THE FACEMAKER: THE BATTLE TO MEND THE DISFIGURED SOLDIERS OF WWI
17:00 – 18:15 | SATURDAY 13 APRIL
BRITISH LIBRARY & ONLINE
From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: mankind’s military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. The war’s new weaponry, from tanks to shrapnel, enabled slaughter on an industrial scale, and given the nature of trench warfare, thousands of soldiers sustained facial injuries. Medical advances meant that more survived their wounds than ever before, yet disfigured soldiers did not receive the hero’s welcome they deserved. In this important event, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris – award-winning historian and author of the international bestselling The Facemaker – tells the astonishing story of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to restoring the faces – and the identities – of a brutalized generation.
Chaired by Invictus gold-medalist, Intensive Care and Anaesthesia consultant and a Royal Army Medical Corps Veteran, Dr Jen Warren.
INDIVIDUAL TICKET: IN-PERSON £10 / ONLINE £5
SATURDAY PASS: IN-PERSON (SOLD OUT) / ONLINE £15
WEEKEND PASS: IN-PERSON (SOLD OUT) / ONLINE £25
About the speakers
- Dr Lindsey Fitzharris: Lindsey Fitzharris is the author of The Butchering Art, which won the PEN/E.O. Wilson Prize for Literary Science Writing, and was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize and the Wolfson History Prize. She received her doctorate in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford and was a post-doctoral research fellow at the Wellcome Institute. She contributes regularly to the Wall Street Journal, Scientific American and other notable publications.
- Dr Jen Warren: Jen is a Consultant in Intensive Care and Anaesthesia, Royal Army Medical Corps Veteran and Invictus Games Medalist. She joined the Army during Medical School. After a tour of Afghanistan, she started anaesthetic training when a skiing accident left her with limited mobility. Jen was medically discharged but fought to continue her medical training, finally qualifying as a consultant in 2022. Jen used sport to help her deal with uncertainty but found it hugely beneficial for her physical and psychologically recovery and enjoyed considerable success. In 2023 she was selected to compete internationally again but unfortunately life wasn’t finished throwing curve balls, so she never made it to the start line. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer which has affected her left arm. She’s determined to live life to the full and hopeful that immunotherapy will allow her to continue doing this for as long as possible. “Disability might define what you can’t do but the only limit on what you can do is your imagination.”
HistFest 2024 Launch Event – Thursday 11 April
Seven Wonders with Bettany Hughes
19:00–20:30
Thurs 11 April – British Library, London