The Order of St John
Our February meeting began with a talk by Yvonne Albon from the St John Ambulance
Brigade of which she has been member since 1943. She gave a history of the Order
of St John from its origins in eleventh century Jerusalem, through to its role
today with St John Ambulance and the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. She
talked about the beginnings of the Brigade up to the successful organisation we
see today, whose members can be seen in their distinctive uniforms helping the
public throughout the country on a daily basis, on duty at national football
matches to local fetes, to being the country’s leading first aid training
organisation, training some 575,000 people each year in first
aid.
Yvonne brought a collection of scrap books and talked about changes in the uniform
over the years triggering memories for WI members who had been in the Brigade in
their youth. She also showed a triangular bandage from earlier days, printed with
bandaging techniques, many now obsolete due to the availability of swift and smooth
transport to hospital by ambulance, unavailable back then. She also had various editions of the first aid handbook, earlier copies of which handily fitted into a pocket, but now a full colour manual with photographs, produced jointly with the Red Cross and
updated regularly with each change to the latest best practice.
Our meeting continued with WI matters including: our quiz team and darts team
competitions coming up soon; meetings to start planning this year’s Village Show
(please let us know if there’s something you’d like including!); Cheshire Show
entry, to be based on the theme Town and Country; latest book club meeting
(including yummy cakes) and the forthcoming Craft Taster Day in Congleton (find
out exactly what is a Duck Squeezum!). We will also be launching new quarterly
craft workshops, run by our own members sharing their skills, starting with an
evening making Easter eggs.
Brigade of which she has been member since 1943. She gave a history of the Order
of St John from its origins in eleventh century Jerusalem, through to its role
today with St John Ambulance and the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. She
talked about the beginnings of the Brigade up to the successful organisation we
see today, whose members can be seen in their distinctive uniforms helping the
public throughout the country on a daily basis, on duty at national football
matches to local fetes, to being the country’s leading first aid training
organisation, training some 575,000 people each year in first
aid.
Yvonne brought a collection of scrap books and talked about changes in the uniform
over the years triggering memories for WI members who had been in the Brigade in
their youth. She also showed a triangular bandage from earlier days, printed with
bandaging techniques, many now obsolete due to the availability of swift and smooth
transport to hospital by ambulance, unavailable back then. She also had various editions of the first aid handbook, earlier copies of which handily fitted into a pocket, but now a full colour manual with photographs, produced jointly with the Red Cross and
updated regularly with each change to the latest best practice.
Our meeting continued with WI matters including: our quiz team and darts team
competitions coming up soon; meetings to start planning this year’s Village Show
(please let us know if there’s something you’d like including!); Cheshire Show
entry, to be based on the theme Town and Country; latest book club meeting
(including yummy cakes) and the forthcoming Craft Taster Day in Congleton (find
out exactly what is a Duck Squeezum!). We will also be launching new quarterly
craft workshops, run by our own members sharing their skills, starting with an
evening making Easter eggs.