"Walter Yeo, a sailor in the Royal Navy, became one of the first individuals to undergo advanced plastic surgery after suffering devastating injuries during the 1916 Battle of Jutland. Aboard HMS *Warspite*, Yeo sustained trauma so severe it left him without eyelids, rendering his eyes painfully exposed. His case became a landmark in medical history when he was treated in 1917 by Harold Gillies, a pioneering surgeon who would come to be known as the father of modern plastic surgery.Gillies introduced revolutionary techniques in facial reconstruction, using a method called the “tubed pedicle” skin graft. This involved transferring living tissue from undamaged parts of the body to the wounded area—a process that was painstaking and experimental at the time. For Yeo, this meant a reconstructed face using one of the first full-thickness skin transplants ever attempted, a medical breakthrough that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in reconstructive care.Though rudimentary by today’s standards, Yeo’s surgery represented a leap forward in healing the physical and emotional wounds of war. His recovery offered a glimpse of hope to thousands of soldiers disfigured in combat and helped establish Queen’s Hospital in Sidcup as a center for innovation in reconstructive surgery. Walter Yeo’s journey stands as a powerful symbol of human endurance and the transformative potential of medicine in restoring not just appearance, but identity and dignity."