Competitions were a key part of St John Ambulance learning, formed from a desire to improve standards and develop first aid knowledge.
Over the past few months, I have been one of the volunteers on the Museum’s Archives Revealed project. As Joyce has previously stated in her blog on Sir Vincent Kennett Barrington; the St John Archive is a treasure trove of records including reports, newspaper cuttings, letters, diaries and minute books.
I have had an interest in first aid competitions since my first experience at the “Hammersmith Open” in 1973. In this blog I will explore the history of first aid competitions and share some of my personal experiences.
Members of the various ambulance divisions in the Hull area could compete for this trophy, the “Hull Centre Challenge Trophy” in annual competitions which ran until 1957.
The first ambulance competitions
The first documented St John Ambulance Association competition occurred 1880 when the St John Ambulance Association made plans for an extensive campaign (an “Ambulance Crusade”) to promote the organisation. The person behind this work was Surgeon General Allan Hunter who travelled through the Midlands and then to the Northern Counties where he spent much time in areas of industry. Throughout his travels he encouraged the Corps to be formed and encouraged ambulance competitions. The first competition, held in Birkenhead in 1890, was also called a training camp. The objectives of the competition were: to maintain high standards, to promote efficient coordinated training, and develop teamwork throughout Britain. This first competition led to other national training camps.
“As to competitions, which are becoming more and more frequent and popular, I am convinced that these should be regulated under the direction of the Association; and I would recommend the issue of rules to be drawn up and circulated from its Headquarters for the guidance of all concerned” (Dr. Hutton, August 1891).
In the early years of competitions there was no documented prize. However, in 1893, the “Symons Eccles” Cup (known as the Brigade Challenge Cup) was presented for the first time, to ‘stimulate friendly rivalry between Metropolitan and the Provisional Corps’.
Initially competitions were basic with volunteer “casualties” having cards hung around their neck to tell the competitors what the injuries were. The competition format changed over the years through ingenuity and a willingness to improve realism. In Brierfield (Lancashire) the usual label with the diagnosis was removed and replaced with a pictorial representation of the injury, in this case a fractured leg and a head injury and arterial hemorrhage. The railways were also pioneers of realism, the first realistic attempts were at King’s Cross for the Inter-Railway competitions.
Over the years “regulations” were developed to try and standardise events. For instance, in 1945 Graham Cumming Campbell, the County Surgeon for North Worcester, and other contributors published “A Guide to St. John Ambulance Brigade Competitions.” Subsequently rules were developed and published in the St John Ambulance Brigade Regulations.
Recognition and formalisation of competitions
In 1897, the St John Ambulance Association instituted three separate competitions to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. This included a General Competition open to all Association Centres; a Railway Competition and a Brigade Competition. In this first year, the General Competition was won by Dublin (City Police) and the Railway Ambulance Competition by the Great Eastern Railway Company. The Brigade competition replaced the “training camps” in this year and the trophy, the Dewar Challenge Shield, was presented by Sir Thomas Dewar, Sherriff of London. This trophy became the main trophy for competition for over a hundred years after being won in 1897 by the St John’s Gate Division. Following the competitions of 1897, many other industries (such as police, gas works, docks, and mines) formed their own competitions.
Dewar trophy
It was recognised that there was a need to diversify the competition to include Nursing; subsequently known in later years as “Care”. In 1921, the Perrott Challenge Shield was presented in the names of the late Sir Herbert Perrott (Chief Secretary of the Association) and of Lady Perrott (Lady Superintendent-in-Chief of the Brigade) for Annual Competition amongst Nursing Divisions of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Perrott Shield
Industry-related competitions continued throughout the decades, and in 1928, the PIM Challenge Cup was presented by Dr Frank de Beeho Pim (Knight of Grace of the Order and Assistant Commissioner of the Brigade) for Annual Competition amongst members of the Police Forces of England, Wales and the Isle of Man to encourage efficient rendering of first aid.
Monmouth County Constabulary Ambulance Team, 1929, winners of the “Devereaux” Cup
In 1950, the Grand Prior of the Order of St John presented The Grand Priors Champions Trophy. This trophy was considered the ultimate trophy as it was competed for by teams from industries as well as the Brigade competition winners. The first winners of this trophy were Brighton Police, a closed Division of the Brigade, which comprised only of members of the Brighton Police.
Grand Prior’s Champions Trophy
Competitions in practice
Competitions were complex events to organise and took months of planning. For a Brigade member, the ultimate prize was to get to the National Finals (The Nationals). Competitions existed for many categories; Youth and Adult (both male and female), with teams generally consisting of 4 people and a reserve. Some competitions were teams of 2 and there were also individual competitions. Competitions revolved around a series of tests where scenarios were played out. Each test was often referred to as a “Set”.
Competitions would start in earnest at the Division (Unit) level with many training nights, often several times a month to develop the best team, who would be selected and put into the Area competition. The winner of the Area round would then compete in the County/District/Regional competitions against other teams from other Areas. The winner of the regional competition would then represent the Region at the Nationals; this was considered an honour. These were known as the Brigade Finals and saw the team compete in their “class” against other teams from other Regions. The Brigade Finals were held in Fairfield Halls, Croydon, and often had over a thousand spectators. Many Area and Regional Competitions were held at venues that were donated through local contacts including a ward of a local hospital, a factory, an office block, or the headquarters of a St John building.
Behind every event there was an unseen team who found venues, thought of scenarios, created marking sheets, and audited the results. For instance, before the competition at any level could run, the set had to be tested. This was often done by a “ghost team” to test the scenario so that the judges could “set the bar “for marking; was the timing right? were the props in place? did the set work? The ghost team was often a team of people made from scratch; it was not unheard of for the ghost team to be the top scoring team – although it did not count as they were not a formal team. There was a also need for stewards to escort the team so that they did not see the coming activities and there were judges of the “sets”. Notably, there was the Casualty Union who would arrange for the casualties and the “make up” to make the scenarios and sets so realistic. Sometimes the sets were so realistic with acting wounds and drama that some observers walked away before they became a casualty themselves.
In the Archive, I recently came across the Southwest Yorkshire County Competition Adult/Cadet set, which declared: “You have been asked to visit a member of your St. John Division who has severe eczema. She requires daily application of her cream and bandages but is finding it difficult to do so. She has a small child and baby”. Not all sets were trauma-related but were equally challenging.
For a team test there were generally 3 casualties, for an individual test there was one casualty. The team test would last 10-15 minutes depending on the competition, and the individual test would last 6 minutes. The marking sheets from the test team and the 4 individual tests would then be combined to find the overall winner, with prizes being awarded to the Winners. These prizes varied from magnificent trophies to local awards. In addition to the trophy, the ultimate prize for uniformed Brigade members was the National Competition Winners badge.
National Competition Winners Badge
My experience of St John Ambulance Competitions
As well as being a volunteer on the Archives Revealed project, I am a member of St John Ambulance, a trainer, a Commander of the Order of St John, and I have a long history of being involved in competitions, with my first being the Hammersmith Open in 1973. Throughout my 30 or so years in competitions, I developed my skills as a first aider. and in 1989 I was part of a team who won the Nationals (Dewar Challenge Shield).
Since the Archives Revealed project started, our Project Cataloguer Annie Lord has had many questions for me regarding my own experience of first aid and ambulance competitions. So we sat down and recorded an interview. Here are some snippets!
How do first aid competitions work?
Describe a memorable competition scenario
What have you learnt from partaking in St John Ambulance competitions?
Additional Resources on Competitions
To read more personal stories relating to competitions (specifically from Cadets), head over to the Cadet Voices project page.
Brigade National Competition Challenge Trophies
Ambulance
The “Dewar Shield” (1897) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Symons Eccles” Cup (1893) – Awarded to the team gaining second highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Hong Kong” Shield (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining third highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Trimble Shield” (1926) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in the individual section of the competition.
The “Hingston” Rose Bowl (1948) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest marks in the team test section of the competition.
The “Ellis” Cup (1934) – Awarded to the team leader gaining the highest marks in the individual section of the competition.
The “Copland-Griffiths” cup (1951) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest marks in the uniform inspection.
Nursing
The “Perrott” Shield (1922) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Corbet Fletcher” Shield (1926) – Awarded to the team gaining second highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Stewart” Cup (1951) – Awarded to the team gaining third highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Chalmers” Cup (1929) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in the individual section of the competition.
The “Mountbatten” Cup (1949) – Awarded to team gaining highest mark in the team section of the competition.
The “Ellis” Cup (1934) – Awarded to the team leader gaining highest marks in the individual session of the competition.
The “Mountgarret” Cup (1930) – Awarded to team gaining highest mark in the bed-making section of the competition.
The “Marguerette Golding” Trophy (1941) – Awarded to the team gaining highest marks in the individual section of the competition, excluding bed-making.
The “Grosvenor” Cup (1951) – Awarded to the team gaining highest marks in uniform inspection.
Ambulance Cadets
The “White Knox” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Schooling” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining second highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Pownall” Cup (1950) – Awarded to the team gaining third highest aggregate marks in all sections of the competition.
The “Jarvis” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest aggregate marks in the individual section.
The “Barne” Cup (1952) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest mark in team test.
The “New Zealand” Cup (1947) – Awarded to team leader gaining the highest marks in the Individual sessions.
The “Lowe” Cup (1952) – Awarded to team leader gaining highest marks in the Individual sections.
Nursing Cadet
The “Dunbar-Nasmith” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in all sections.
The “Mountbatten” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining second highest aggregate marks in all sections.
The “Pownall” Cup (1950) – Awarded to the team gaining third highest aggregate marks in all sections.
The “White Knox Individual” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining highest aggregate marks in the individual sections.
The Emdon Cup (1955) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest marks in team test.
The “Bed-Making” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining the highest marks in the bed-making test.
The “Tweedale” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining highest marks in the individual sections excluding bed-making
The “Cunard” Cup (1947) – Awarded to the team gaining highest marks in uniform inspection.
Source: General Regulation of the St John Ambulance Brigade in the United Kingdom (1 July 1974)
