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Research: Projects

First Aid on Camera: Preserving St John Ambulance’s Photographic Collection

Posted Thursday 18th December

The Museum of the Order of St John has been awarded £18,621 from AIM Museum Fundamentals funded by Pilgrim Trust and The Julia Rausing Trust to preserve and provide access to its collection of photographic prints. The project will run from November 2025 – October 2026. The funding is awarded through the latest round of AIM’s Museum Fundamentals programme which enables museums to improve knowledge, care and access to the nation’s heritage. The project will run from November 2025 – October 2026.

The Museum’s photographic collection includes approximately 25,000 unbound photographic prints which visually document the work, activities, presence, and people of the Order of St John and St John Ambulance, nationally and internationally, from c.1870s to the present day. It is the only photographic collection in existence that comprises a near 150-year detailed visual record of these organisations and their efforts to care for and support humanity. This project will result in the repacking of the entire collection of photographic prints into conservation-grade enclosures and boxes with accompanying box lists to promote their long-term preservation and access. In addition, full catalogue records with accompanying digitised images for a collection of 3,500 photographs which represent the work and activities of St John Ambulance from its inception to the present day will be made publicly accessible on Collections Online, the Museum’s online catalogue, ready for the charity’s 150th anniversary in 2027.

This is an incredibly exciting project that will help to protect and preserve the collection physically and intellectually and to uncover some never-before-see photographs, and new discoveries will be shared through the Museum’s blog, socials and e-newsletter so sign up below to follow our progress! 

To learn more about the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) please visit: https://aim-museums.co.uk/

To learn more about AIM’s Museum Fundamentals grants please visit: https://aim-museums.co.uk/grants/museum-fundamentals/

To learn more about Pilgrim Trust please visit: https://www.thepilgrimtrust.org.uk/

To learn more about The Julia Rausing Trust please visit: https://www.juliarausingtrust.org/

A black and white photograph of a group of men, women, and children standing and seated for a posed photograph. Sixteen of the men and one woman are in St John Ambulance Brigade uniform, and the remainder are in civilian dress. The group are outside in front of pointed tent, with a sign identifying it as a first aid tent. A boy is reclining in front of the group on a stretcher.
St John Ambulance Brigade members with civilians at a St John Ambulance Brigade first aid tent, c.1890s (Archive ref: A707)

Sponsors

The Museum of the Order of St John would like to thank all those who have supported and continue to support its work. In particular, the Museum would like to thank the following for their generosity: