Jack Perry
Member of the ‘Guinea Pig Club’ who survived severe burns
JACK PERRY, who has died aged 92, was one of the last surviving members of the “Guinea Pig Club”, the organisation established in 1941 for badly burned airmen who were treated by the pioneering plastic surgeon Sir Archibald Mcindoe.
On August 31 1944 19-year old Perry was the flight engineer of a Halifax bomber, which took off from its base at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire to practice night take-offs and landings. Shortly after getting airborne, an engine caught fire and the bomber crashed in flames.
Despite his severe burns he tried to rescue the rear gunner but his gallant attempt failed. Perry had suffered 80 per cent burns to his hands, face and ears and was admitted to hospital. Heavily bandaged, he never saw his nurses but remembered their soft accents.
Two weeks after the crash, he was transferred to Rauceby Hospital near Sleaford, a satellite burns unit overseen by Mcindoe’s team at East Grinstead. At Rauceby he underwent 18 operations before being transferred in April 1946 to East Grinstead where a further 12 operations were necessary. He was medically discharged from the RAF in June 1949.
While convalescing in Marchwood Park near Southampton, he met his wife Mary and they were married in March 1950.
Edward John Perry, always known as Jack, was born on July 25 1925 at Dartmouth. He left school aged 14 to start a two-year engineering scholarship. He joined the Air Training Corps and Home Guard, spending time patrolling the Paignton to Kingswear railway line, and worked as a despatch rider for the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.
He joined the RAF in October 1943 and trained as a flight engineer before being posted to Topcliffe to convert to the Halifax bomber.
After leaving the RAF, Perry enjoyed a successful career as a draughtsman at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell. At the same time he became a devoted and energetic member of the Guinea Pig Club, becoming social secretary in 1967, a post he held for over forty years.
The Guinea Pig Club was a very close-knit organisation and much of its success and longevity was due in no small part to Perry’s tireless efforts and his organisation of social events in Britain and abroad. He recognised that a wide range of social activities was important in maintaining the cohesion and morale that Mcindoe had seen as crucial elements in achieving enduring psychological recovery and reintegration into society for RAF burns victims.
Perry worked to raise the profile of the Club and its members, as well as generating greater public awareness and understanding of the unique history of the Guinea Pigs.
He gave hope, encouragement and support to those who suffered burns during later conflicts. Simon Weston, who was badly burnt during the Falkland’s War, said: “The Guinea Pigs were an inspiration to me when I was recovering. They were hugely benevolent with their friendship and camaraderie. I’m forever grateful for all they have done for me and others suffering from burns.”
Perry was a true advocate of Mcindoe’s ethos “to cheerfully keep going through adversity”. Despite the burns to his hands, he played a wide range of sports including cricket, snooker and golf – the latter until he was 88 years old. He was a loyal supporter of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and the Royal British Legion but his greatest love was the Guinea Pig Club and its members.
For his services to the club and his dedication in supporting other sufferers, Perry was appointed MBE earlier this year.
His wife Mary survives him with their two sons and a daughter.