IN 1950, following a first aid and home nursing course, Joy Jackson embarked on a lifetime service volunteering with St John Ambulance, involved in various areas including training and competition as well as attending sporting events, assisting fainting girls at pop concerts, festivals and fairs and during the Troubles on the streets of Belfast dealing with injuries and trauma.
"Many young people join us because they want to go into nursing or become a paramedic and this valuable training is a step towards that," she explains.
"They want to be of service but they also want to take their involvement forward into a career.
"With the experience I gained in St John Ambulance I was able to start my own business in the 1980s training first aiders in industry and I had the privilege of working with many local firms throughout Northern Ireland."
Joy is now in her late 80s and delighted that at the other end of the chain is 16-year-old William Somerville from Carrickfergus, who joined St John Ambulance as a 12-year-old following a family tradition which has delighted Joy and especially William's grandmother who was a vice principal for St John in the Down area.
Ann Diamond must have fascinated her grandson with her experiences and he will have plenty to tell her during this busy year.
Young Man Going Places
As the 2022 National St John Ambulance Commanderies Cadet of the Year (the third time in a row this award has gone to a local cadet), his diary is filled with appointments including dinner with the Queen at Windsor Castle, attending one of the Platinum Jubilee events and chatting with Princess Anne at a young achievers reception. All this and his GCSEs in May.
Having already won district and regional competitions during this, the Year of Youth and the centenary of the cadet programme, over two days of intensive interviews and presentations in Nottingham this teenage cadet impressed the judges.
Now he will represent young people not only from Northern Ireland but Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man and one of the pleasures he found was meeting fellow cadets.
He's studying to become an operational first aider and has already completed basic first aid training.
"I just do what all cadets do," he said. "To be there to help the public when needed. Even when you are off duty, getting first aid knowledge can come in really handy to save lives."
It's been a hectic time for St John Ambulance. As chief executive Adrian Donaldson explained, their fully staffed ambulances are equipped to NHS accident and emergency standard and have supported the NHS during the pandemic, the biggest undertaking in their history - so much so that 10 of the older fleet will be withdrawn and, at a cost of £800,000, 10 new vehicles have been ordered, bringing the total to 60.
"We have 1,430 highly trained volunteers, from hospital consultants, doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency ambulance crews, ambulance care assistants, advanced first aiders and first aiders," he says.
"In addition we have over 1,000 cadets and badgers."
Over the years Joy has been proud of these volunteers and their dedication to both their service and pride in their training.
Teams who have entered for competitions in England, Canada and Germany have brought home every trophy available, demonstrating their response to mock emergencies.
Typical was one which was set up in the middle of the road in a town in Vancouver in Canada, with a major road traffic accident with crash victims played out by local people with cosmetic wounds and acting out terrible injuries. Again the Northern Ireland team brought back the winning trophy.
There Is Nothing Like A Dame
As a member of the Commandery of Ards, unlike many of her colleagues who bring their skills in business and finance, Joy Jackson has come up through the ranks and offers over 70 years of experience which has been recognised by admission to the Order of St John and various promotions since.
She has represented St John Ambulance for most of her life and for this she received an MBE from the queen at Buckingham Palace 26 years ago and more recently, during lockdown, the Duke of Gloucester invested her as Dame in The Order of St John, the most Venerable and Royal Order of Chivalry, in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast. And there's a story to be told there too.
"I was only allowed two guests so I asked my two sons. My friend was also going to receive an award and she was allowed two guests so she took my two daughters. Her husband was also a recipient so he took my husband," she says.
"Thankfully at the end of the day all my family where able to be there."
Without doubt this is a remarkable woman with a fascinating background. When she was aged 11 Joy contracted rheumatic fever common in children aged between five and 14.
With painful joints and high temperatures and no antibiotics to treat the condition, she had to rest in bed for a year to avoid permanent damage to her heart and then had to learn to walk again.
"I was rolled in cotton wool from head to foot, I looked like the abominable snowman," she remembers.
"The only comfort I had was my father lifting me every night and holding me."
And so she learned about caring at a very young age.
This charity has been providing first aid and first aid training for over 140 years and dates back to the 11th century in Jerusalem where the Knights of St John set up free medical care for sick pilgrims.
Their first public appearance in the UK was at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 and hopefully the organisation will attend Queen Elizabeth's platinum celebration in June this year.
At the coronation of King George VI they gave first aid treatment to 9,000 members of the public and offered invaluable service through both World Wars.
Learn more at the St John Ambulance Northern Ireland website, sjani.org.
