The origins of the order of St. John date back to the founding of a hostel in Jerusalem, for visitor traveling to the holy land, in the 7^th Century. In the 9^th century with the money contributed by the Emperor Charlemagne the hostel was converted into a hospital. Unfortunately around the year 1000, the hospital was destroyed in local battles between Christians and Moslems. After a number of years a new hospital was built on the site of the old one. This new hospital was established by merchants from Amalfia in Italy. The eight pointed white cross was the badge of the Republic of Amalfi and was adopted by the Benedictine monks who served in this new hospital. This is the origin of the famous emblem that has descended to the Order of St. John of our times.

The journey to Jerusalem was fraught with dangers and eventually the route to the Holy Land was practically closed. A tide of indignation rose throughout Europe and in 1095 a Holy war was declared. This was to be called the first of the crusades.

In 1099 after six months of battling, Jerusalem was recaptured. At this time Gerald from Martigues in Province whose saintly life and untiring care for the sick earned him the title of Blessed Gerald. The hospital gave shelter to the sick and suffering, rich and poor alike, and nursed them back to health. In their gratitude the leaders of the Crusade gave the hospital many gifts of land, buildings etc.

Blessed Charles was greatly encouraged by this and set about re-organising the Brotherhood of the Hospital and he found a new order of Hospitallers. The brethren continued to be monks and took three solemn vows of Chastity, Obedience, and Poverty. They ware a long sleeveless cloak, and on their breast the eight-pointed cross derived from the Republic of Amalfi. The new order acquired the ancient monastery of St. John the Baptist and in consequence St. John became the patron saint of the Order.

In 1133 a Papal Bull was conferred which recognised "The Order of Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem", and thus taken under the protection of the pope—Pope Pascal II at this time. This allowed the Order to elect a superior who took the title of Master and later that of Grand Master.

About this time, 1119, two French knights undertook protecting pilgrims. Other knights then joined them leading to the formation of the Knights Templar. The successor of Blessed Gerald -Raymond du Puy introduced a new military class of brethren who undertook much of the same tasks as the Knights Templar, but unlike the Knights Templar, these Hospitallers, as they were called, never relinquished their work of maintaining a Hospital, nursing the sick and poor. The number, power and wealth grew rapidly. They built and garrisoned numerous castles to guard the borders of The Holy Land and the main routes to pilgrimage and trade. The knights came from all over Europe but began to split into separate groups according to language. There were seven of these groups called "Langues" or "Tongues" and they came from Province, Auvergne, France, Italy, Spain, England and Germany.

In 1185 Saladin succeeded in uniting Syria and Egypt thus surrounding the Holy Land and vowed he would drive the Christians from Palestine. In 1187 he declared a Holy War, and quickly captured Acre and three months later captured Jerusalem. In 1291 the last great siege of the Holy Land began. Again it was at Acre and the Christians were defending it against an overwhelming Saracean army. When acre finally fell after great battle there were only seven Knights of the hospital including its seriously wounded Master, John de Villers. These escaped to Cyprus.

After their escape from Acre to Cyprus, the knights from all over Europe met and decided to continue their work for the sick and protection for pilgrims. At this time the seas in the area were full of pirates and the best protection they could afford pilgrims was to clear the seas of these pirates. Thus, the Knights Hospitallers became a powerful naval force. They stayed in Cyprus for nineteen years before moving to the Island of Rhodes in 1310. They drove out the pirates and remained there for the next 200 years, growing in power and building many fine buildings. Their headquarters on this island was called "The Covent" and the head of each "Langue" was a senior knight called a "pillar".

At this same time the Order were fighting the Turks and in 1480 Sultan Mahomet the great laid siege on Rhodes. They successfully fended of the attack. Unfortunately, in 1522, the Turks under Sultan Suleminan I, grandson of Mahout the great attacked Rhodes once again with a much larger force. After six months the Knights failed to fend off the attack but they were granted an honourable term of withdrawal in recognition of the bravery of the knights. Thus ended the second phase of the heroic history of the Order of St. John. The knights of Rhodes had their day but the Knights of Rhodes were yet to come.

Eight years later, in 1530, Emperor Charles V of France, granted The Knights permission to establish in Malta. They sailed into the harbour led by the flag ship Santa Anna, the first armour plated vessel recorded in History. They fortified the harbour and other ships were soon protecting the trade routes and pilgrims to the holy land.

In 1565 the Turks, under Suleiman the Magnificent, now an old man, decide he must expel the Knights of Malta. This time, after a month when no quarter was given by either side the knights successfully fended off the attack. The Turks suffered great losses during this period. The order then built the city of Valetta and for 250 years ruled the island of Malta. In 1798, during the French Revolution the French Tongues were dissolved and their lands etc, were taken from them. That Summer Napolean and his Navy anchored off Malta and demanded the surrender of the Island. This they achieved and thus they caried off most of the Orders treasures. Again the Order was homeless and by now much weaker. Finally the order settled in Rome.

In Ireland a Priory was Established about the year 1200 at Kilmanagham and later there were numerous Commanderies. The Grand Prior was generally an English knight and the Irish branch of the order formed part of the Tongue of England. The order in England and Ireland flourished until 1540 when it was dissolved by an Act of Parliament and all the Estates were forfeited to the Crown. Some knights fled to Malta, some relinguished their vows. Three choose to stay in England and affirmed their vows. Three chose to stay in England and affirmed their loyalty to the Order and The Church in Rome. These were arrested and charged with High Treason and executed so became Martyers.

The dissolution in 1540 put an end to the Order in England and Ireland for nearly 300 years. In 1831 the Order was revised in England and a prior was again appointed. The most difficult problem to overcome was one of religion. At the time the Order in Europe was Roman Catholic but England was predominantly Protestant. Negotiations to allow the formation and recognition of a Protestant branch of the Order were entered into but broke down. In 1858 this allowed the Order to develop as an independent national body free to develop its own policy.

The interest in ambulance and first-aid work rapidly grew and in 1872 the Order started an Ambulance service in the mining and pottery districts. In 1882 the Order opened an opthalmic hospital in Jerusaleum to cater for the needs of the wholw Middle-eastern aresa. This was swiftly followed by the establishment of the St. John Ambulance Association in 1877 and the St. John Ambulance Brigade in 1887. The remit of the former association was to train people in the techniques of first-aid. The role of the latter lay in the provision of highly trained personnel to render first-aid, home nursing etc, whenever and wherever called upon to do so.

The St. John Ambulance Association and Brigade spread throughout the Commonwealth and areas of British influence including New Zealand in 1892, South Africa in 1893 and Ireland in 1903. The Brigade now operates in over 40 countries.