GREAT HERITAGE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 67, Issue 244, 28 July 1947, Page 2

GREAT HERITAGE

ORDER OF ST. JOHN AT CHURCH PARADE \ The splendour of the heritage of the Order of St. John coming down from about 1100 A.D. when a little body ministered to sick pilgrims in Jerusalem was stressed by Dr. Campbell West Watson (Archbishop of New Zealand) at St. Stephen's Anglican Church last evening tfh the occasion of a parade of members of the Order of St. John, Ashburton SubCentre. The Archbishop urged the need for the' extension of the Order, particularly in the ‘.schools. As a chaplain of the Order, he said that he was doubly glad to be present. * It was about 100 years ago the idea came in England of reviving tire Order, not in the old sense of chivalry of smiting the Saracen, but with the idea of ministering to the sick and troubled. It was revived mainly with the idea of giving instruction, but that was insufficient, SO' that the most important phase in its history was the establishment of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, which put into effect what the Order wished to teach. The Archbishop referred briefly to the appointment of Sir Heaton Rhodes as a Grand Bailiff of the Order, a quaint title coming from the old days when knights were given control of the Order in various countries. There were only eight honorary bailiffs in the world, he mentioned. The Order in New Zealand had also been advanced to a.new dignity in being made a Priory. There were a good number of Ashburton members of the Order on parade, including the president of the Ashburton Sub-Centre (Mr C. G. de C. Drury), the superintendent of the Brigade' (Mr H. Hefford), the lady superintendent (Afiss Vesty) and Mr S. W. Gower, who is in charge of the Borough School cadets.