MR JOHN BELL HONOURED

Southland Times, Issue 24437, 17 May 1941, Page 6

MR JOHN BELL HONOURED

WORK IN ST. JOHN AMBULANCE

MANY YEARS’ SERVICE

High tributes to the work of Mr John Bell, of Invercargill, over a period of many years in the service of the St. John Ambulance Brigade were paid by several speakers at a gathering held in his honour by the Highland and National Dancing Society of Southland last night. Special reference was made to the high honour Mr Bell had received on Sunday in being invested with the order of Serving Brother of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. Mr Bell’s name is one which will always be honoured by the St. John Ambulance Brigade in Southland. He was granted a certificate by the St. John Ambulance Association in 1912 and joined the Invercargill division of the brigade in 1916. In 1918 he was responsible for magnificent work during the great influenza epidemic. In 1926, when Southland became a separate district, Mr Bell was appointed District Superintendent, and in 1929, was by special appointment by the Chief Commissioner in London, made the officer in charge of the district, At a meeting of the Chapter General held in 1931 at Clerkenwell, London, the following minute was passed: “It is resolved that the special thanks of his Royal Highness the Grand Prior and the Chapter General be hereby conveyed to John Bell, District Superintendent, Invercargill District, Dominion of New Zealand, the St. John Ambulance Brigade overseas, for distinguished services given in furtherance of the work of the Order in connection with its Ambulance Department.” A copy of this minute printed on vellum and bearing the Royal signature was received in 1932. VARIED ACTIVITIES Mi’ Bell has lectured and demonstrated first aid to Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Invercargill Fire Brigade and to Young Farmers’ Clubs. He is the holder of the St. John Ambulance Medallion, the Long Service Medal with bar and cross, the King’s Coronation Medal, and the Thanks Badge of the Girl Guides. Mr Bell’s work had never come very much into the limelight, said the chairman, Mr C. W. Wilson (president of the society), and he richly deserved the high honour he had received from the King. In 1912 Mr Bell had turned his attention to the humane work of the St. John Ambulance, and until his recent retirement had carried out his work with unfailing devotion. He had taken charge of the organization when it was little known and had played a major part in establishing it firmly in the province. Mr Wilson referred to the part Mi’ Bell had played in the establishment of the branch at Bluff and to his heroic work in Southland at the time of the influenza epidemic in 1918. Sometimes the officers of the St. John Ambulance Brigade were not given due credit for the magnificent work they did in the community, said Mr N. Macdonald, and certainly they were never paid. Mr Bell had received an honour which he most justly deserved. Mr Alex Sutherland and Mr Eric Fisher also spoke. In his reply, Mr Bell said he would have been able to accomplish very little had it not been for the able and faithful assistance of many other workers in the organization. He described the functions of the St. John Ambulance Association and the Brigade and praised the work of Messrs Arthur Steans, A. Peterson, Charles Barham and George Skipworth among many others.