St John Ambulance has been awarded a £240,026 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to deliver a project exploring 150 years of community first aid, as the charity prepares to celebrate its foundation in 1877.
The project will bring the history of community first aid to broad and diverse audiences across England and inspire more people to get involved with St John Ambulance’s lifesaving mission. It will spotlight the voices and experiences of volunteers over the last 150 years and the vital role that civilians have played in first aid and emergency response. Heritage at risk will be protected through recording and preserving undocumented stories of post-war first aid, from the development of CPR to volunteers’ contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With co-creation central to the activities, St John volunteers and young people will learn new heritage skills and explore the past, present and future of first aid through hands-on events and activities. They will be empowered and equipped to share these stories with the communities they serve. Their contributions will help the Museum of the Order of St John to develop new interactive, people-centred and accessible interpretation that inspires visitors to join today’s first aid movement.
The fully funded activities will include:
- Researching and curating a touring outdoor exhibition, working with volunteers and the Museum’s collection, which will explore the impact of community first aid over 150 years and travel to the North West, North East, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, South West, South East and London in 2027.
- Creating a pop-up micro-version of the touring exhibition for volunteers to use at local community events across England.
- Creating an immersive costumed tour for family visitors at the Museum, inspired by the experiences of St John volunteers during the Second World War.
- Creating a short film highlighting key moments and innovations in first aid over 150 years, drawing on the photographic archive and involving St John Ambulance Cadets in the film’s production.
- Refreshing the Museum displays in London to represent the full breadth of the charity’s activities, including post-war developments.
- Running a participatory digital art project for 48 St John Cadets (aged 11-17) across England, using the photographic collection to inspire thoughts on the first aid of the future.
This project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery Players.
We are currently recruiting the following freelance roles to support this project:
To find out more about these opportunities, how to apply, and deadlines for applications please click on the links above.
If you have any questions or would like to request the information in a different format, please contact museum@sja.org.uk.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.