British Red Cross and Order of St John Joint War Organisation First Aid Kit
Maker and role
Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St John of Jerusalem in England: Attributed to
Production date
1914-1918
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Details
The contents include tannic acid jelly, which was used for treating minor burns; Sal Volatile, which was used if someone had fainted to bring them back to consciousness; Bicarbonate of Soda, for treating heartburn and indigestion; and of course a bottle of disinfectant that was used for cleaning wounds, as well as bandages and dressings.
First Aid has played an important role in the work of the British Red Cross. In 1911, the War Office gave permission for the British Red Cross to grant its own certificates in first aid and nursing. So, by the beginning of the First World War every VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) had to have successfully completed a Red Cross first aid course, and all women had to have a further certificate in Red Cross nursing.
Today the British Red Cross provide a whole range of training courses for volunteers and members of the public. In recent years, the need for everyone to have some first aid knowledge has become increasingly apparent and necessary, and in July 2018 the Government announced plans to include first aid education in the national school curriculum from 2020 - as a direct result of the British Red Cross, alongside the British Heart Foundation and St Johns Ambulance, who lobbied MPs in 2012 and 2013 to support a parliamentary petition for first aid education to be a core part of the national curriculum.
This first aid kit from the First World War, although quite a small thing when you look at it, actually played a huge part in saving lives, something that the Red Cross is still doing today.
I’m currently a Vice President of the British Red Cross and in that role I’ve had the privilege of chairing and organising many high profile fundraising events for the charity and helping to ensure it really is the greatest humanitarian organization in the world.
Audio recording by Angela Rippon (Vice President of the British Red Cross).
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