in the first world war, the cambridge hospital was the first base hospital to receive casualties directly from the western front. the cambridge hospital was also the first place where plastic surgery was performed in the british empire. captain gillies (later sir harold gillies), met hippolyte morestin, while on leave in paris in 1915. morestin was reconstructing faces in the val-de-grace hospital in paris. gillies fell in love with the work, and at the end of 1915 was sent back from france to start a plastic unit in the cambridge hospital.