ORDER OF ST. JOHN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 466, 25 February 1933, Page 2

ORDER OF ST. JOHN

W. J.

Green.) .

the turning point i EYOLUTION OF AMBULANCE j BRIGADE RROM i ORDER. j MODERN DEVELOPMENT.

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No. 3. The French Revolutio'n cre'ated the tbird great crisis of the order., The, first blow was in 1792, when -tl^e , order was dissolved in Provence, Au-' verigne and France, and the final in 1798, when Napoleon seized Malta, and drove out the master and the khights, who were now completely ruined. But the order was still kept alive in Russia and for over 70( years the Popes appointed a series of lieuten-ant-masters. The great prohleiA to be solved was how to adapt the ancient religious and military order to the requirenients of the 19th century, as it wais ohvious that it could only survive by finding some means of justifying its existence. Throughout its long history, the great and famous hospital had been the first consideration, and it was in the development of this that their future history lay. Order in England. Any question of reviving the Order of St* John in England was, of course, accompanied by the one serions difficulty, tlrat of religion. It Was obvious that, to be a success, the order must be protestant. There were, however, two precedents for the existence of non-catholic bodies, viz., Protestant Brandenhnrg and the Greek Grand Priory of Russia, and after many ups and downs, on January 29, 1831, the Rev. Sir Robert Peat was elected prior of the order in England. Three years later, on February 24, in order to publicly emphasise his claim to office, and in the hope of reviving the charter of Queen Mary, Sir Robert Peat took the oath "de fidele administratione"- in the court of King's Bench before th'e Lord Chief Justice, but religious differences with the other parte of the order almost caused its, dissolution, and it was in a parlous state until 1858, which is the turninig point in the history of the niodern order in England. The Turning Poit. From now onwards it becomes a P'urely national order, looking to its own sovereign as its head, and having a policy of its own. So far tlie order had succeeded in re-establishing itself in England and reviving certain of its ancient dignatories. It had show that its guiding princi'ple was that spirit of charity which was to be the inspiration of all its future work. Besides it® work in time of war, and those countless minor activities which can scarcely be enumerated, the life-saving ntedal was instituted in 1874, the St. Johin Ambulance Association was formed in 1878, oht of which sprang the St. John Ambulance Brigade ten years later, and the hospital at Jerusalem was established in 1882. To the same period belongs the acquisition of all that was left of thq grand priory at Clerken-: well. By the beginninig of the 18th century most of the priory had disappeared exeept the chancel of the church and the gatehouse. The gift of the living was obtained by the order, which uses the chapel in the crypt as its communion chapel. Royal Charter. The freehold of the gatehouse was aequired and finally ,in 1887 the order entered into complete pcxssession. In May, 1887, Queen Yictoria granted them a 'Royal Charter of incorpoi'ation. A supplementary charter was ' granted in 1907, authorising the igrand prior to establish priories in any part of the Dominions he might think fit. Since then the history of the order in England has been one of constant progress, its numheTs always expanding, } its utility to humanity continually increasing, until in the Great) War its ambulances were to be seen on every front, and its hospitals famous throughout the armies. The modern Knighte of St. John have tried, not unsuccessfully, to follow in the foosteps of their brethren of old, always remembering the ancient rule and custom of their order "that the knights who should make their profession in it should adorn their knighthood with a true charity." First Beginnings. The first centre of thq association was formed at Woolwich and was closely followed by many others, and in 1878 was orgianised under the ambulance department of the order, and the immense v"alue of the work done in th'e country is revealed by the fact that up to 1923 no less than 1.548,239 certificates and 255,00 medallions had been issued. At the outbreak of the Great War the membership of the St. John Am.bulance Brigade wa® 25,560, and during the war they i*ose to a total of 65,300, and when it is considered that the St. John Ambulance Brigade consists of a body of men and women who give their service freely and without hope of reward, its strength is truly remarkable. Object^ of Brigade. The chief objects for wbieh th'e brigade are the provision of a properly trained body of men and women tq render first aid to the injured at all times, and especially on public occasion, and local emergencies and in time of national emengency to reinforce the services of the Crown. It is to the great credit of *New Zealand that it led the way in the formation of the brigade overseas, and the Dunedin Ambulance Corps was formed in 1892. The foregoing is a brief resume of the activities of our order, and it is the intention later to eall a public meeting in Rotorua to endeavour to form 'a sub-centre of th'e associatipn. I sincerely hope that iall who have read these articles will make a point of attending this meeting. As an example of the usefulness of the brigade, I milght mention that it rendered splendid assistance in the recent earthquake at Napier. — "Pro Utilitate Hominum." (Conclusion.)