Woman's Uniform of the St. John's Ambulance Brigade. Consists of coat

Nellie Roche completed a first aid course with the St John Ambulance Association and was presented with this certificate in 1942.

The St John Ambulance Association was founded in 1877 as a voluntary organisation originally dedicated to providing emergency help for industrial workers. Ten years later, this was then broadened to provide assistance at public events and the Association remained the foremost provider of ambulance services until the formation of the NHS in 1948. Today, St John Ambulance has nearly 300,000 volunteers in 42 countries across the world.

This certificate was awarded during the Second World War, a time when emergency first aid was required more than ever. During both World Wars, St John Ambulance joined with the Red Cross to provide care for war casualties.

The St John Ambulance Association was founded in 1877 as a voluntary organisation originally dedicated to providing emergency help for industrial workers. This was then broadened to providing assistance at public events and the Association essentially remained the foremost provider of ambulance services until the formation of the NHS in 1948.

Each St John Ambulance Brigade, made up of volunteers from the local area, must follow a set of rules and regulations. This book explains the relationships between brigades and the Association and also what was expected of volunteers in their training and their public duties.

The St John Ambulance Association was founded in 1877 as a voluntary organisation originally dedicated to providing emergency help for industrial workers. This was then broadened to providing assistance at public events and the Association essentially remained the foremost provider of ambulance services until the formation of the NHS in 1948.

St John Ambulance Association volunteers used this book to help their training in basic first aid. It contains information and illustrations on treatments for different injuries, such as burns, fractures, sprains, cuts and minor poisonings as well as emergency techniques such as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The volunteers would have attended a series of lectures, each focussing on a different system of the body. Each lecture had a practical element where the volunteers learned to apply first aid techniques.

The St John Ambulance Association was founded in 1877 as a voluntary organisation originally dedicated to providing emergency help for industrial workers. This was then broadened to providing assistance at public events and the Association essentially remained the foremost provider of ambulance services until the formation of the NHS in 1948.

The badge is an eight-pointed star which corresponds to the eight qualities a first-aider needs to have:

1. observation skills;

2. tactfulness – to make the patient feel confident in their abilities and to ask questions to determine the symptoms of the patient;

3. resourcefulness;

4. dexterity – to handle a patient and equipment with care and speed;

5. discrimination – to decide which injury or patient needs treatment first;

6. perseverance – to keep going determinedly;

7. sympathy for the patient;

8. explicitness – to give clear instructions.

The badge is shown with 'The St. John Ambulance Brigade Standing Orders and Divisional Rules' book (1999-909 Pt20).