We’ve come to the end of March, so read on to hear about what the Archives Revealed project team have been getting up to over the past month…

March 2025 in the Archive – Sophie (Archivist)

How it is the end of March already? This year seems to be rushing by quite quickly! This month we’ve started planning for our end-of-project launch and celebrations, I’ve finished cataloguing the St John Ambulance Brigade Overseas administrative papers, and I have an ‘item of the month’.

Our Archives Revealed project has a Steering Group that meets bi-monthly, and we had our latest meeting at the start of March. Many things were discussed, and one of them was the project’s celebrations. I won’t share any spoilers now, but it’s safe to say that we have discussed lots of options for engagement, including in-person and online events, and I’m really looking forward to sharing more later.

I have (finally!) finished cataloguing the records relating to St John Ambulance overseas, and we now have some small collections of records relating to the St John Ambulance Association and Brigade’s early years in India, British Guiana [Guyana], Hong Kong, Burma [Myanmar], Czechoslovakia [Czechia], Wales, Malta, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and some records relating to the administration of the St John Ambulance Brigade Overseas. This is not a comprehensive list of the countries in which the Association and Brigade were active in (and not necessarily all the earliest countries that they were active in), but these are the countries that we hold records for in the St John Archive that fit within our project’s timeframe, and they are also a good representation of the areas around the world where you could find these organisations.

I’ll now be moving on to catalogue records relating to the administration of Districts within the St John Ambulance Brigade. Districts were administrative regions within the Brigade, a system which was introduced in 1894. Within each District were Corps, and within the Corps were the localised Divisions. We don’t have a huge amount of material relating to the administration of the Districts, but I‘m looking forward to finding out what we do have.

Finally (and this is my favourite bit) I have an ‘item of the month’! Josie came across something that fitted within the in-scope India records, which was a bound volume on Jaipur Pattern Ambulances designed by Rai Bahadur Major Dhanpat Rai, of the Jaipur Imperial Service Transport Corps, c.1900, on the orders of the Maharajah of Jaipur for use by the st John Ambulance Association in India.

A photograph of some printed text. The text reads as follows: ‘JAIPUR PATTERN AMBULANCES, Designed by RAI BAHADUR MAJOR DHANPAT RAI, C.I.E., SARSAR BAHADUR, Commandant, Jaipur Imperial Service Transport Corps. Published Under the orders of His Highness Saramid-i-Raja-i-Hindustan Raj Rajendra Sree Maharaj Adhiraj Sawai Sir MAdhe Singh Bahadur G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., G. C. V. O., the Maharaja of Jaipur, For use of THE ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION IN INDIA’. — The printed inscription on the inside cover (Archive reference: STJ/SJO/2/1/2/4)

A photograph of a page in a book which features a black and white photograph of a horse and cart. The cart is on the left side and the horse is wearing a harness and reins and attached to the card on the right side. A man is sitting in the cart, holding the reins. Above the photograph are the words ‘Dhanpat Rai’s New Pattern double harness iron folding Cart PHOTOGRAPH NO. 1. Below the photograph are the words ‘POSITION NO. 1’. — One of the transport designs photographed in the book (Archive ref: STJ/SJO/2/1/2/4)

A photograph of two pages in a book. The page on the left contains a large chunk of text at the top and bottom of the page. In the middle of the text is a black and white photograph of a horse and cart. The horse is on the right side and is in a harness and reins attached to the cart which is on the left side. The cart looks like a tent, to function in sheltering its passengers. The page on the right contains a large chunk of text in the middle of the page. Above the text is a black and white photograph of a horse-less cart with a tall tent on top. — More of the transport designs photographed in the book (Archive ref: STJ/SJO/2/1/2/4)

A photograph of two pages in a book. The page on the left contains a large chunk of text in the middle of the page. Above the text is a black and white photograph of a horse and cart facing to the right. The page on the right contains a large chunk of text at the bottom of the page. At the top of the page is a black and white photograph of a horse and cart facing to the left. The horse is on the left side and is in a harness and reins attached to the cart which is on the right side. The cart contains machinery and two tall chimneys on top. — Even more of the transport designs photographed in the book (Archive ref: STJ/SJO/2/1/2/4)

My final thought for the month: never underestimate the power of coffee, biscuits, and a good pencil!

March 2025 in the Archive – Pat (Project Volunteer)

As time flies past, this sees the end of March and the brighter morning and evenings which is always pleasant.

Work continues within the Archive and the Ambulance Divisions continue to be a challenge as we find new records for Divisions. However, it is a privilege to be able to handle documents from the 1880s onwards and ensure that they are catalogued.

I must say thank you to Ian Whiteing who is the Network Lead for the “Feltham” area. Ian alerted us to historical documents ranging from minute books and paperwork such as the annual returns some from the 1920s, some of which is in scope; this has now been safely deposited in the Archive and will be processed over the coming weeks.

Annual Returns for the Metropolitan Railway Ambulance Divisions.

March 2025 in the Archive – Josie (Project Cataloguer)

March has been a real joy for me working on the Archives Revealed project. After cataloguing the high-priority records created by the St. John Ambulance Association, I’ve joined Pat and Joyce in cataloguing the Brigade records. Building on their incredible work cataloguing the annual returns of the London Ambulance and Nursing Divisions, I’m combing through the rest of the collection and cataloguing minute books, press cuttings, registers of cases treated, correspondence and more for different Divisions. These records shed fascinating light on the activities and people within specific Divisions, as well as broadening our understanding of the Brigade’s national Divisions.

Some of my favourite records catalogued this month relate to competitions won by the formidable Herne Bay Nursing Division from 1936-1939. Rather impressively, in 1936, Herne Bay won the Perrott Shield (the premier trophy for the all-England annual competitions of Nursing Divisions), in 1937 and 1938 they won the Perrott Shield and the Empire First Aid Trophy, and in 1939 they won the Perrott Shield again.

Image of a section of a yellowing newspaper showing two black and white photographs. The central and largest photograph shows three women smiling and wearing 1930s nursing uniforms and smiling on the left-hand side of the image. The third woman on the right is holding a large metal shield with her right hand. Another woman (the Duchess of York) stands smiling at the other side of the shield and supports it with her right hand. She is wearing a black uniform. All women are facing the camera. The shield is resting on a large table covered in a cloth featuring an eight pointed cross, unicorns and lions. The title above the image reads, “the winning team.” Below is a description naming the team in the image as the Herne Bay Nursing Division and describing the runners-up. The smaller photograph to the lower left of the image shows a line of men in uniform facing forward on the left of the frame; to the right a woman faces them in uniform and smiles. — Press clipping from The Daily Mirror, 6 June 1936 (Archive ref: STJ/SJAB/1/2/113/1/3)

Competitions wasn’t just for Brigade members – they were large events which drew broader public attention. We can see their significance in the press cuttings collected by the Herne Bay Nursing Division as coverage appears in local and national newspapers.

Image of six telegrams arranged in two vertical rows of three on a brown tabletop. Four of the telegrams are brown paper with typescript pasted on top. They are in polyester sleeves. The other two telegrams have brightly coloured illustrated printed borders showing houses. These also feature typescript paper pasted on top. — Good luck telegrams sent to the Herne Bay Nursing Division Team in 1939 (Archive ref: STJ/SJAB/1/2/113/1/1)

The Archive also holds competition ephemera and correspondence. This includes some lovely telegrams relaying good luck messages from other Divisions – both in Herne Bay and further afield – as well as some menus from the 1937 and 1939 competitions. This small collection of material shows the well-deserved pride of the Division and it’s great to assist in its preservation.

Image of two printed menus (blue print embossed on white card with frilly edges) being held in a white person’s hand against a white background. — Competition Menus, 1937 (left) and 1939 (right) (Archive ref: STJ/SJAB/1/2/113/1/2)

Keen to learn about St John Ambulance competitions? Find everything you need to know in one of our previous blog posts: Exploring St John Ambulance Competitions: Historical and Personal Reflections – Museum of the Order of St John

March 2025 in the Archive – Joyce (Project Volunteer)

March began with the completion of cataloguing the in-scope adult Nursing Division annual return records held in the Archive. It was deeply satisfying for me to finish this stage of the project by labelling up the storage boxes with archive box numbers and the catalogue references for each Division. Turning a collection of paperwork into resources that can be easily accessed and are being properly stored for the future. A bit weird maybe 😊 but perhaps a way of thinking that is one of the reasons I enjoy volunteering in the Archive!

I have now moved on to cataloguing in-scope Ambulance Cadet Division annual return records. ‘In-scope’ is defined as records from Divisions registered before 1940. When looking through these records, I do think on what might have become of these young men listed in the 1930s Cadet Divisions in the decade that was to follow.

Sometimes we find other St John Ambulance Brigade forms mixed in with the annual Returns. For example, lists of the public duties Cadets had attended. For the C17 Kensington Ambulance Cadet Division, a popular one seems to have been Queen’s Park Rangers football matches; a St John presence at the football goes back a long way!

Annual Returns for Ambulance Cadet Divisions of the St John Ambulance Brigade.

We will be launching a public-facing catalogue of all the records catalogued as part of the Archives Revealed project in late summer 2025, so keep your eyes peeled over the coming months for more information!