Photograph from ‘Invention of, or suggestions for artificial limbs’, by E.A. Parish, held by the Ministry of Munitions, December 1916-August 1917, (Catalogue ref: MUN 7/285)
The loss of an arm or leg was a common cause of injury during the First World War because of the scale of the war and the new weaponry involved. Severe injury from exploding shells, bullets or frostbite and serious infections that did not respond to antibiotics were treated with amputation and surgery followed by the fitting of an artificial limb. Some of the medical records make reference to men being referred to Roehampton Hospital, a specialist unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital for fitting prosthetic limbs to soldiers from the First World War.