – just like many others – felt betrayed by his country and the lack of provisions put in place to help newly disabled servicemen rehabilitate themselves back into society and work. He began campaigning for better housing, employment opportunities and state provisions for returning soldiers. His spirits were not dampened by his injury and he continued to fight for the rights of soldiers for many years, even becoming an MP in 1929.

Wounded soldiers on the pioneering orthopaedic rehabilitation programme at Highbury Hospital (previously the residence of Joseph Chamberlain) in the Mosley suburb of Birmingham, c. 1914-8 [Ref. MS 4616]
Although there were forty thousand men left without limbs, many more suffered major facial disfigurements. Arguably, losing part of their face meant losing their identity. Many soldiers have said how their children barely recognised them when they returned; they were ostracised not only from society, but even their families. There were some talented artists and sculptors, namely Francis Derwent Wood and Anna Coleman Ladd that created masks out of copper or tin, using pre-war portraits of the soldiers to accurately recreate their faces. These masks would somewhat allow soldiers to re-enter normal life. In photographs, you may even struggle to notice that they are in a mask. However, this mask would not move or act like a face – many men branded themselves as ‘broken gargoyles’.

As is often the case, the war was an impetus for medical development. The number of men left disabled by their disfigurements encouraged rapid developments in the reconstructive and plastic surgery field. The surgeon Harold Gillies was the first to use skin grafts from different parts of the body to reconstruct the face. Due to the lack of antibiotics, these surgeries were extremely dangerous. Surgeons had to be careful and meticulous, so reconstruction took many operations and years to complete. Gillies developed a method called the ‘tube pedicle’. Tin this process,, the surgeon would create a tube of skin from a graft that was still completely attached to the body, allowing for the skin to stay connected to the blood flow so it would not be rejected or die during procedures. Once the tube was healed, another surgery would move that skin for reconstruction.

‘Electric Treatment’ in the Dining Room Ward at Highbury Hospital, c. 1914-8 [Ref. MS 4616]
More locally, Cheshire-born surgeon William Billington, along with Harold Round and A. H. Parrot, worked diligently at the 1st Southern General to help reconstruct the jaws and faces of disfigured soldiers using Gillies’ method. As well as using Gillies’ tube method for skin graft, Billington’s team would take tissue from the hip bone to reconstruct jaws and faces. This work was considered ground-breaking for time. The pain that these soldiers endured was undoubtedly horrific, but it was the soldiers’ bravery and the surgeons’ innovation that allowed modern reconstructive medical practices to be what they are today.

Much of this information I have learned through working on our exhibition ‘Voices of the First World War’. The exhibition focuses on the untold stories of the First World War, as researched by West Midlands community groups, looking at a variety of subjects including women’s football, children’s experiences, colonial soldiers, and (of course) disability. The People’s Heritage Co-operative produced a short film as part of their Untold Stories: Birmingham’s Wounded Soldiers project that can be viewed in the exhibition, alongside some archival photographs of Highbury and the University of Birmingham during the war. They also produced an accompanying booklet.

Painting for Pleasure, a group based in Leamington Spa, also explored disability and its treatment, and attitudes towards disability during and after the First World War. The group researched war illustration, the artists who recorded their battles and the reality of daily life at war and after it. The project inspired participants to illustrate their research. As a community group, Painting for Pleasure caters for all needs and abilities. This allows people with genuine experience of disability in our time to explore what living with a disability would have been like one-hundred years ago. It is interesting to see interpretations of war from their perspective.

The exhibition is on display until the 5th January 2019.

Natalie Welch, University of Birmingham student

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