To commemorate this milestone, Guernsey Museums & Galleries has partnered with the Ambulance Service to create ‘90 Years of Service’, a free outdoor display telling the story of those nine decades.
A series of large outdoor display panels will be placed outside the museum to tell the story of the service in words and pictures. It opens on Tuesday 2 June, the anniversary of the start of the service from its base in the Rohais in 1936.
Historic photographs from the archives of both the Ambulance & Rescue Service and Guernsey Museums & Galleries have been combined with historical research to tell the story of the service and its role through the years.
Visitors will be able to trace the service’s journey from its humble origins, starting with one second-hand ambulance housed in a garage at a concrete works, to the large, comprehensive organisation the island relies on today.
‘Guernsey Museums is delighted to be able to create a display representing such an important and venerated island organisation,’ said Matt Harvey, senior curator at Guernsey Museums & Galleries.
‘The St John Ambulance & Rescue Service has been a lifeline to islanders since 1936 on both land and sea.
Everyone knows the Ambulance & Rescue Service – they are part of the island landscape. But I hope that the display will give visitors a deeper appreciation of their amazing work and highlight the energy, dedication and initiative that their members have shown over the last 90 years.
‘I hope people will discover the many examples of how the service has led the way in the development of innovative and ground-breaking advances in emergency response and first-aid care over the years.’
The exhibition tells the story of the pioneering work of ambulance founder Reg Blanchford through to modern pre-hospital healthcare service that delivers paramedic-led care today.
‘This has been a great joint project working with Guernsey Museums and our team of contributors, and I am very excited to see the exhibition open to the public,’ said Dean de la Mare, head of operations at St John Ambulance & Rescue Service.
You need to be logged in to comment.