Gilkes, Charles Kenneth (Flight Sergeant, b.1923 - d.2014)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 420656 Flight Sergeant Charles Kenneth Gilkes, Royal Australian Air Force. Gilkes enlisted in the RAAF in 1941 aged 18, and after initial training at Bradfield Park and Narromine he was sent to flying school in Canada as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme and then to England with No. 460 Squadron Bomber Command. In September 1943, after returning from a RAAF sortie in a Short Stirling W7455 bomber Gilkes' and his crew of seven were followed and attacked by a German Focke Wolf fighter as they made their final approach into their East Anglia Base. Two of the crew died in the crash. Gilkes suffered horrific burns to his face, hands, and legs and was transferred to a specialist unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. There he came under the care of Dr (later Sir) Archibald McIndoe, a New Zealand-born plastic surgeon who was trialling new ways to treat burns victims. Over the next few months, Ken underwent numerous operations as surgeons slowly rebuilt his face and hands, layer by layer. McIndoe's patients formed themselves into the Guinea Pig Club and Gilkes was the last known surviving Australian Guinea Pig. Gilkes returned to Australia in 1946 and married his childhood sweetheart Roma Bessell-Browne.

This collection consists of four sets of handwritten notes that Gilkes used during speaking engagements, and relates to his medical treatment and facial reconstruction.

The first record in the collection consists of 12 pages of notes handwritten by Gilkes in 1998. The notes describe his air training, the accident Gilkes was in, the formation of the Guinea Pig Club, and the life-saving medical treatment he received under the care of Dr Archibald McIndoe. Gilkes records the psychological effects of his burns, and the timeline and process of his reconstructive surgeries and grafts. He records a meeting with Helena Rubenstein and her efforts to help the Guinea Pigs' appearance with the application of makeup.

The second record in the collection is an undated (single piece of paper double-sided) letter to Gilkes from Plastic Surgeon Tom Cochrane. Cochrane was consultant plastic surgeon at Queen Victoria Hospital for many years, and honorary plastic surgeon to the Guinea Pig Club. The letter discusses a forthcoming lecture which Gilkes is to give regarding his own skin grafts.

The third record consists of four double-sided handwritten pages in Gilkes' writing, annotated in pencil 'Dad's story - prewar and being shot down'. These notes were written in 1999 when Giles was 76. They describe his initial pilot training, the Empire Air Training Scheme, the pairing-up of bomber crews, and details of being shot down.

The fourth record consists of eight pages of handwritten notes used as the framework for a speech or lecture. Written in 1998, they briefly describe his training, accident, burns and return to Australia. Gilkes' places particular emphasis on his time at East Grinstead, the pioneering techniques of Archie McIndoe, and the support that the Guinea Pig Club and the people of East Grinstead town provided for the recovering airmen.