The St John Archive preserves material (paper-based and digital records, and film and photographic material) dating from the 1830s onwards, which provides invaluable information on the structure, personnel and activities of the modern Order of St John and St John Ambulance. The Archive has been formed from a variety of different sources and coverage is therefore representative rather than comprehensive. Nevertheless, the holdings contain records relating to the development and dissemination of first aid practices; the growth of the ambulance movement and the hugely important work performed by the organisation during the Boer War, and the First and Second World Wars.

Summary of Holdings

Currently, only limited parts of the St John Archive are catalogued including holdings relating to the First World War, Richard Temple, Winston Churchill, and Dr. Colin Dawson.

Our First World War holdings consist mainly of records relating to the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Étaples; the work of the Joint War Committee; Voluntary Aid Detachments and Auxiliary Hospitals in England, Wales and Ireland. Please note that we do not hold any personnel records for First World War Voluntary Aid Detachment members, these are held in the archives of the British Red Cross Society and are searchable on the British Red Cross website.

The Richard Temple papers predominantly contains correspondence, minutes and reports in relation to his work with the Joint War Committee and the Indian Soldiers’ Fund during the First World War.

The Winston Churchill papers consist largely of correspondence and maps regarding the role of St John Ambulance Brigade at his funeral.

The Dr. Colin Dawson papers include documentation and correspondence relating to his roles with St John Ambulance in London and the South East (1960s-1990s), papers relating to the St John Historical Society (1980s-2010s), and local and regional newsletters (1970s to 1990s).

Archives Revealed

In 2023, the Archive was awarded a significant cataloguing grant from Archives Revealed,  a funding partnership between The National Archives, Pilgrim Trust, and The Wolfson Foundation, which supports the cataloguing of significant collections representing the lives and perspectives of all people across the UK and making them publicly accessible for research and enjoyment.

The grant primarily funds a Project Cataloguer to join the Archive for 14 months from October 2023 to catalogue the early records of St John Ambulance from c.1870-1939. This project will transform public access to the early records of the international first aid charity, St John Ambulance which was founded in the 19th century as a response to healthcare challenges faced by communities in industrial Britain. Volunteers learnt first aid skills that they could apply at home, in the workplace, and in public spaces, decades before the founding of the National Health Service and the welfare state. The collection is relevant to communities across England, particularly in the heartlands of Victorian Britain where industries such as mining and manufacturing flourished and injuries at work were all too common.

The project will produce the first comprehensive catalogue of these records, which offer huge untapped research potential across the humanities and social sciences, linking to medical history, voluntarism, emergency and disaster planning, gender studies and global and colonial history. Keep an eye on the Museum’s blog, and across our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter platforms where we will share progress updates, behind the scenes content, and stories that come from this collection as the project unfolds.

The Museum will be running an inclusive and accessible programme of events throughout the duration of the project to share new discoveries and invite new perspectives – check out our What’s on page to see the upcoming events.

Enquiries about access

The Archive welcomes visitors for research appointments. Please be aware that due limited resources and space restrictions, we can only accommodate a small number of researchers at any one time. Additionally, as a result of confidentiality restrictions, we are unable to allow researchers to access personnel records or Order citations. although, we are happy to search these for you – please see our enquiries page for further details.

Research visits must be arranged in advance, with at least two weeks’ notice. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. To request an appointment please contact the Museum by emailing museum@sja.org.uk.

Online Resources

The St. John Camp Cadet

The St. John Camp Cadet was a special version of The St. John Cadet (the magazine created specifically for St John youth). This special newsletter was created for the Cadet Coronation Camp, taking place at Stubbers in North Ockendon in Essex, for seven days from Saturday 1st – Friday 7th August 1953. The Camp attended by 2,000 Cadets from the UK and abroad. HRH Princess Margaret was due to attend and inspect the Cadets, but prevented from attending due to a case of meningitis. An issue of the St. John Camp Cadet was produced for each day of camp to share news, reviews, activities, programmes for the day, competition information, and insights into camp life.

The St, John Camp Cadet No. 1 (Saturday 1st August 1953

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 2 (Sunday 2nd August 1953)

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 3 (Monday 3rd August 1953)

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 4 (Tuesday 4th August 1953)

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 5 (Wednesday 5th August 1953)

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 6 (Thursday 6th August 1953)

The St. John Camp Cadet No. 7 (Friday 7th August 1953)

The St. John Cadet

The St. John Cadet was the first organisational magazine created specifically for the St John Ambulance Nursing and Ambulance Cadets. It ran from 1946-1955, and features accounts of events and activities, news, reports on competitions and camp, stories, and photographs. It is a fantastic resource of information about the early years of the St John Cadets. This collection was digitised with match-funding in partnership with TownsWeb Archiving.

Please note that the Museum does not hold a complete run of these magazines.

The St John Cadet Vol. 1 No. 1 (May 1946)
The St John Cadet Vol. 2 No. 4 (February 1948)
The St John Cadet Vol. 3 No. 2 (August 1948)
The St. John Cadet, Vol. 3 No. 3 (May 1948)
The St John Cadet Vol. 4 No. 1 (April 1949)
The St John Cadet Vol. 4 No. 4 (January 1950)
The St John Cadet Vol. 5 No. 1 (April 1950)
The St John Cadet Vol. 5 No. 2 (July 1950)
The St John Cadet Vol. 5 No. 3 (October 1950)
The St John Cadet Vol. 5 No. 4 (January 1951)
The St John Cadet Vol. 6 No. 1 (April 1951)
The St John Cadet Vol. 6 No. 2 (July 1951)
The St John Cadet Vol. 6 No. 3 (October 1951)
The St John Cadet Vol. 6 No. 4 (January 1952)
The St John Cadet Vol. 7 No. 2 (July 1952)
The St John Cadet Vol. 7 No. 3 (October 1952)
The St John Cadet Vol. 7 No. 4 (January 1953)
The St John Cadet Vol. 8 No. 1 (April 1953)
The St John Cadet Vol. 8 No. 2 (July 1953)
The St John Cadet Vol. 8 No. 3 (October-December 1953)
The St John Cadet Vol. 8 No. 4 (January-March 1954)
The St John Cadet Vol. 9 No. 3 (October 1954)
The St John Cadet Vol. 9 No. 4 (January 1955)

Annual Reports

The Order of St John’s Annual Reports were first printed in 1868. They tell us about Order members, their roles and ranks, admissions, promotions and obituaries. They also cover the work of the Order internationally. The Reports document the history of St John Ambulance providing information on First Aid training, technological advances in healthcare, the formation of Nursing, Ambulance and Cadet units and the contributions made by volunteers.

The digitisation of these reports was funded by the St John Historical Society in 2022.

O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1868
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1869
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1870
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1871
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1872
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1873
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1874
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1875
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1876
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1877
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1878
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1879
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1880
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1881
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1882
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1883
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1884
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1885
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1886
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1887
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1888
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1889
Annual Report, 1890
Annual Report, 1891
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1892
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1894
Annual Report, 1893
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1895
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1896
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1897
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1898
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1899
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1900
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1901
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1902
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1903
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1904
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1905
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1906
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1907
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1908
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1909
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1910
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1911
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1912
Annual Report, 1913
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1914-1915
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1916
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1917
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1918
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1919
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1920
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1921
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1922
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1923
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1924
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1925
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1926
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1927
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1928
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1930
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1931
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1932
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1933
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1934
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1935
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1936
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1937
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1938
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1939
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1940
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1941
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1942
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1943
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1944
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1945
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1946
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1947
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1948
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1949
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1950
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1951
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1952
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1953
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1954
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1955
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1956
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1957
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1958
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1959
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1960
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1961
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1962
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1963
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1964
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1965
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1966
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1967
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1968
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1969
O.S.J.J. Annual Report, 1970
SEE MORE ONLINE RESOURCES

Sponsors

The Museum of the Order of St John would like to thank all those who have supported and continue to support its work. In particular, the Museum would like to thank the following for their generosity: