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The modern Order of St John has published its annual reports since 1868, and the Archive provides access to digitised annual reports from 1868 – 1970. These records tell us about Order members and the Order’s work in the United Kingdom and overseas. They also provide information on medical training, the health of the nation, advances in healthcare, and information about the various St John Ambulance Brigade Nursing and Ambulance Divisions.

You can access each volume on Issuu.

The Member Rolls list the names and dates of admission and promotion to the Order of living members from all countries at the date the Roll was published, although in rare situations, an individual may not feature in the Rolls because they were admitted and died between the publication years of two Rolls, but this is very unusual. Member Rolls were produced sporadically, and this is the complete collection of published Member Rolls.

You can access each volume on Issuu.

First Aid was the independent monthly magazine for the ambulance and nursing services, comprising the St John Ambulance Association and St John Ambulance Brigade, the British Red Cross Society, and the St Andrew’s Ambulance Association. The magazine was published from 1894 – 1953.

You can access each issue on Issuu.

First Aid to the Injured was the St John Ambulance Association’s first manual of first aid, published from 1878. The Association’s lectures on ‘First Aid to the Injured’ were developed into these first aid manuals, initially published under the title ‘Handbook Describing Aids for Cases of Injury or Sudden Illness’. Many tens of millions of copies were sold until publication ceased in the 1950s.

You can access a digitised copy of each edition on Issuu.

The St. John Cadet was St John’s first magazine for its youth members. Published from 1946-1955, it features accounts of Cadet activities, reports on competitions, camp, and stories and photographs.

You can access a copy of each issue held by the Archive on Issuu.

The St John Camp Cadet was a special version of The St. John Cadet magazine, published each day during the seven-day Cadet Coronation Camp in August 1953 to share camp news, reviews, and programmes for the day.

You can access each issue on Issuu.

Highlights from the First World War collections, digitised as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund project in 2014.

The Order of St John established the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Étaples, northern France, during the First World War to care for wounded soldiers. Here you can access weekly reports issued by the hospital from July 1915 – October 1916.

Veronica Nisbet was a St John Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Nurse during the conflict. As an artist, Veronica documented her wartime experience through a series of sketches and cartoons which she put in a scrapbook alongside photographs and newspaper clippings. She captures, from a personal and often humorous perspective, the endeavours of her care for the sick and wounded soldiers at the hospital in Étaples.

The Roll of Honour contains the names of the 1,077 members of the Order of St John, volunteers of the St John Ambulance Brigade and members of the Territorial Branch of the St John Ambulance Association, who lost their lives during the First World War.

You can access these materials on Issuu.

Chivalry was the journal of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem published from 1928 – 1940s. In January 1929, the journal’s name changed to The St. John Ambulance Gazette, and in June 1946, the journal became known as The St. John Gazette. The contents of the journal changed over time, but usually included news from the Order and the St John Ambulance Association and Brigade nationally and internationally, alongside photographs, articles on health, and contemporary advertisements.

You can access each issue on Issuu.

The Review of the Order of St John (later called St John Review) was the monthly organisational magazine of the Order of St John, published from the 1950 – 1988. This magazine took over from the previous organisational magazine, St John Gazette, when it ceased publication. The magazine features news, reports, photographs, articles, and information about the work and activities of the Order and St John Ambulance nationally and internationally.

You can access each issue on Issuu.

St John World was the monthly organisational magazine of the Order of St John published from 1989 – 1994. This magazine took over from the previous organisational magazine, St John Review, when it ceased publication. The magazine features news, reports, photographs, articles, and information about the work and activities of the Order and St John Ambulance nationally and internationally.

You can access each issue on Issuu.

The First World War collection mainly consists of records relating to the St John Ambulance Brigade Hospital in Étaples, France, the work of the Joint War Committee, Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs), and auxiliary hospitals in England, Ireland, and Wales. The catalogue of these records is held separately to the publicly accessible catalogue which will be launched in summer 2025.  The finding aid for the catalogued First World War collection can be downloaded here. 

Please note that we do not hold any personnel records for VAD members during the First World War – these are held in the archive of the British Red Cross. To search these records please visit the British Red Cross Museum and Archive website. 

The Winston Churchill papers consist largely of correspondence and maps regarding the role of the St John Ambulance Brigade at his funeral – the catalogue of these records is held separately to the publicly accessible catalogue.

The finding aid for the catalogued Winston Churchill collection can be downloaded here. 

The Richard Temple papers predominantly comprise correspondence, minutes, and reports in relation to Richard’s work with the Joint War Committee and the Indian Soldiers’ Fund during the First World War.

The finding aid for the catalogued Richard Temple collection can be downloaded here. 

The Dr Colin Dawson papers include documentation and correspondence relating to Dr Dawson’s roles within St John Ambulance in London and the Southeast, papers relating to the St John Historical Society, and local and regional newsletters.

The finding aid for the catalogued Dr Colin Dawson collection can be downloaded here. 

The Museum celebrated the 100th anniversary of the St John Ambulance Cadets in 2022 by conducting ‘Cadet Voices’, an oral history project with Cadets from the 1940s – 2010s. This project resulted in an online exhibition, with the oral histories being deposited with the St John Archive.

You can download a guide to the Cadet Voices oral history project collection, or visit the Cadet Voices online exhibition.