0:00:02 > 0:00:03Today's Operation Ouch! is different.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06- We're going back in time. - Chris, we may be doctors...
0:00:06 > 0:00:07TARDIS THRUMS ..but we're not THAT doctor.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Xand, don't be ridiculous.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11We're ditching the lab and heading into the trenches.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14As it's the centenary of World War I,
0:00:14 > 0:00:15we're heading back 100 years
0:00:15 > 0:00:18to show you what medicine was like during that time
0:00:18 > 0:00:21and that's what these guys are here for.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23We're about to show you a moment in history where
0:00:23 > 0:00:26they really put the ouch into every operation.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Get ready cos this is going to be great.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Coming up on this special Operation Ouch!...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38creepy-crawlies are on the loose.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Nearly all soldiers would have had lice all over their bodies.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44We look at the fight against disease.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47- BOTH:- Let battle commence.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49And find out what big bangs...
0:00:49 > 0:00:51EXPLOSION
0:00:51 > 0:00:53..did to soldiers' hearing.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is a replica of a World War I trench.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03We're here today to show you what the conditions were like
0:01:03 > 0:01:07and what medical problems soldiers faced in the trenches.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Soldiers used to dig these to protect themselves
0:01:10 > 0:01:12from attacking armies.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15The trenches were the front line and this is real footage filmed
0:01:15 > 0:01:17during the war.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19The trenches were where most of the battles were fought from.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24They were often wet and miserable, a bit like our rainy trench today.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Soldiers would live, sleep and hide away in here.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30They would dig and dig making them longer and longer
0:01:30 > 0:01:32so they could get closer and closer to the enemy.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34But which countries were involved
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- and where did they keep their armies?- Up their sleevies.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38'Er, thanks, Xand.'
0:01:38 > 0:01:42World War I was a four-year battle that started in 1914
0:01:42 > 0:01:45and involved some of the most powerful countries in the world,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49the Allied forces in blue versus the Central Powers in red.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Nearly a million soldiers who fought for the British Empire died
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and nearly two million men returned home injured.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00It was a terrible war but it also led to doctors and scientists
0:02:00 > 0:02:04making some incredible medical breakthroughs.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07They even invented gadgets to help protect the human body.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12And what's utterly brilliant is we still have these around today.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15So we're going to look at some of these ingenious inventions
0:02:15 > 0:02:18and show you how World War I affected the human body.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Now if you were a soldier on the front lines,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28you were lucky to make it back to the safety of a trench like this alive.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Even a small cut could put you at risk of dying of infection
0:02:32 > 0:02:34and if you got seriously wounded out there,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38you relied on your mates to take you all the way back to here.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40This is a Regimental Aid Post.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Now in this tiny space there would have been a medical officer
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and an orderly to help.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52They could be dealing with up to 300 casualties in any one day.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It looks pretty basic, Chris. Where are the machines that go beep?
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Well, there aren't any machines that go beep.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59A Regimental Aid Post was really only intended for the
0:02:59 > 0:03:02immediate treatment of wounds and first aid.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04There were more sophisticated hospitals, but they could be up
0:03:04 > 0:03:09to 20 miles away and a lot of people died before they even got there.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Ow, ow, ow!
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'Looks like we've got some work to do, Xand.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'Let's give this casualty some World War I-style treatment.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19- 'Ready?- Er, I'll give it a go.'
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Argh!
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Right, Xand, it looks like this guy has a very badly broken leg.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25What are you going to do?
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Right, OK, first of all I need to wash my hands.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30- Where's the sink?- Well, you might have a field basin,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33but basically it is very hard to wash your hands in a trench.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34There's no running water.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38OK, never mind. What he really needs is a general anaesthetic.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40I'm going to need to knock him out.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43- HE GROANS - Xand! What are you going to do?
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I was just going to knock him out with this piece of wood.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48I guess I didn't think they'd have anything better.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49Well, actually you're wrong.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52In fact they do have a good painkiller in this medical kit
0:03:52 > 0:03:54called morphine. We still use it today and it's very effective.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57OK, so let's suppose I give him some morphine,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59he's feeling more comfortable.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01There's not a lot else I can do for him.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04- I wonder if he'd like a cup of tea. - Probably.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06In fact, during the First World War,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09people did use tea as treatment for shock.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12It was sweet, it was liquid and it was familiar.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13It was very reassuring.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- Xand!- Oh!
0:04:18 > 0:04:19OK. Sorry, Chris.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Right, so the most important thing now is to get him to hospital,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25so what I'm going to give him is a casualty card.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27What this says is who he is, what's wrong with him
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and what we've done for him.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31There you go, soldier. That's your ticket out of here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34And that's where we get that expression from.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Now our patient's off to hospital on this light railway.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Just like the ones specially built during the war.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42At the start of World War I,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46eight out of ten soldiers who broke their leg died of their injury,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50but by the end of the war it had dropped to just one in ten,
0:04:50 > 0:04:51thanks to this guy.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54His name was Hugh Owen Thomas
0:04:54 > 0:04:56and in 1916 he invented the Thomas splint,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00which stopped soldiers dying of broken legs.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03To show us how it works is Richard Townsley.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06He's an expert in World War I medicine.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10And his great-grandad Major William Stewart Dickie,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13was a surgeon who served in the war for real.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15So, Richard, how would you have treated someone
0:05:15 > 0:05:18during the First World War with a very badly broken leg?
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Basically you'd use a Thomas splint.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24The way this works is by reknitting the bones together
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and using something called traction.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29If you break your leg very badly,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33the muscles around it pull the leg shorter and the bones overlap.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Traction works by pulling the muscles back to allow the
0:05:37 > 0:05:39bones to be realigned.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Stabilising broken bones like this saved lives during the war
0:05:44 > 0:05:46because it meant blood loss could be controlled
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and there was a better chance of keeping infection out.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It looks very uncomfortable to use. Is that right?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- Yes, it's incredibly uncomfortable. - Maybe Xand should have a go.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Yeah, I think so.- Brilliant. Brilliant.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00All right, then.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- If you hold it straight.- OK.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- OK.- We need to...
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Up through there.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It's very difficult doing this kind of thing if we imagine him in the
0:06:09 > 0:06:13trenches covered in mud like this and presumably you'd be working with
0:06:13 > 0:06:16people shooting at us and shells landing around at the same time?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Yep.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21You're starting to see how difficult medicine would be in the trenches.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23You can see why you don't even bother to wash your hands
0:06:23 > 0:06:25beforehand. The mud gets into everything.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28So basically, as Richard's tightening there, this frame
0:06:28 > 0:06:33is now pushing in your groin and the bones that are broken here will be
0:06:33 > 0:06:36being separated and then they can grow back together normally.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39What's amazing is to see this being used
0:06:39 > 0:06:41in a replica of a World War I trench
0:06:41 > 0:06:45and to think I've used one of these in a modern emergency department.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47It's exactly the same thing.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49So how do you feel, Xand? It is comfortable?
0:06:49 > 0:06:52It's not very comfortable for me and it would be very painful
0:06:52 > 0:06:56if I really had a broken leg, but my leg is very well supported.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59It would also mean I'm much more likely to survive.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01All right, Richard, I think he's done,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- time to get him to the surgical hospital.- Let's do it.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08This brilliant First World War invention is still used today
0:07:08 > 0:07:11and has been saving lives for over 100 years.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And the best thing is it's stabilising Xand's leg
0:07:14 > 0:07:17while he gets to the surgical hospital.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Chris? My leg's not actually broken.
0:07:20 > 0:07:21Chris!
0:07:25 > 0:07:28It's incredible to think that not only did ten million
0:07:28 > 0:07:31World War I soldiers die in combat
0:07:31 > 0:07:34but two million also died from disease.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And one of those diseases that soldiers were desperate to avoid
0:07:37 > 0:07:38was trench foot.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Trench foot was caused by soldiers' feet being continually soaked
0:07:44 > 0:07:47in cold, wet, muddy trenches for days
0:07:47 > 0:07:50with no way of drying them properly.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Now get ready for a gross picture, because when trench foot took hold
0:07:54 > 0:07:56it looked like this.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Urgh.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00To show you how this disease starts,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I've had my foot sitting in cold water for two hours.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Disgusting. There you go, Xand, take that.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11That's all white and cold and wet and wrinkly. Urgh.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14This is because when you get cold your brain makes a judgment call
0:08:14 > 0:08:17on which parts of your body need heat the most,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20so the warm blood rushes inwards
0:08:20 > 0:08:23to help the organs that your body can't really do without
0:08:23 > 0:08:25keep the right temperature.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27But that can be bad news for hands and feet,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30especially for long periods of time.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34The soldiers' feet would start to die because of low blood flow
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and dead flesh is perfect food for bugs.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41And take a look at what happens once the bugs take hold.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Gross. Trench foot smelt absolutely terrible
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and it was extremely painful and eventually,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51if left untreated, the gruesome foot would need to be amputated.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57To understand how an infection like this could take hold so easily,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00we're going to show you a war that was taking place
0:09:00 > 0:09:03at a microscopic level, on the soldiers' skin.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06This was the battle of soldier...
0:09:10 > 0:09:11..versus bug.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- Dr Xand.- Dr Chris.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- BOTH:- Let battle commence.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Our war map represents the soldiers' skin in super close-up.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Every day their skin had to battle against invading armies of germs
0:09:29 > 0:09:31and bacteria.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34These layers of skin represent the trenches
0:09:34 > 0:09:38where all your skin cells lie waiting for battle.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41And these are macrophages.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45They're big, hungry cells that live at the top layer of your skin and
0:09:45 > 0:09:49their job is to march forward and eat anything that tries to get past,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52like a skilled army of soldiers going into battle.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56So with my skin cells lying in wait and my hungry macrophages
0:09:56 > 0:09:59ready for battle, I have a strong army here, Xand.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Well, Chris, we'll see about that.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Your macrophages might be doing everything they can
0:10:05 > 0:10:09to stop these guys, my bacteria, trying to get into your body
0:10:09 > 0:10:13and cause harm, but soldiers were constantly wet.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16They ate bad food and they were tired and stressed
0:10:16 > 0:10:20meaning that your immune system wouldn't be working properly.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23And because of that, Chris, I'm going to take away some of your soldiers.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Take that.- No!- And that.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28No!
0:10:28 > 0:10:29Ha.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Because of my poor immune system and damaged skin,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35I am unable to repel Xand's bacterial forces.
0:10:35 > 0:10:41So my bacteria are advancing into the skin, swarming across the lines
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and Dr Chris succumbs to an overwhelming infection.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I win.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52And this is what happened to many soldiers in the war.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Living in terrible conditions meant their immune systems weren't
0:10:55 > 0:10:59strong enough and so their skin cells and macrophages couldn't cope
0:10:59 > 0:11:01when invading bacteria tried to get in
0:11:01 > 0:11:03and that's why they succumbed to nasty diseases.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15But bacteria weren't the only kind of bugs World War I soldiers
0:11:15 > 0:11:17had to worry about.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Everyone's itching and so are we.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24This must be a case for Investigation Ouch!.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29If you were a soldier in the First World War,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32the chances are you'd be spending months on end in the trenches
0:11:32 > 0:11:36and your skin would be itchy and sore.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40This medical problem was caused by a nasty critter infesting
0:11:40 > 0:11:42the trenches.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Body lice.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Now body lice are very uncommon now but they actually look just like
0:11:48 > 0:11:50these head lice because they're from the same family.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53But much deadlier.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57The head lice people get today are completely harmless,
0:11:57 > 0:11:58they just itch a bit,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01but body lice in the trenches carried serious disease
0:12:01 > 0:12:03and they were a real problem.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06The cramped trenches were hot, sweaty and damp.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09The perfect breeding conditions for lice.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Nearly all soldiers in the trenches would have had lice
0:12:12 > 0:12:14all over their bodies.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17This is Vince Smith,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21an entomologist who knows all about lice.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23So, Vince, what diseases did the body lice spread?
0:12:23 > 0:12:27During World War I the main disease was trench fever
0:12:27 > 0:12:29and this was a really virulent disease.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Something like one in five of the soldiers
0:12:32 > 0:12:35during World War I were infected by trench fever.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Trench fever caused flu-like symptoms
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and eventually it led to heart failure.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47And there's a simple reason why the disease infected so many soldiers.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49They were all huddled up close
0:12:49 > 0:12:52and so the lice would literally just creep between the soldiers.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55So, Vince, the head lice that you've got here
0:12:55 > 0:12:57feed in exactly the same way as body lice, is that right?
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Absolutely. In fact if we put one on you now we can see it feed.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04- Well, brilliant. - Do you want to try it?
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Here we go.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08OK, there he is there. What's he doing now?
0:13:08 > 0:13:10He's trying to dig into the skin
0:13:10 > 0:13:13to try and find a little blood vessel
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and when he hits one, he'll start sucking up the blood.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Here are some lice in super close-up.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23You can see the blood this one's drunk moving inside its body.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26That's what's going on with my arm right now.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Now if I was a soldier in World War I,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31I'd be at high risk of getting trench fever.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Soldiers knew lice were bad news and they did what they could to stay
0:13:37 > 0:13:41lice free, including picking them off their clothes like this guy.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45They called lice "chats" and removing them was called "chatting".
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Whilst these critters were spreading disease,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52some other creepy-crawlies were helping to fight it.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56They were maggots.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57A surgeon called William Baer
0:13:57 > 0:14:00discovered the power of maggots one day
0:14:00 > 0:14:03when he examined a soldier with a wound.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Thousands of maggots had filled the area,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07but when Baer picked them off,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10instead of finding infected dead tissue
0:14:10 > 0:14:12he was surprised to see the wound had healed.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It's a maggoty miracle.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20And we still use sterilised maggots to treat wounds today,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24as we're going to show you with this 21st-century foot.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26But prepare to look away if you're squeamish.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31You may have seen this foot before on Ouch!, and underneath the bandage
0:14:31 > 0:14:35500 maggots have been on the wound for two days doing their magic.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37OK, squeamish people, look away now.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44It might look horrible but the wound is healing thanks to the maggots.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46They're eating all the infected dead flesh
0:14:46 > 0:14:50but they don't touch the nice new flesh that's growing.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51So it's a win-win,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55maggots love eating dead flesh that would otherwise be food for bacteria
0:14:55 > 0:14:57which would cause infections.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00They're perfect wound-cleaning machines.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04And although we now have antibiotics to treat wound infections,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08maggots are still a really important alternative to surgery
0:15:08 > 0:15:10for removing dead flesh.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Well done, you squirmy yet beautiful little beasts.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14HE KISSES
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Still to come,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23Paralympian Sophie Kamlish tries out a World War I innovation.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26And find out how explosions damaged soldiers' ears.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30But first...
0:15:32 > 0:15:35..how many doctors and nurses left the UK
0:15:35 > 0:15:39to help soldiers on the front line during World War I?
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Was it A. 1,800,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45enough to fill one modern hospital?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47B. 18,000,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50enough to fill 12 hospitals?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Or C. 118,000,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56enough to fill 78 hospitals?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01In fact the answer is C.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05By 1918 around 118,000 medical staff
0:16:05 > 0:16:07had joined the Royal Army Medical Corps
0:16:07 > 0:16:11and they helped save thousands of wounded soldiers.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14But that meant that there weren't many doctors or nurses left
0:16:14 > 0:16:16to treat sick people back home.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24During the First World War, with most of the doctors sent to battle,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28there were very few medical people at home to treat civilians like you.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31And doctors then could have as many as 3,000 patients.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33It would be really difficult to get to see one.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35You might remember Charley from Liverpool.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38He came in to accident and emergency with a broken elbow.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43Now we're going to show you just how different his treatment
0:16:43 > 0:16:46would have been 100 years ago compared to today.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50In hospital Charley's being examined by Doctor Sarah.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- Has he had all his immunisations? - Ooh.- Sore there?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Now a child suffering from Charley's break at home
0:16:56 > 0:16:58would have been treated by his mum.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Right, his dad's been sent away to war so he's not around
0:17:01 > 0:17:03and his mum probably would have had to use things
0:17:03 > 0:17:06like rolled-up newspapers as splints. I mean, it would have been very bad.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Yeah. And because there was no National Health Service
0:17:08 > 0:17:10most people couldn't afford to
0:17:10 > 0:17:13or didn't want to pay for their own treatment.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Luckily Charley, like everyone else in the UK,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18is able to get free treatment on the NHS.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I was a bit worried you might have broken
0:17:20 > 0:17:23the bottom of the humerus which is this long bone here.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And it starts with an X-ray to find out exactly what's broken.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30But 100 years ago you'd have had to pay for an X-ray
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and you probably wouldn't have been able to afford it.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Even if you could, it was done on film
0:17:36 > 0:17:39and so it would take much longer to get results.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Luckily it's taken no time at all for Charley to get his X-ray results
0:17:43 > 0:17:47back and they show he's got a bad break that needs surgery.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51So, it's off to theatre for a hi-tech operation
0:17:51 > 0:17:54to get his broken bones realigned with wires.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56Now operating theatres back then would have
0:17:56 > 0:17:59been in the roof to get in enough light through a skylight,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01because the artificial lights were so dim.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04They ran on gas so they weren't any good at all.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07And, of course, the surgeon wouldn't have had a live X-ray to refer to.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Of course there wouldn't have actually been a surgeon at all.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13There wouldn't have been an operation for a break like Charley's,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15in fact there wouldn't have been an operation for any broken bone.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18So Charley would have been destined to have a painful,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20badly functioning elbow for the rest of his life.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21They look fine.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Thankfully after having an operation and a cast on for a few weeks,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28our modern-day patient has ended up as good as new.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- BOTH:- Phew.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Of the soldiers that were lucky enough to survive World War I,
0:18:36 > 0:18:4141,000 of them lost an arm or a leg from the fighting.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44This had never happened on such a large scale before,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47but World War I was the first time such powerful weapons
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and heavy machinery had been used in battle.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52The consequence was a huge number of amputees.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57They were evacuated from battle and sent home,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00but these were young guys. They wanted to get on with their lives.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02They wanted to work and look after their families
0:19:02 > 0:19:04so something had to be done.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07UK military technicians came up with the solution.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11They started making vast quantities of artificial limbs
0:19:11 > 0:19:12known as prosthetics.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16In fact, they had so many to make
0:19:16 > 0:19:19that a whole hospital was built in London to produce them
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and it was up to doctors to make sure they were made right.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27From the start to the end of the war, they went from 624 patients
0:19:27 > 0:19:33to over 26,000 and the limbs they made looked like this.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37It's made out of hollowed wood and modelled on a real human leg.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Not bad considering it's 100 years old.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Now soldiers were given legs like these free of charge and
0:19:43 > 0:19:47in those days when you had to pay for medical care, this was a big deal.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50They were even given help learning how to use them.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Since then prosthesis design has gone from this...
0:19:53 > 0:19:54to this.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56GUNSHOT
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Meet Paralympian Sophie Kamlish.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08She competed at London 2012 in the 100 and 200 metre sprints.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11She runs on a modern hi-tech blade
0:20:11 > 0:20:14and for everything else she wears this carbon fibre leg.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17So, Sophie, it evidently looks very different to your leg.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Yeah, it's a lot heavier than mine,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22probably about five times the weight.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25How does it look in terms of comfort and fit?
0:20:25 > 0:20:28I wouldn't have to wear a strap around my waist to wear a leg
0:20:28 > 0:20:29which is...obviously it would be
0:20:29 > 0:20:31very annoying with clothes and stuff.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Because I do a lot of athletics it would feel heavy to drag around,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37so I probably wouldn't enjoy it at all.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40- It's not really built for speed, is it?- Definitely not.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44It might not have been built for speed, but artificial legs like this
0:20:44 > 0:20:48transformed the lives of thousands of soldiers after the war.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51And to find out what it's like to wear one,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Sophie is going to test-drive this -
0:20:53 > 0:20:57a 1914-style leg specially made to fit her.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04And so it's the 1914 hundred metre challenge and taking it on with
0:21:04 > 0:21:09full gusto is Sophie Kamlish, one of Great Britain's Olympic heroes.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Good luck and tally-ho.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13GUNSHOT
0:21:13 > 0:21:14And she's off to a...
0:21:14 > 0:21:17a slow start.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20She's clearly unable to build up much speed
0:21:20 > 0:21:23but then this leg wasn't made for running,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25as those chaps found out after the war.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Walking with a new leg was tricky enough,
0:21:28 > 0:21:32so all things considered, Sophie's done spiffingly.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Your time was 56.5 seconds. What's your personal best?
0:21:37 > 0:21:4013.69 seconds.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Ah, so you were 42.81 seconds slower than normal?
0:21:43 > 0:21:46May I ask, how did that feel?
0:21:46 > 0:21:49It's not very cushiony so it was pretty tricky.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Definitely not a sprinting leg, but a pretty good walking leg.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Ah, that's the spirit.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00So in 100 years prosthetics have come a long way.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Sophie's blade's a bit different to this, but this is where it all began.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12For a soldier returning home from World War I missing a leg
0:22:12 > 0:22:14this was a passport to freedom
0:22:14 > 0:22:17and it offered them a much better life because of it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23When the First World War ended in 1918,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26thousands of soldiers returned home with significant hearing loss,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28if not completely deaf.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Now we're going to show you why so many men
0:22:30 > 0:22:32suffered damage to their ears.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Just don't try anything you see here at home.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44We've come out of the trenches and we're now in a massive field.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Look, massive.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47And we need to be.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50It's also why these chaps are here.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Aside from the men who were killed or lost limbs in World War I,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56many soldiers would return home with another serious ailment,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58hearing loss.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01This was caused by the deafening noise of guns and explosions
0:23:01 > 0:23:05because the soldiers didn't wear any kind of ear protection.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Sometimes they'd just put their fingers in their ears. Look!
0:23:08 > 0:23:11The loudness of noise is measured in decibels and experts agree
0:23:11 > 0:23:15that continued exposure to noises of 85 decibels or more
0:23:15 > 0:23:17will harm your hearing.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Now explosions in the First World War measured over 140 decibels
0:23:21 > 0:23:24and the gunshots could measure as much as 150.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26So you see the soldiers in battle
0:23:26 > 0:23:29really didn't stand much chance of their hearing being unaffected.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32That's because when an explosion occurs it releases a shock wave
0:23:32 > 0:23:36of pressure which is so powerful it bursts your delicate eardrum.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43We're going to set off three World War I explosions to show you
0:23:43 > 0:23:47how much damage they would've done to soldiers' hearing.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50We're placing our wooden men at increasing distances
0:23:50 > 0:23:53from the blast site.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And because shock waves destroy eardrums,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58we fitted them with shock wave stickers.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03The paint inside them bursts if a strong enough shock wave hits them.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Purple means a small shock wave has struck
0:24:06 > 0:24:08but green means a massive one.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12So with a very loud bang and a huge amount of pressure,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15we're going to have to be very careful of our ears.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Which is why we've come right over here where it's completely safe
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and we're wearing these.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Couldn't you have got some blue ones for me?
0:24:26 > 0:24:28What?
0:24:28 > 0:24:29Never mind.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32So now we can get to the bit that I've been really looking forward to,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35pressing the button to let off the explosions.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37- Can I press it now? - No, not yet, Xand.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Now in our first explosion we have black powder,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42also known as gunpowder.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44- Can I press it now?- No.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46This is what was used in hand grenades.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52So let's see what kind of pressures it exerts on our soldiers.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55- Can I press it now? - Xand, press the button.- Yes!
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Oh, wow!
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Wow.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Let's have a look at our first soldier.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09One of his shock meters has gone off.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So the amount of force that's applied to him isn't that great,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14although it's enough to knock him down
0:25:14 > 0:25:18and this guy probably would have damaged his hearing very seriously.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21The shock meters on our next two soldiers are unbroken,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24so they wouldn't have been deafened.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27But they would have had some serious ringing in their ears.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Let's go do our next test.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33Now this second explosion is louder and more powerful than black powder
0:25:33 > 0:25:36like many of the explosions the soldiers would have heard.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38- OK, you ready?- Yep.- Let's do it.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Oh, wow. That is a much bigger bang.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46The first soldier wouldn't have survived this blast.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Let's have a look at the next one.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51So on this soldier all the meters have been activated.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And the same goes for the soldier furthest away.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Both these men would have definitely lost their hearing.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02OK, let's try our next test.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Now this final test is ammonium nitrate.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09It was a material often used in World War I mines
0:26:09 > 0:26:11and in high explosives.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Because it releases a supersonic shock wave.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17So we've doubled the amount of soldiers to show you
0:26:17 > 0:26:20just how far the effects of this explosion will travel.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29So two of those soldiers have completely gone.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32And all the others have had their shock meters activated,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34even the very last man.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38The noise level here would have been absolutely deafening.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40And that's because, unlike today,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43World War I soldiers had no ear protection,
0:26:43 > 0:26:48so when an explosion like this created a supersonic shock wave,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49it burst their eardrums.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55In fact, some of the real mines used in World War I made bangs so loud
0:26:55 > 0:26:59they could be heard all the way from France to Britain.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02So as amazing as the human body is,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05in times of war it's also very vulnerable.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08And it's not surprising that with much less medical know-how
0:27:08 > 0:27:09than we have today,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12there were over 37 million casualties in the First World War.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Thankfully we've learned a lot
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and although explosions are still on the news,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19soldiers since have been kitted out
0:27:19 > 0:27:22with lots of ways to protect their bodies, like ear defenders.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28So we've shown you just how much the soldiers of World War I
0:27:28 > 0:27:30were up against.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33It was a terrible war which devastated the lives
0:27:33 > 0:27:36of both the men fighting and their families back at home.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41100 years on, we salute all those soldiers who fought for their
0:27:41 > 0:27:44country and we thank those scientists and doctors
0:27:44 > 0:27:46who made incredible advances in medicine
0:27:46 > 0:27:50that we still use to treat people in our modern hospitals today.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54So it's goodbye to the trenches
0:27:54 > 0:27:58as we head back to the 21st century, where we're very lucky to be.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04- So that's it till next time. BOTH:- Bye!