St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland

  The St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland (SJAB) is a charitable voluntary organisation in the Republic of Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of Order of Saint John and the international St. John Ambulance, but rather is classed as an "associated body".^[1] The Brigade is dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid. It is engaged in first aid training to the public, providing first aid cover at large events, patient transport and community services.

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Senior members

The Brigade's current Commissioner is Derek L. Robinson, who has held the position since 1974. He is assisted by a Deputy Commissioner, a Chief Superintendent and seven Assistant Commissioners, as well as dozens of staff and district Officers.

The current President and Chairman of the Brigade Council is Mr. Clive Martin.There are seven other Council Members.

History

The first division in Ireland was formed in 1903 at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin by Dr. (later Sir) John Lumsden. In his post as Medical Officer for Guinness, Dr. Lumsden was asked to provide first-aid classes for employees at the Guinness Brewery at St. James's Gate. The classes became so popular that they later became the first registered division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, and it became known as St. James Gate division. ^[2]

In 1905 the City of Dublin Division was formed. In 1909 the first nursing division was formed, allowing women to join the ranks.

The Brigade was involved with many major events in Irish history, including treating casualties from the clashes during the General Strike of 1913 (sometimes referred to as the Dublin Lockout). In 1914 many members served in the First World War, providing medical aid for those injured in combat. However, the Brigade became prominent in Dublin during the Easter Rising of 1916 where it treated casualties on both sides and fed and cared for evacuees. ^[3]

Working with Dr. Lumsden during the Easter Rising was Dr. Ella Webb who had become a member of the St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland in 1914. She helped to set up an emergency hospital at the Brigade’s headquarters at 14 Merrion Square during the Rising and “cycled daily through the firing line to visit the hospital” ^[4]

For these acts and his formation of the St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland Dr. John Lumsden was knighted for each by King George V and became Sir John Lumsden KBE. ^[5] At the same time Dr. Ella Webb was awarded an MBE for her work for the St. John Ambulance Brigade.^[6]

Sir John also encouraged Brigade members to be blood donors and advertised in the Irish national papers for people to register in order to set up an 'on call' blood donor panel to serve hospitals in the Dublin area. The service later became the National Blood Transfusion Association in 1948 but owes its origin to the Brigade and more especially to Sir John Lumsden.^{[7] [8]}

In 1922 the Irish Civil War caused the Brigade to go into the front line to help both sides. Then a year later the first Cadet division was formed.

In 1923, after the establishment of the Irish Free State, Sir John wrote to the President of the Council of the Irish Free State to start the process of breaking the Brigade away from the control of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of the St John of Jerusalem. ^[9] This led to the Brigade becoming an Associated Body. It was renamed the St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, and became completely independent from the English-based St. John Ambulance. The moves after 1923 further led to the formation of the Irish Red Cross Society in 1939. ^[10] Sir John was one of the first members of the Irish Red Cross.

Sir John Lumsden, the founder and first commissioner of the Brigade, died in 1944.

Ranks of the Brigade

Cadet ranks (ages 11–17):

• Cadet
• Cadet Lance Corporal (a rank not used in other brigades)
• Cadet Corporal
• Cadet Sergeant

Adult ranks:

• Member
• Lance Corporal (one point-down chevron)
• Corporal (two chevrons)
• Sergeant (three downward chevrons) / Cadet Leader (three horizontal stripes)
• Officer (one 4-pointed star with the Cross of St. John in the centre) / Cadet Officer
• Superintendent (two stars) / Cadet Superintendent
• Divisional Superintendent (three stars)
• Chief Superintendent (Cross of St. John)
• Staff Officer (Cross of St. John over one star)
• Assistant Commissioner (Cross of St. John over two stars)
• Deputy Commissioner (Cross of St. John over two stars)
• Commissioner (Cross of St. John over three stars)

Rank insignia is worn on rank slides placed on the epaulettes. These are black for ordinary members, red for doctors, grey for nurses, and green for qualified paramedics.

Commissioners of the Brigade

There have been five Commissioners since 1903:

• Sir John Lumsden, 1903–1944 (died)
• A. J. Conor, 1944–1951 (retired)
• W. G. Smith (acting Commissioner), 1951–1955
• Douglas Montgomery, 1954–1974 (died)
• Derek L. Robinson 1974–present

Uniform

The uniform is nearly identical to the English uniform, although there are some differences. Instead of county emblems, Irish Brigade members wear a Brigade Emblem (a green shamrock) under their shoulder flash; this emblem is not received until they have two years' service.

The current uniform consists of the following:

• White pilot shirt with epaulettes, "St. John Ambulance" on left breast and badge on right
• Black NATO or tight knit sweater with "St. John Ambulance" on the left breast, badge on the right and shoulder flash under epaulettes
• Black dress jacket with St. John Ambulance badge on the right breast, medals on the left breast, and shoulder flash under epaulettes on both sleeves; this jacket is worn by officers on formal occasions, but is rarely worn by members or NCOs
• Black trousers
• Black boots or shoes
• Black clip-on tie
• Peaked cap for men and bowler-style hat for women, with cap badge and white band (officers do not wear the cap band, have different cap badges and may wear a cockade or silver bars)
• Hi-visibility jacket with St. John Ambulance reflective badges (outdoors only)

Cadets wear black berets instead of caps and hats and have their own breast badge and shoulder flash.

Cadets

The Cadet Divisions of the Brigade have existed since 1923. They are trained in preliminary first aid over a period of weeks (usually no more than eight) and are then examined by a Cadet Officer or Cadet Superintendent from a different division. Cadets must be re-tested every year to continue to attend duties and wear the uniform.

Between the passing of their exam and the enrolment ceremony (a period of a week to several months), Cadets may go on duty in uniform and are considered to be probationary Cadets. The enrolment ceremony is usually attended by an Assistant Commissioner and other senior officers.

Notes

See also

• St John Ambulance
• Venerable Order of Saint John
• Order of Malta Ambulance Corps
• Irish Red Cross