Muriel Elsie, née Hirst (1895-1969), Lady Gamage was a member of St John Ambulance for many years, and was given the title of Dame of Grace by the Order of St John in 1955. This painting was created prior to that point, during the late 1940s. It was painted by the artist Richard Jack, R.A. (1866-1952), a prominent portrait artist of the time.
She presented the portrait to the St John Ambulance Division in Berkshire at the event of the opening of the St John Ambulance Berkshire headquarters on 17th November 1951. At the time, Muriel was County Superintendent of St John Ambulance Berkshire and would have been well-known amongst St John Ambulance members in the county.
After being presented to the St John Ambulance Berkshire headquarters, the painting had an interesting life. It was given to the headquarters of the division of St John Ambulance based at the General Electric Company in Witton upon their opening. The Company was taken over by Control Securities in the late 1980s, and then again by Price Securities, when records of the painting’s location are absent. The painting was rediscovered in a skip when the St John Ambulance headquarters in Birmingham was being cleared out, and it was found that the painting had been sitting in the basement for ten years. The painting was purchased by the Museum of the Order of St John at auction in 1993 and is now on display in the St John Ambulance gallery.