Hello, my name is Immie, and I started in May as the Museum’s Collection Inventory Assistant. My job is to go through the Museum’s collection of over 60,000 objects so we can discover more about what we have in our stores. I am measuring, photographing and documenting each object and recording this on our database to help make our collections more accessible. The Museum has a wide range of objects, from portraiture to first aid kits to medals and even armour!

As a result of this, I have been discovering a whole range of hidden gems in our stores and wanted to share some highlights along the way, starting with this diorama!

This object is a miniature diorama of a Nurse’s Room. The diorama features two nurses in St John uniform as well as miniature medical equipment including a wheelchair, crutches, towel rails and miniature bowls. Measuring only 30cm wide, it is amazing to think of the time and effort that went into creating each detail, especially the hand painted St John insignia on the Nurse’s uniforms and handwritten drawer labels!

It is thought that the diorama was produced for fundraising purposes in order to promote the work of St John Ambulance, but we don’t actually know who made it or why it was commissioned.

A clue as to who made this object and why might be from examples of dioramas that were produced for the Joint War Organisation of the British Red Cross and the Order of St John during the Second World War. We know of an example of a diorama of a mobile unit of St John that was assisting after an air raid. This was designed by the artist and St John volunteer, Doris Zinkeisen, and created in order to promote the work of the organisation and help fundraise for the charity. The diorama in our collection could have been created for this same purpose, and potentially by the same people, in helping to promote and fundraise for the work of St John Ambulance, particularly the work of the nurses.