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Major-Gen Richard and Lt-Col Sir Peter Hilton were not the only Derbyshire men to undergo pioneering surgery at the hands of the brilliant Dr Harold Gillies.

Second Lieutenant William Spreckley, of the 16th Nottingham and Derby Sherwood Foresters, was just 23 years old when his nose and part of his cheek were blown away by shrapnel from a grenade near Ypres in 1917.

The horrific injury meant that Lt Spreckley had to spend three years in hospital, undergoing extensive facial reconstruction surgery, involving the use of cartilage from his own ribs, which was shaped, embedded under the skin of his forehead and grown into a new nose.

The three pictures above show the stages of the reconstruction from the original injury to the final result.

Lt Spreckley's granddaughter, Alexandra Kingman, of Mickleover, said that he was one of the lucky ones who had managed to survive the dramatic surgery.

She said: "It was a time before there was antibiotics and before intravenous drips. The fact that his surgery was successful is testament to my grandfather's courage and resilience."

Lt Spreckley went on to live a normal life, marrying and having eight children and 35 grandchildren, He even returned to military service during the Second World War before being finally decommissioned in 1950. His is one of the many stories features in the Harold Gillies' exhibition.

• Our war: Lady Hilton's amazing story

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County:  Derbyshire

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