St John Ambulance volunteers take delivery of a new support vehicle

Isle of Wight-based volunteers with St John Ambulance, the volunteer-led health charity, are celebrating taking delivery of a new support vehicle which will be based at the charity’s Newport unit.

The vehicle was officially presented to St John Ambulance at Cowes Masonic Centre and is one of over 50 vehicles being handed over in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

The vehicles have been secured thanks to a capital grant by the Mark Master Masons through their Mark Benevolent Fund to the Order of St John with the specific aim of providing new ambulances, treatment centres and support vehicles to St John Ambulance, the Order’s operational arm in England and the Islands.

The Newport vehicle will be used at events on the Isle of Wight and Hampshire as volunteers deliver life saving first aid to members of the public.

George Deacon, the Provincial Grand Master for the Mark Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: ‘The Province has a long affinity with St John Ambulance over many years and are delighted to be associated with the presentation of the new vehicle to be based on Isle of Wight. John Bell, Trustee of the Mark Benevolent Fund explained some of the projects undertaken by the Mark Benevolent Fund, many of these being to non-Masonic organisation such as St John Ambulance.’

Brigadier Sheen, Chair of the Isle of Wight County Priory Group, said: ‘The donation of this vehicle is wonderful news for the Isle of Wight and will significantly help enhance patient care and contribute to more lives saved locally. We’re immensely grateful to the Mark Master Masons in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Province and to the Mark Benevolent Fund for their generosity and we look forward to seeing the positive use made by local St John Ambulance volunteers of the vehicle in the future, as they continue the charity’s life saving mission.’

For more information about the Mark Master Masons and the Mark Benevolent Fund, please visit www.markmasonshall.org and www.markmasonshall.org/charity. For more information about St John Ambulance, please visit www.sja.org.uk. For more information about the Order of St John in England, please visit www.stjohnengland.org.uk