Our History

The exact date when the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem first came into being is unknown although it was about 1070, when a hospice – a place of care – was established in Jerusalem by monks from a neighbouring Benedictine abbey to care for the growing number of Christians making the long and dangerous pilgrimage to the holy city.

The hospice soon developed into a hospital and in 1113 the Pope confirmed its independence. Over the next 40 years it developed into a religious and military order, with its brothers and sisters (commonly known as Hospitallers of St John or Knights Hospitallers) providing care to the poor and sick of any faith. They also took on the additional role of defending all Christians and others within their care when they were threatened.

RHODES & MALTA

The Order was driven from Jerusalem in 1187 and established its headquarters on the coast of Palestine, before moving to Cyprus and then on to Rhodes. In 1530 it moved to Malta, where it governed until it was expelled by Napoleon in 1798.

Throughout their sovereign years on Rhodes and Malta the Knights’ medical work continued. In Rhodes the hospital had separate wards for infectious disease and maternity care. In Malta the Order ran a health service for the Maltese people and set up a famous school of anatomy and surgery. The great ward in Malta’s hospital was the longest room in 18th century Europe.

THE ORDER IN BRITAIN

From the beginning the Order grew rapidly and was given land throughout Western Europe.  Its estates were managed by small groups of brothers and sisters who lived in communities that provided resources to the headquarters of the Order.  These communities were gradually gathered into provinces called Priories or Grand Priories.

 

In Britain these estates were first administered from one of the communities (called a Commandery) at Clerkenwell, London, from about 1140 and the original Priory Church was built at the same time.  However, over time, the extensive amount of land the Order owned in Britain meant that it needed to be managed by several different Commanderies.  In 1185 the Commandery at Clerkenwell became a Priory and had responsibility for Commanderies that had been set up in Scotland and Wales as well as the ones in England.  Ireland became a separate Priory.

In 1540 the Order was suppressed by King Henry VIII, as part of the process known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

It was restored and incorporated by Queen Mary I in 1557, but when Queen Elizabeth I again confiscated all its estates in 1559 she did so without annulling its incorporation.  These acts by English Sovereigns did not directly affect the Order in Scotland, but the influence of the Reformation ended the Order’s activities there in about 1564.  The Order in Britain then fell into abeyance

 
 
 

The religious Order of the Hospital of St John, which is now formally known as The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, went through a time of disarray after it was expelled from Malta, but it had recovered by the middle of the nineteenth century, when is headquarters were established in Rome. It is still often called “The Order of Malta” and its members are frequently referred to as “Knights of Malta”.

In the 1820s the Knights of Malta living in France offered knighthoods to specific people supporting the Order in Great Britain, irrespective of their Christian denomination.

Their approach was not part of the official policy of the Order of Malta, but the English Knights devoted themselves to charitable activities, which were organised into what became known as Foundations. It was this British group, carrying out very substantial charitable activities, which Queen Victoria recognised and incorporated in 1888 and which became the modern Order of St John. Victoria ruled the largest empire the world has ever known and the Order saw it as part of its role to spread Western medical practice to the colonies. Today St John is still active in over 40 countries across the world.

ST JOHN & THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

From the beginning the Order grew rapidly and was given land throughout Western Europe. Its estates were managed by small groups of brothers and sisters who lived in communities that provided resources to the headquarters of the Order. These communities were gradually gathered into provinces called Priories or Grand Priories.

Britain was one of the first countries to become industrial and in the 19th century there were many dangerous workplaces. Conditions and machinery were hazardous and workers were exhausted by the long hours. Accidents were frequent but workers rarely saw a doctor in time. Death or disability from untreated injuries was common.

Britain was one of the first countries to become industrial and in the 19th century there were many dangerous workplaces. Conditions and machinery were hazardous and workers were exhausted by the long hours. Accidents were frequent but workers rarely saw a doctor in time. Death or disability from untreated injuries was common.

Members of the British Order wanted to find a way to help. They decided to train ordinary people in first aid so accident victims could be treated quickly and on the spot, and in 1877 they set up St John Ambulance to do this. Classes were set up across the country, particularly in workplaces and areas of heavy industry, but also in villages, seaside towns and middle class suburbs.

In 1887 trained volunteers were organised into a uniformed Brigade to provide a first aid and ambulance service at public events. In many parts of Britain, St John was the first and only provider of an ambulance service right up to the middle of the 20th century, when the National Health Service was founded. When there were far fewer doctors and hospital beds than today, St John nurses looked after the sick and injured in their own homes.

THE MODERN ORDER

The Order today consists of 10 St John national organisations known as Priories, 33 St John national organisations known as Associations and the St John Eye Group which has its main hospital in Jerusalem.

There were originally three charitable Foundations of the modern Order. One, which became the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Foundation, was established in 1882.  The St John Ambulance Association, which was concerned with training the public in first aid, was established in 1877.  The third was The St John Ambulance Brigade, which provided first aid care to the public.  It had its origins in 1873 and became a Foundation in 1887. 

The St John Ambulance Association and The St John Ambulance Brigade were amalgamated in 1974 to form the present St John Ambulance Foundation.

There was a major re-structuring of the Order’s constitution in 1999.  This introduced a new governing body called the Grand Council. 

The Order in South Africa

The first recognised mention of St John in South Africa was during the 1879 Zulu War, when “ambulance material” was supplied to British troops. However in Grahamstown, in 1883, St John became an active entity in South Africa when it started to host First Aid classes. Shortly thereafter classes were also being presented in King William’s Town and East London.

Major growth occurred when the first St John Centre in Cape Town was formed in 1891, by Professor J.A. Liebmann. Here First Aid and Home Nursing Classes were offered to the public for the first time. Branches of the Order were soon additionally established in Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Johannesburg. In 1893 a “Nursing Guild” was formed, with headquarters in Rondebosch – Members received instruction in First Aid and Home Nursing, and were the forerunners of the Home Based Care Members of our Brigade today.

At the time of the Jameson Raid in 1896 a detachment of St John volunteers left Cape Town to go to Johannesburg with a supply of stretchers, first aid hampers, splints, bandages and other medical supplies to join the St John branch in Johannesburg. First Aid treatment was given to both Boer and British casualties. During the entirety of both Boer Wars, 66 St John Members died while on active service.

During the First World War (1914-1918) the contribution made by St John in South Africa was relatively limited. It was involved essentially in the organisation and training of voluntary First Aid detachments.

In the early twenties, the first St John Brigade Cadet classes were held for the youth, and in the early thirties First Aid and Home Nursing manuals were translated into Afrikaans and Zulu. Additionally, the South African Police opened first aid posts which were manned by St John volunteers, and the South African Railways established numerous Brigade Divisions to assist at times of rail disasters. Nursing Guilds were formed which did excellent work amongst the poorer sections of the community. All the while, further St John Centres were being formed right around South Africa; Kimberley, Vryburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, East London, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Makhanda (Grahamstown), Somerset West and Maseru, among others.

THE RISE OF THE ST JOHN BRIGADE

Interest in St John and enrolment in the St John Brigade rose sharply during the Second World War (1939-1945). Many women worked as voluntary nurses in the 11 Auxiliary Military Hospitals established and administrated by St John during this time. Volunteers were also involved in the transportation of the sick and wounded. At the start of the Second World War, an inaugural conference was held between St John and the Red Cross, at which a Liaison Committee was formed to ensure that the two organisations were kept informed of the activities of the other to prevent overlapping of effort or conflict of policy in assisting with any emergency arising out of the “present” war.

In November 1939 in South Africa, the SA Railways commissioned hospital trains to be made available to convey the sick and wounded from hospital ships, which called at our sea ports, to military and auxiliary hospitals throughout SA. Only St John Members of the SAR and Command, and who were employed on the railways could volunteer for service on the hospital trains. Patients arrived from the war zones of Abyssinia, North Africa, Egypt, Italy, Far and Near East, Madagascar as well as POW’s from various countries. Thousands of soldiers recuperated at St John run auxiliary military hospitals around the country.

In 1942, due to the large numbers and high level of activity of St John Members, St John South Africa was officially upgraded to Priory status and the Priory for South Africa was officially constituted.

The latter half of the century was dominated by South Africa’s International isolation as a consequence of oppressive Apartheid policies. Often violent clashes erupted between those seeking freedom and liberation and the enforcers of the Apartheid State. During this time St John volunteers and ambulance crews were some of the only medical outfits permitted to assist in the poorer townships during violent clashes an protests. The work of St John during this time, including the Brigades policy to not limit membership to specific races, religions or creeds meant in gained respect among all South Africans.

ST JOHN'S CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SOUTH AFRICA

In 1994 the country would return to democracy and its new president, Nelson Mandela, would be knighted and later promoted to Bailiff Grand Cross in the Order. In 1996, in London he would famously state “The Order of St. John is embedded in the life of our nation, as it is in countries across the world, through its sterling service in health-care. Its focus on primary care, especially amongst the poorest of the poor, and its capacity to tap the most generous and caring human impulses, gives it a special place in our hearts. These are virtues that will stand us in good stead as we reconstruct our country.” Other notable South Africans of the time, like Thabo Mbeki and Desmond Tutu, would also become intimately involved in St John, the latter serving a the Prior for South Africa between 2012-2017.

The new century brought adaptation to St John as it realigned with the needs of a growing democracy. Focuses driven towards community projects, tackling HIV and AIDS and more specialised first aid and medical certification were all on the cards, while our Brigade volunteers would continue to deliver their world class services at some of South Africa’s biggest events, such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup among others.

Acknowledging and respecting our past, today we continue to offer many of these same services, while we ever look to address the new challenges and opportunities that arise in South Africa.