A pub commemorating injured servicemen treated at a ground-breaking burns unit is to call time.

The Guinea Pig pub in Holtye Avenue, East Grinstead, is likely to be demolished to make way for new housing.

The pub was named after the injured pilots who were treated by Sir Archibald McIndoe at the burns unit at the nearby Queen Victoria Hospital.

It served as a meeting place for patients who received experimental reconstructive plastic surgery.

The bid to demolish the pub and build 19 flats has been described as the end of an era.

Mid Sussex District Councillor for East Grinstead Jean Glynn said: "I worked with the Guinea Pigs in the welfare department where we found jobs for them. Those of us that were part of that era will recall it as a mix of suffering and a lot of fun.

"The pub was an informal place for the Guinea Pigs to meet. They put a lot of character into it. It's sad it will go and I hope that something useful will arise on the spot."

The Guinea Pig club was set up by RAF pilots injured during the Second World War.

At the time only men who had been patients at the burns unit could join. The name they gave themselves was a testament to their humour in dealing with severe disfigurement as a result of their injuries.

The club was meant to have been disbanded when the war ended but it continued as servicemen returned to the hospital for ongoing treatment.

The Guinea Pig pub was built close to the hospital in 1957 and became a central focus for the patients.

The pub closed in 2005 because it was not making enough money. The Guinea Pig club fought to keep it open, applying to English Heritage to get the building listed but were turned down.

Bob Marchant, honorary secretary of the Guinea Pig club and curator of the Queen Victoria Hospital museum, said: "The pub was named after the club and members regarded it as their pub even though most of them only visited it once a year for the reunion.

"There was a lot of comradeship in the Guinea Pigs and they liked to visit the pub to meet up and exchange memories. They had a real attachment to that building."

At its peak, the club boasted 649 members. It now has only 97 members worldwide.

The pub sign and some artefacts and pictures will be stored at the Guinea Pig Museum which is due to reopen at the Queen Victoria Hospital site later this year.

The application to build on the site has been submitted to Mid Sussex District Council by Hyde Housing. It will be decided at a north area planning committee meeting tomorrow.