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Narrative: 14.7.16: Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12, Central Flying School, Royal Flying Corps, RFC Upavon. Aircraft written off in a Forced landing at RFC Upavon, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire; airframe destroyed by fire. Pilot - 2nd Lt Henry Ralph Lumley (aged 25) injured; Lumley was badly burned, losing his lips, eyebrows, and most of the skin on his face. His left eye was burned out, and his right eye was mostly blind.
Lumley was transferred to Sidcup on 22 September 1917, for reconstructive surgery. The surgical team, led by Harold Gillies, decided to reconstruct Henry's face using a huge skin graft from his chest. The scar tissue would be removed, and the graft would be stitched into place. Tubed pedicles would be employed to provide sailors, William Vicarage, who had received severe cordite burns at the Battle of Jutland.
The operation was performed in stages. The first, on 24 October 1917, outlined the chest graft and created the tubed pedicles at the neck. The second, more major, operation occurred on 15 February 1918. The scar tissue was excised, effectively removing all traces of Lumley's 'old' face, and the graft was stitched into place.
Unfortunately, because of the size of the graft and Lumley's already weakened state, the chest skin was rejected and Henry died of heart failure on 11 March 1918. His case was important to the future development of facial reconstruction and plastic surgery. The lessons learned from the failure of Henry Lumley's surgery went on to help thousands of people suffering extreme facial burns.