St John Ambulance Cymru

St John Cymru - Wales

Logo of St John Ambulance Wales Logo of St John Ambulance Wales
Founded	1877
Type	Charitable organisation Limited company
Focus	Medical care, humanitarian relief, youth programmes
Location	Priory House, Beignon Close, Ocean Way, Cardiff, Wales, CF24 5PB, United Kingdom
Area served	Wales
Members	5,500
Website	http://www.stjohnwales.co.uk

St John Cymru - Wales (Also called St John Ambulance Wales and the Priory of Wales for the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem) is a charity (registered in England and Wales) dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid. 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 training, 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. 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
• Service Medal of the Order of St John

External links

• St John Ambulance - The Priory for Wales
• "St John Wales, registered charity no. 250523". Charity Commission for England and Wales.