In 1990, the Marquis Buttigieg de Piro C.St.J. was asked by the late Commander St. John Ambulance E.H.W. Borg Kt.St.J. to raise a Corps of rescue volunteers which would be part of St. John Ambulance, but separate as a Unit from the St. John Ambulance Brigade. The Rescue Corps comes under the auspices of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in the British Realm.Unlike the St. John Ambulance Brigade, whose task is to give first aid at public functions, football matches and so forth, the purpose of the Rescue Corps is to provide a voluntary organization of fully trained personnel able to carry out rescue and first aid operations efficiently when called upon by the constituted authorities in case of major national calamities such as floods, earthquakes, air crashes and so forth.
The Corps, based at Fort Madalena - an early nineteenth century British fort loaned by the Malta government - is an organization run on military lines and is divided into a number of Divisions. Each Division consists of fifty-two volunteers headed by a Divisional Commander, two Divisional Officers and a Senior Section Leader. A Division is composed of six Rescue Sections with eight volunteers in each section, including the Section Leader and his Deputy.
Each recruit must be at least eighteen years of age, physically fit and must undergo a program of basic training which includes First Aid, Light Rescue and Drill. Basic training consists of twelve hours of training, every weekend for four weeks. Most of the equipment and vehicles used by the Corps for training and operations are the private property of the volunteers themselves who also carry out maintenance out of their own personal funds. After this, a volunteer will be required to train for a minimum of two hours each month. However, a large number of volunteers take further courses during weekends in more specialized and demanding fields such as heavy rescue, cliff rescue, watermanship (rescue at sea) and fire fighting.
Through the intervention of Professor Dr. W. Rodel, a Knight Commander of Justice of the German Johanniter Order, the Corps initially received a lot of equipment and uniforms from the Director of Civil Defence in the City of Mainz, Mr. Juergen Franz. Major General J.H. Walsh C.B, DSO, KtSt.J.DL, the Director of Overseas Relations - St. John Ambulance, President - St. John Rescue Corps Malta G.C., also acquired ladders and other special equipment from the British Fire Service and the British Army. Last but not least, the German Police of the City of Karlsruehe, through the good offices of Col. Heinz Mayer, also contributed some very useful equipment.
The Corps also offers other training options such as climbing, abseiling and physical training, the aim being to inspire more confidence and to maintain physical fitness. All Officers of the Rescue Corps as well as some of the junior leaders have completed successfully special rescue training at the Katastrophenschutzshule des Bundes (the National German Civil Defence Staff Training School) in Ahrweiler, Germany. Amongst the various Divisions, the Rescue Corps has a Divers Division consisting of 20 qualified divers and a Cliff Rescue Division.
There is no regular back-up for the Rescue Corps - all are unpaid part-time volunteers. The organization is made up of regular volunteers and reservists. Officers, leaders and volunteers all mess together and wear the same uniform apart from rank and insignia. A certain amount of discipline is inevitable, but a strong spirit of comradeship and teamwork prevails amongst this group of men and women who share the same ideals of service towards their fellow man and have a common attitude and determination for achieving the worthy aims and objectives of the St. John Rescue Corps.
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