July 11, 2017, 05:02 PM 
The St John Ambulance Association (SJAA) was established on July 10, 1877, as a voluntary first aid group which administered first aid during public events, as well as provide first aid training.
The Singapore branch of SJAA was opened in 1885. Its purpose was simple - to provide first aid training for willing participants.
St John members in 1963. Image via National Archives.
Over the years, membership waned and picked up. By 1933, the SJAA had its first batch of trainees graduated from its centre at Toh Lam school along Armenian Street.
By September 1938, radiology professor J.S. Webster was able to gather sufficient volunteers to start the first St John's Ambulance Brigade (SJAB), which remains a popular co-curricular activity in schools today.
Annual inspection of the SJAB in 1963. Image via National Archives.
The SJAB headquarters was merely a desk at the Singapore General Hospital in 1938. Later, the SJAB HQ moved into the Fullerton Building together with the SJAA.
Presentation of the Order of St John of Jerusalem at St John's Headquarters in 1966. Image via National Archives.
Fun fact: during the war, the SJAB volunteers were the ones manning the first aid posts scattered throughout the city during World War 2.
The brigade disbanded during the Japanese Occupation and only made a comeback in 1947. Since then, the HQ was housed in St Peter's Church, Gilstead Road, and then at Beach Road, where they've been based up till the present day.
Tea party at the St John HQ in 1963. Via National Archives.
In 1980, the SJAA and SJAB came together to become the St John's Ambulance Singapore (SJAS).
Top image via
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