PEOPLE can delve into the origins and past of Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, with a new commemorative book.

Put together by hospital archivist Dr Andrew Bamji, a consultant rheumatologist, the book traces the origins of the hospital when it became the base for pioneering surgeon Harold Gillies and his work on soldiers disfigured in the First World War.

Dr Bamji, who has been tracing the hospital's history since 1989, has used case notes, photographs and newspaper cuttings stretching back to 1917.

Modern plastic surgery and anaesthetics can trace their roots back to the Frognal Avenue hospital.

The books will be on sale in the hospital in the morning on August 17.