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In 1888, Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter
incorporating the Grand Priory in the British
Realm of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital
of St. John of Jerusalem. To signify this the lion
and the unicorn are added to the cross.
Since the days of the Crusades, The Order of
St. John has grown into a worldwide non-profit,
non-denominational, multi-cultural, charitable
organization, committed to the service of
others.
The Order
St. John Ambulance is one of two foundations of
the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St.
John of Jerusalem. The other foundation is the St.
John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem, which
specializes in the research and treatment of eye
diseases.
Through its two branches, the Association and
the Brigade, St. John Ambulance is committed to
enabling everyone to improve their health, safety
and quality of life by providing training and
community service.
The St. John Ambulance Association is a network
of medical professionals and program development
specialists who develop first aid and health
promotion courses.
The St. John Ambulance Brigade is a group of
uniformed volunteers who serve their community in
many ways, from providing first aid at public
events to raising the spirits of seniors at
retirement homes.
The Beginnings
In a time of war and persecution, one thousand
years after the birth of Christ, a united force
was growing in the Holy Land. For centuries,
Christian pilgrims were bullied and persecuted as
they made the formidable journey on foot from all
parts of Christendom to the Holy City of
Jerusalem. From at least as early as 600 AD, the
Holy City had offered a resting place for
pilgrims. The hostel for pilgrims was destroyed
and rebuilt many times over the centuries,
depending on the state of Christian/Muslim
relations. Four hundred years later, all Christian
buildings in Jerusalem were destroyed. In 1023,
pious and wealthy merchants from the Italian
republic of Amalfi built a church and a new
hospital for pilgrims. Attended by Benedictine
monks, who took the emblem of the white Cross of
Amalfi as their symbol, the hospital was the
rallying point for the unified force that became
the first order of chivalry in the world. Warrior
knights from across Europe came to the aid of
their fellow Christians and joined the monks under
the banner of the eight-pointed white cross.
The bloody and bitter struggles of the Middle
Ages shaped the development of the Order of St.
John from hospitallers and knights in the Holy
Land, to the strongest naval force in the
Mediterranean. Forced to move from one stronghold
to another over the centuries, the Order
established a hospital in each new homeland. By
the eighteenth century, the Order was solely
devoted to acts of charity.
In 1798, with the capture of Malta, the Order
of St. John ceased its military activities. After
a revival of the Order in England, the modern role
of the organization began to emerge. In 1870, the
Order pledged itself to provide voluntary aid to
the sick and wounded in war. During the
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1872), 200 surgeons,
nurses and other workers devoted themselves to the
care of stricken soldiers on behalf of the Order
of St. John. In 1877, the Order of St. John
inaugurated the St. John Ambulance Association
"to train men and women for the benefit of
sick and wounded." Courses in first aid for
the general public began.
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