St John Ambulance in Wales

St John Ambulance in Wales (Priory of Wales) (commonly referred to as St John Cymru - Wales) is a charity (registered in England and Wales) dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid.^[1] It is a subsidiary charity of the Priory of Wales (that is, the Welsh branch) of the wider international Order of St. John.

History

The medieval Order of St John is the original inspiration of the modern Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem. As part of its charitable work, the Order founded three separate charities in the nineteenth century. One was an eye hospital in Jerusalem. The other two were the St John Ambulance Association (1877) and the St John Ambulance Brigade (1887) providing, respectively, first aid and nursing traning, and first aid and nursing work by trained volunteers. The two organisations merged around a hundred years later into the single St John Ambulance organisation.

In 1907 King Edward VII, as Sovereign Head of the Order, authorised the foundation of different 'priories' of the Order for different nations.^[2] The first to be founded was the Priory of Wales (1918), which in turn led to St John Ambulance in Wales becoming a separate organisation and charity from the English parent body.

See also

• St. John Ambulance
• St John Ambulance Ranks and Insignia
• Venerable Order of St. John
• Service Medal of the Order of St John
• Insignia of the Venerable Order of St John

References

External links

• St John Ambulance - The Priory for Wales
• St John Wales, Registered Charity no. 250523 at the Charity Commission