Service Medal Of The Order Of St. John

 

The Service Medal Of The Order Of St. John is a civilian decoration awarded in a number of countries across the world including the United Kingdom. The medal was first announced in the St John Ambulance Brigade General Regulations of 1895 and first awarded in 1897.

 

The medal is typically awarded to recognise efficient service of appropriate duration. The duration varies by location, with current terms for the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa set for 12 years, while other territories require 10. Other forms of conspicuous service have also been recognized with the medal.

 

In 2010, the Order of St John England and the Islands decided that time spent as a Cadet would not count towards the Service Medal.

 

It is the only British medal to retain the head of Queen Victoria on a current issue.

 

 

The medal is circular, 38mm in diameter and is struck in cupro-nickel. The obverse of this medal depicts the head of Queen Victoria and the inscription; ‘VICTORIA + D + G + BRITT + REG + F + D + IND + IMP’.

 

The reverse depicts five equally sized circles in a cross holding individual heraldic icons including the St Edward’s Crown, the shield of Great Britain, two icons of the Order of St John in England, and the cypher bearing the feathers of the Price of Wales supported by a sprawling St John's Wort, and the inscription; ‘MAGNUS · PRIORATUS · ORDINIS · HOSPITALIS · SANCTI · JOHANNIS · JERUSALEM · IN · ANGLIA’, (meaning Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England).

 

The ribbon suspender is of the plain, straight and non-swivelling style either riveted to the medal or attached by a fastening that surmounts the medal.

 

The recipient’s details can be found on the medal’s rim in an assortment of styles from gothic to sans serif capital letters although the original practice of naming the recipient on the medal gradually ceased except in New Zealand.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 38mm wide and black in colour with two white stripes.

 

 

Where additional services beyond those required for the award have been performed, the ribbon may display bars and laurel leaves.

 

In most countries (Including New Zealand and Canada) a recipient is awarded a silver bar for every five years up to three silver bars, beyond which all silver bars are removed and a gilt bar is put on the medal for each five years. At the fifty-two year mark, the recipient is awarded a laurel leaf and all bars are removed.

 

All bars are represented on the undress ribbon by appropriately coloured Maltese crosses, while the laurel leaf is also used on the undress ribbon.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on the following:-

 

- St John Ambulance.

 

St John Ambulance - St John Ambulance, branded as St John in some territories, is a common name used by a number of affiliated organisations in different countries dedicated to the teaching and practice of medical first aid and the provision of ambulance services, all of which derive their origins from the St John Ambulance Association founded in 1877 in the United Kingdom. Each national group falls within the charge of a Priory or National Council of the Venerable Order of Saint John in which each Priory ranks alongside the others.

 

In several priories St John Ambulance has commercial sections or subsidiaries operating to generate surplus for charitable activities; these are structured much like other commercial bodies. The membership aspect of St John Ambulance is largely ranked, and members fall into a hierarchical structure of command. Ranks run from corporals, through sergeants and officers all the way up to high national ranks, but there is significant variation between Priories and it is hard to generalise the structure too much from an international perspective.

 

Most members of St John Ambulance are not themselves members of the Order, and vice versa, so a major presence of the Order does not dictate a major presence of St John Ambulance. Most notably, the Order of St John is primarily, although not exclusively, a Christian organisation, whereas St John Ambulance is keen to ensure there is no allegiance to any particular religion or denomination, so as to remain available to all. St John Ambulance works on a more geographical nature than the Order, and has to contend with the differing national laws, medical practices and cultures of countries.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.