Wootton
St John Ambulance Association
The British Order continued in its growth, and recruited the Duke of Manchester as Grand Prior in 1861. The beginnings of the well-established national Hospitaller organisation began when the Order created a corps of ambulances in the 1860s. In 1871 a new Constitution brought about a further change of name, offering a more modest identity, The Order of St John of Jerusalem in England. In 1876 the Princess of Wales was recruited into membership, followed by the Prince of Wales. In 1877 the Order established St John Ambulance Associations in large railway centres and mining districts so that railway men and colliers might learn how to treat victims of accidents. This was followed up in 1887 with the creation of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. In 1882 the Grand Priory founded a Hospice and Ophthalmic Dispensary in Jerusalem.
Already to their credit was the very practical and life-saving work undertaken by both the Ambulance Brigade and Association. In terms of status, the biggest leap forward was official recognition in 1888 by the granting of a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria, under the title The Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in England, this became The Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1926 and The Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1936. The most recent Royal Charter is dated 1955, with a supplemental charter in 1974. The 1974 Charter recognised the world-wide scope of the order by setting its current name and short title. The reigning monarch of the United Kingdom is Sovereign Head of the Order.
This page was last edited on: 26th January, 2022 17:50:48
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