The St John Archive is a big collection of hundreds of boxes, and many tens of thousands of photographs, with the contents dating from the 1820s to the present day. Our current Archives Revealed project focusses on cataloguing the founding records of St John Ambulance from the 1870s – 1939, and today we’re going to explore some of the records that have been catalogued so far in the project: copy letter books, annual reports of the St John Ambulance Association, and a publication about the work of a Nursing Division in India.
Copy Letter Books
Copy letter books were invented in the 1700s as a way for organisations to keep track of their outgoing correspondence. The books were created by taking a thin and slightly wet piece of paper, and a freshly written letter, and using a press to transfer the ink from the freshly written letter to the blank wet paper, thereby creating a mirror image of the writing. The best quality of transparent copying paper was produced in Japan and exported across the world, and aniline dye inks were best used for this copying process (ink made from iron gall eats away at paper and causes the contents to be lost forever).
There are around 200 copy letter books within the Archive collection. The earliest book in the collection dates from 1890, and the latest one from around 1910, when typed letters became more regularly used. Each volume contains hundreds of letters relating to the early activities and administration of the Association, and as you can imagine, these must be a great resource in understanding the organisation’s early formation and work. However, with water and ink being mixed, I’m sure you can also imagine that could be a little problematic, and you’d be right. The process of creating the copy letter books means that the writing is not always legible now; it is more than often very smudged, the ink has bled, has faded with age, and it is hard to understand the contents of the letters.
These records are an example of a slightly unusual kind of record that we have in the collection. They are a fantastic representation of how copy presses were used in early recordkeeping, and contain some great early information, but provide preservation issues for us today. The copy letter books are of a high conservation high priority for the Archive, as we will need to find a way to preserve the contents of these books before we lose the ability to read them completely.
St John Ambulance Association Annual Reports
I don’t think that I could say what the most ‘important’ records within the collection are, but if pushed, I’d say that the St John Ambulance Association’s Annual Reports are pretty high on the list.
The St John Ambulance Association was established in 1877 to provide training in first aid and lifesaving skills to civilians. Dating from 1878, the Association’s annual reports evolve over time, but generally contain reports on the activities and governance of the Association, the Association’s Centres in England and overseas, the Stores Department, the Invalid Transport Corps, railways, mines, ambulance stations, first aid competitions, notable celebrations, changes in staffing, the Association’s response to disasters and accidents, lists of staff, certificates and awards, the syllabus, regulations, and instructions on forming Centres overseas. They contain an awful lot of information. They are bound in volumes which often contain supplementary material, such as proceedings of public meetings, reports from the Order of St John’s relevant committee, pamphlets, memoranda, advertisements for the Association’s Stores Department, and price lists for equipment, textbooks, and manuals.
The very first report, dated 1878, tells us that the very first Centre of the Association was opened in Woolwich, using the schoolroom of St John’s Church for Committee meetings, and it first aid classes were held in nearby Presbyterian schools. Surgeon-Major Peter Shepherd (who wrote the Association’s inaugural first aid manual) taught the first aid classes, with 306 pupils attending over the first six months.
The Metropolitan Centre was established next, with classes held at Chelsea Barracks, and Centres started springing up all over London and up and down the length of the country. Classes in the Metropolitan area had man classes for men and women (separated, naturally) at locations across London.
St John Ambulance in India
The St John Ambulance Association and St John Ambulance Brigade expanded overseas almost immediately after being established here, primarily in countries within the British Empire, many of which continue today to have St John firmly established within communities. Within the Archives Revealed project, I’ve had responsibility for cataloguing the in-scope international records, including early records from India, Guyana, Hong Kong, Burma, Wales, Malta, and New Zealand.
As a significant area of British Colonial rule, India was an early adopted of St John. Its first Association Centre was formed in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 28 November 1883, with additional Centres following in Bangalore, Baroda, Calcutta, Madras, and Quetta. The St John Ambulance Brigade established its first Division in India in 1904: the Parsi Ambulance Division. In the international records, the records relating to India that fall within the scope of the Archives Revealed project include reports, correspondence, and newspaper cuttings. One of the star items in the India collection is a printed booklet which charts the work of the Calcutta Nursing Division during the First World War and the few years preceding it.
The publication includes photographs, reports on finances, and recounts events of note, such as a visit from King George and Queen Mary on a tour of India. The publication is a great historical record of the Division’s work, and tells us about specific things that the Division did, such as creating a convalescent home for British Soldiers.
As you can see from the photograph here, it was a very grand affair. The building was lent to the Division and opened for use in November 1916. The Home had twelve wards staffed by Divisional nursing sisters, there were massages, electrical treatments, oxygen baths, medical care, a large dining hall, billiard room, and a recreation veranda. The focus was on getting the unwell men back to full health, and catered for 140 men at the highest peak.
Alongside the Convalescent Home, the Calcutta Nursing Division also established the Nursing Sisters’ Greeting and Speeding Corps (which was organised to meet the soldiers bound for the convalescent home or for other destinations, and providing them with all the comforts they would need for their journeys. Four furlough homes were also created to house soldiers. And, in addition to the Convalescent Home, Nursing Sisters’ Greeting and Speeding Corps, and furlough homes, (as if they weren’t busy enough), the Nursing Division also set up the Howra Free Canteen, to provide sustenance and company on arrival.
The Archive will be launching a publicly accessible catalogue of the records catalogued as part of the Archives Revealed project in the summer of 2025.
