‘Lashings of Grog and Girls’: Masculinity and Sexuality in the Rehabilitation of Facially Disfigured Servicemen in the Second World War

Abstract

This article explores the importance of masculinity in the rehabilitation experience of members of the Royal Air Force who were facially disfigured during the Second World War. Other historical work has highlighted the significance of masculinity in the rehabilitation of other groups of disabled veterans, but the experience of the facially disfigured is somewhat neglected. This article investigates the methods employed at Rooksdown House and East Grinstead Hospital where men suffering from burns injuries and disfigurements were both physically and psychologically rehabilitated. It explores the key themes of hospital environment, occupational therapy and relationships. In using oral histories and memoirs this article argues that masculinity and sexuality were key aspects of servicemen's identity that had to be restored through rehabilitation to ensure their successful reintegration into society. KEYWORDS Disability; Masculinity; Sexuality; Rehabilitation; Second World War I received an incendiary in the starboard tank … my aircraft burst into flames … I tried to get out but was unable to move because of burns, the aircraft blew up and I was blown clear that's why I'm still here. 1 Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Thomas Gleave was shot down in 1940, receiving severe burns to his face, hands and legs. Gleave, was one of almost 5000 men in the RAF Home Forces who received burn injuries during the Second World War. While men of all three services were affected by burns, RAF aircrew were particularly susceptible because pilots sat directly behind the main or gravity fuel tank meaning if it was hit their faces were exposed to the full impact of an exploding tank. 2 Advancements in medicine and surgery meant servicemen were surviving injuries they would not have