ST. JOHN AMBULANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 150, 27 June 1931, Page 19

ST. JOHN AMBULANCE.

■ . . ; , V SPECIAL CHURCH SERVICES. REVIVAL OF CHARTER. CENTENARY CELEBRATION. Special church services will, be held to-morrow in England and abroad to commemorate the. centenary of. the revival of the charter to the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, in England, of which Order the St, John Ambulance Brigade is a unit. The Order of St. John was founded in the days of the Crusaders, and in the years following suffered in the ups and downs of the turbulent times of that period. The Order has its headquarters at St. John's Gate, London, and a link with the past ages is found in the Priory Church adjoining, where there is a tablet bearing the inscription: "The Priory Church of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, consecrated by Heraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, 10th March, 1185." The London service will be held in Westminster Abbey and will be attended by Their Majesties, King George and Queen Mary. Her Highness, the Duchess of York, will lead the nursing divisions of the Brigade to the Abbey. In Auckland the service will be- held in St. Mary's Cathedral, Parnell, at 3 p.m., to-morrow. It will be conducted by Archbishop Averill, Primate- of New ' Zealand. The service will be broadcast. :The ambulance divisions will fall in at the Newmarket Reserve at 2.30 and will march to the- Cathedral. The.Nursing Division will join the parade- at the Domain Drive. The annual collection for the Ophthalmic Hospital at Jerusalem will be made. A centenary appeal is also being made, the object being to raise, £100,000, which is wanted for the purchase of more land in. the vicinity of St. John's Gate, London.