Outdoor exhibition celebrates 90 years of service
12 June 2026
Guernsey Museum is hosting an exhibition of photos telling the story of St John Ambulance and Rescue Service from its humble beginings in 1936, through the pioneering years of the 50s and 60s, to the modern day paramedic-led ambulance service of today.
Former employees and supporters were among those who attended the opening of the exhibition, which took place on 2nd June, exactly 90 years after the first ambulance left the Rohais on the service’s first emergency call.
Chief Ambulance Officer, John Atkins said: “At around 5 pm, on Tuesday, 2nd June 1936, an ambulance from Guernsey’s fledgling St John Ambulance Brigade responded to a call for help – the first such call since St John had taken over the running of the island’s ambulance service from the States of Guernsey.
As we gather here this afternoon, ninety years and many thousands of emergency calls later, we look back with both fondness and admiration, at everything the St John Ambulance & Rescue Service, as it is known today, has achieved throughout that time.
We are grateful to the Guernsey Museums Service for producing a series of tryptic information boards which, with the benefit of some wonderful photographs and accompanying narratives, tell our story pictorially throughout the last nine decades and I hope, if you have not already done so, you will spend some time enjoying and reflecting on the memories which are featured.
From our earliest days, under the visionary and pioneering leadership of our founder, Reg Blanchford, the Service has always strived to do the best it can for the community it serves. We may be a small service, but we can justifiably be exceptionally proud of our achievements.
Today, the St John Ambulance & Rescue Service is a modern ambulance service, employing skilled and competent Registered Paramedics who provide advanced pre-hospital care, with sustained performance and quality statistics that make us the envy of the NHS ambulance services on the UK mainland.
The exhibition at Candie Gardens, St Peter Port, is free and will remain in place till 6th September 2026.
“St John has been caring for communities and saving lives for over 900 years. Our longevity is due to our deep roots in the communities we serve and our ability to adapt to changing needs and contexts. From our largest Priories in some of the world’s biggest countries – Canada and Australia – to small and brilliant Associations in Malawi and the Solomon Islands, St John staff and volunteers train community members in life-saving first aid, work with young people to develop leadership and life skills as well as first aid, and provide vital emergency ambulance services. Being part of the St John global family connects our people to a vast community of skills, innovation and experience, and there is no better example of this than St John in Guernsey.
Your outstanding contribution to the life of the islands, the work of your dedicated ambulance staff and volunteers and your determination to get better, do more and save more lives represents the best of St John.
Your commitment to sharing what you’ve done and to communicating what we do and who we are is an example that you don’t have to be big to be great.
Congratulations on your 90th birthday.
Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque
Secretary General, St John International
Matt Harvey from Guernsey Museum said: “It was my pleasure to represent the Museum and serve as the curator on the creation of this display. But most importantly it has been wonderful to work with the people within the St John Ambulance & Rescue Service. People who are so obviously passionate about their organisation, the service that it provides to the island, its history and how far it has come over the last 9 decades.
My thanks go to out the Team at Ambulance & Rescue for pulling together historic and modern photographs as well as information from their archives. We combined this with material from the Museum’s own archive to create a display which I hope has done their story justice.
I would particularly like to thank Jim Cathcart, John Atkins, Dean De La Mare, Gary Blanchford, Joan Tostevin and Anne Blanchford for their support, resources, insights and patience.
Further thanks go to the Digital Designers James Gray and Richard Helpe and the Team at Dowding Signs.”
