The Archive has been formed from a variety of sources and coverage is therefore representative rather than comprehensive. Nevertheless, the Archive’s collections contain records relating to the development and dissemination of first aid practices, the growth of the ambulance movement, the work performed by St John during the South Africa War, and the First and Second World Wars, and its youth programmes.
The Archive’s records are largely 2D items, including hundreds of boxes of paper-based records, many thousands of photographs, film reels, and other photographic material, and a growing collection of born-digital material.
Archive records relating to St John Ambulance include the St John Ambulance Association, St John Ambulance Brigade, Cadets, Badgers, the St John Ambulance Air Wing, and St John Stores. These collections include Association Centre records, Brigade Divisional records, organisational governance, membership records (primarily for London and Kent), newsletters and magazines, film and photographs, newspaper cuttings, promotional leaflets, ephemera, and oral histories.
Archive records relating to the modern Order of St John include annual reports, Chapter and Council minutes, photographs, and the Order’s honours and awards, including the Service Medal, Life Saving Medal, and Order membership.
The Archive also holds a small collection of records relating to the international work of the Order of St John and St John Ambulance before 1999, including some records about the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem.
Please note that the Archive’s catalogue currently comprises material primarily relating to the founding and activities of the St John Ambulance Association and St John Ambulance Brigade nationally and internationally, 1870s – 1939.
Projects
We are always working to make our collections more accessible, unlocking the fascinating stories and treasures in our records.
See our projects
Online Resources
The Archive has digitised popular resources that are freely and publicly available and searchable online.
Visit our resources page
Archive Catalogue
Explore our people, purpose, and humanitarian progress through organisational and personnel records, oral histories, and film.
Explore the Archive CatalogueFAQs
Exploring your history in our collection
If you are interested in finding out about family members who volunteered or worked with St John Ambulance or were members of the Order, you may wish to use our research guides. You may find the Family History Research Guide and Medals Information Sheet especially helpful for researching your family’s involvement with St John.
Visit the Resources page to view the full range of guides and resources.
If, having consulted our guides, you require further assistance you can submit a research enquiry or arrange to make a visit by emailing museum@sja.org.uk or calling 020 7324 4005.
Using the collection for research
The Archive’s catalogue can be accessed by clicking ‘search and explore the archive catalogue’ above.
Please note that the Archive’s catalogue primarily comprises records relating to the founding and activities of the St John Ambulance Association and St John Ambulance Brigade from the 1870 – 1939, but also incorporates later material and some records relating to the modern Order of St John.
If you are interested in other aspects of our collection and the uncatalogued Archive collections, you can submit a research enquiry or arrange to make a visit by emailing museum@sja.org.uk or calling 020 7324 4005.
If you want to use any images of our collections for any reason, please see our Image Reproduction page.
Support us
The Museum has always relied on the generosity of the public, as well as members of the Order. Without your support, we would not be able to provide our services or carry out the work we do with our collections. The Museum does not receive regular public funding, and donations are a vital way of supporting our work through conservation, research and public access. If you are interested in supporting us, please contact us at museum@sja.org.uk.
If you are considering making an object donation to the Museum, please view our Donations page for more details.
Volunteering
Volunteers make a vital contribution to the work of the Museum. When new volunteering opportunities arise, they are advertised through the St John Ambulance Volunteering portal where you can explore vacancies and sign up for alerts. If you see a role advertised and would like to arrange an informal chat to find out more please email museum@sja.org.uk.