Wednesday 8 May 2024: St John Ambulance volunteers in Norwich are preparing for a day of celebrations to mark the centenary of St John providing first aid in and around Norwich and the launch of St John Norwich.

On Sunday 12 May they will have a stand at the Riverside Entertainment Complex where they will be showing people how to save a life, raising funds for their ongoing work, and talking about the charity’s local history and plans for the future.  There will also be some of the vehicles used by volunteers on display.  The volunteers will be there between 10am and 4pm, including a visit by the Lord Mayor and other dignitaries in the afternoon.

The same day also sees the launch of St John Norwich, a new network of volunteers, which will build on the charity’s ability to deliver first aid to the community through events, educate more people in basic life saving skills and raise awareness of St John’s work in the Norwich area.

St John’s history in Norwich started with the launch of the Norwich City unit on 18 January 1924. There have been numerous units for adults, young people and nurses since then including the Norwich Lads, Boulton & Paul, Mann Egerton, Fire and Rescue and Norwich Corporation. Today, volunteers meet across Norwich including at the University of East Anglia and in Thorpe St Andrew.

During the Covid-19 pandemic volunteers from across Norwich supported the NHS in vaccination centres. In Norwich St John people continue to provide life saving support to the communities that they serve - from providing the East of England Ambulance Service with frontline Ambulance shifts to help reduce demand and pressure on statutory services, to delivering medical cover at Norwich City Football Club, Norwich Triathlon and many other events, large and small, across Norwich and Norfolk.

Most recently St John has started to provide a new service on Prince of Wales Road supporting the night-time economy sector on key dates throughout the year helping to make sure people have a safe night out and further reducing strain on the ambulance service and local A&E.

The local team hopes that many people will come and see them on 12 May, learn some essential first aid skills and find out more about the long history of St John in the city.