Albert Ross Tilley

Albert Ross Tilley, OBE, CM, M.D., FRCSC, FACS, was born in Bowmanville, Ontario on November 24, 1904. He attended the University of Toronto and graduated in medicine in 1929. He trained in plastic surgery in Vienna, Edinburgh and New York. In 1935 he joined the RCAF Reserve and in 1939 was called to active service as a captain in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.

He transferred to the RCAF Medical Branch and was sent overseas in 1941. With his experience in plastic surgery, he was posted to Queen Victoria Hospital at East Grinstead, Sussex, in January 1942.

Here, from the early days of World War II, seriously burned airmen were being treated by the brilliant plastic surgeon, Dr. Archibald Mclndoe. Most of the burns involved the face and hands, suffered when the fuel tanks of aircraft exploded on impact. Mclndoe gathered the growing numbers of burn casualties into a former army hut behind the hospital, known as Ward three.

As the air war intensified, the number of Canadians being treated at Queen Victoria hospital increased. A 50-bed Canadian wing was established under the command of Wing Commander Dr. Ross Tilley.

The treatment of burn victims had not progressed much from the methods used in the First World War. The standard treatment was to apply gentian violet or tannic acid to dry the wound and prevent infection, often resulting in severe deformities and devastating loss of function. But that was about to change.

Tilley and Mclndoe discontinued the earlier barbaric practices. They pioneered innovative techniques such as the use of saline baths to ease the pain and facilitate cleansing of the burned areas. Tilley encouraged the dead, burned tissue to slough off, aided by soaking in saline, followed by the careful removal of the burn slough, a long and painful process. After many such debriding sessions, a thin sheet of skin was taken from a donor site, usually on the thighs, and the graft applied to the raw areas.

The typical "Airman's Burn" involved deep damage to the face and hands. A thin skin graft was only the first stage in the healing process, and areas such as noses, ears, eyelids, and lips needed much more than just a thin skin covering. In some cases, entire faces were rebuilt involving transfers of tissue from other parts of the body.

Dr. Tilley was more than a skilled surgeon. He knew that reconstruction of the spirit was as important as rebuilding the bodies of his patients. He excelled in dealing with the extreme psychological impact these young men suffered. They had been transformed in one fiery instant from handsome, dashing heroes into pain-wracked, disfigured shadows of their former selves, despairing for their futures. Their morale was of prime importance in the healing process.

Tilley and Mclndoe found ways to cut through any red tape seen as obstacles to their patients' recovery. Patients' rank was disregarded, and all were allowed to wear their service uniform. Thus, they remained fighting men in their own eyes and in the eyes of others. Ward 3 served as their mess, where beer and sherry were often on hand to provide some relief from their suffering.

Since many of the innovative treatments were still in the experimental stage, these courageous young men considered themselves to be guinea pigs, a name they proudly adopted. In 1941 they formalized themselves into a Guinea Pig Club, and, in self-mocking humour, they elected as secretary one who could not use his hands to take notes, and as treasurer one who was in a wheelchair and not able to run off with the funds! Life had to be worth living again.

Dr. Tilley was a fervent advocate for the airmen in his care. His approach to his Guinea Pig patients was firm, yet gentle, and he was in many ways a father figure, confidant, and advisor to them - always there to help with any aspect of their lives. They affectionately referred to him as 'Wingco'.

Of the many RCAF pilots treated by Dr. Tilley were two who returned to service and went on to impressive careers in the military and later, in civil aviation. G/C Paul Y Davoud, OBE, DSO, DFC, and General William FM Newson, DSO, DFC, and were recognized for their many accomplishments by induction as members of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. Another Guinea Pig of note is Mr.  Stan Reynolds, of Wetaskiwin, Alberta who was a patient in 1944. His passion following the war was collecting vintage cars, antique machinery, and aircraft. His valuable collections became the basis for the incomparable Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, which houses Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. Stan Reynolds was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2009.

Patients were taken out to the local community of East Grinstead as soon as they could stand or navigate in some way. The people of this small town quickly accepted them, and by treating them as local lads, helped them adapt to the normal activities of life. They became familiar sights around the town, and many were invited home, to the cinema, or to a dance, and some met and married local girls.

This attitude fostered earlier healing of mind as well as body and these patients never lost hope. Those who were physically capable returned to active service much more quickly and some went on to distinguished flying careers. Moreover, Dr. Tilley's reputation became known throughout the service; active aircrew knew that in the event of a burn injury they would have the best possible treatment.

Of the Guinea Pig Club's 649 members, 176 were Canadians. After the war, a Canadian chapter was formed with Dr. Tilley as its President. The Club sustained many Air Force veterans through difficult times as they returned to civilian life. It continues to flourish as a classic example of what is now called group therapy.

At the end of the war Dr. Tilley, by then Group Captain, returned to Canada, with knowledge and experience unequaled by more than a handful of plastic surgeons anywhere in the world. He practiced at the Wellesley and Sunnybrook Hospitals in Toronto and taught courses in plastic surgery at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

He married Jean Russell in 1952, with whom he celebrated 36 years of marriage. He retired in 1980 but continued to hold burn clinics until 1983.

In 1944 Tilley was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1981 was appointed Member of the Order of Canada. He was a Fellow of both the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American College of Surgeons. He was one of the twelve founding members of the Canadian Society of Plastic Surgeons and was the society's eighth president.

Dr. Tilley's life and achievements are commemorated by a number of lasting tributes. The Ross Tilley Burn Centre was establishment in 1984, first at Wellesley Hospital and then at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. The Ross Tilley Foundation provides a scholarship to be awarded to exceptional plastic surgery graduates, and the Ross Tilley Public School was opened in 1996 in his hometown of Bowmanville.

Dr. Tilley died in Toronto on April 19, 1988 and is remembered with reverence and great affection by his remaining Guinea Pigs and colleagues.

A. Ross Tilley was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at ceremonies held in Montreal on May 27, 2006.