St. John Ambulance

Hutt News, Volume 15, Issue 15, 10 September 1941, Page 5

St. John Ambulance

"■[ ' - • . ■ HUTT VALLEY CORPS 3» The hall of the Wesley Church, Lower Hutt, was the scene of a most interesting ceremony on Wednesday, 27 th August, when the Lower Hutt Ambulance. Division registered. For many years the jLower Hutt has had the idea of such a division,'but, like many things, time slipped past and it remained merely a thought. It Is said,' hWever, that the wish js father to the thought, and ffow from the'thought has comd into existence the division.

Corps Superintendent C. E. Binns presided; and the registration of the neW division was conducted' by Assistant Commissioner W. ty. Dutton, District Officer J. Hislop and Lady District Officer Mrs. M. L. Russell. The Wellington district extends from New Plymouth (North Island) to Nelson (in the South Island).

Corps Superintendent Binns, in his opening remarks, commented on the work done prior to and in the actual formation of the new division. He pointed out to the new members the work done by Messrs. Johnson and Bonifant, and inspired them with the ideal to, by their efforts and co-operation, keep the division at the high standard such work deserved.

A|r. Dutton laid great stress on tht necessity to maintain the high standard of the historic Order. He put particular weight on the need for efficiency, pointing out that while the conditions of the moment caused by the War demanded work of a high standard, yet the members were not to consider the war as the only reason for this necessity—they were to remember that even in peace time the need for ambulance services always existed, as was illustrated in the Napier earthquake.

Representatives of the other Hutt Valley divisions said a few words, and if the new division lives up to the standard expressed by the superintendents of Petone Ambulance, Hutt Workshops Ambulance, Hutt Nursing and Petone Nursing Divisions, they will attain a very high standard indeed.

District Commissioner Dutton observed that among the audience who came forward to put their names on the registration forms of the new division was a very old friend—Mr. Zambra —who had been superintendent of the Petone Division for several years, but who had gone on the reserve of . officers. Mr. Zambra, though still an officer, preferred to revert and join thu new division as a private. Mr. Zambra was a most efficient and popular officer. By the friendly name of "Eddy," he was known to all, and the Hutt Ambulance Division will gain by his presence in their midst. Mr. Dutton welcomed him back into the "fold," and in a few words informed the division of their good fortune.

Superintendent Johnson was called upon, and after thanking all district, corps, divisional officers and friends, told the meeting that with the material at his disposal, the keen spirit of his division, and the benefit of his previous connection with the Hutt Railway Division, he felb that, all being well, his division could adopt the motto that was made immortal by a Roman Em-

peror: "We came, we saw, we conquered," a truly high ideal. But, after all, it is only by high ideals that we can attain great heights, said the speaker. In the course of his remarks, Mr. Johnson told the meeting that in the ranks of the new division he had, in the person of Private Hancock, a soldier of the second echelon who had just come back from the Homeland recently. Private Hancock was with the N.Z.R.A.M.C. and was attached to the New Zealand General Hospital in England. He commented on the quiet efficiency of the brothers and sisters of St. John; how, during the dark ghastly nights when the German planes were spreading death

and destruction over our fair Motherland, they worked quietly and efficiently in the service of mankind, and then when daylight came, and their work of love had been finished, they just as quietly went to their everyday work in the office, warehouse, or factory. No publicity, no noise, no fanfare of trumpets; just "service to mankind." Continuing, ' Superintendent JohnsOn said that now that Lower Hutt Ambulance Division is an official branch of that 900-year-old organisation, the Order of St. John, and if the spirit expressed on the night of their registration by its members is lived up to, he felt sure that it would attain great heights. "We shall now close with best wishes to the officers and members of the new division, and with an adaptation from "Hamlet" by Shakespeare— Let your ideals be, like a pearl— "Richer than that which four successive Kings In Denmark's Crown have worn."