Question Answered

Our question last week regarding a mystery confrère has been answered. There was speculation in the comments of the post, but now we have some solid evidence. Another confrère that attended this investiture service has given us the answer and sent us a larger picture so that we can understand the context. The larger photograph shows the Vice-Prior of Newfoundland and Labrador, Edward Roberts, bestowing the Provincial Chair's Commendation on Terry Hart for "raising public awareness and the profile of St. John Ambulance within" Newfoundland. The Lieutenant-Governor and Vice-Prior of Ontario at the time, James Bartleman was standing in the background. Other photographs from the same event show Mr Bartleman helping give out awards that came from the Priory itself.

A big thank you to all those that e-mailed us with correct and incorrect guesses.

American Press Coverage

The other day we discussed a member of the VOSJ as reported in the local news. Today, we have another example of local press for a confrère. This time our newspaper research brings us to the Priory in the United States. The article discusses Thomas Van Arsdale from Wilmington, North Carolina. He is considerably higher on the age scale than Sonya Gale of our post last Thursday, but is equally as dedicated to the service of mankind. If you'd like, you can read the complete article. It is nice to see American members getting some attention over there.

The Wonders of Wikipedia

Wikipedia often gets looked down upon in academia. It is seen as a place where know-it-alls and those with nothing better to do make up stories. We were looking at the article on the VOSJ yesterday and noticed some very nice material. Most especially, we were impressed by the images available on Wikipedia. If you follow this link, you will see many nice images. Most of them look to be either in the public domain, or available by some free licence or another. We were very fond of the image below, which shows the VOSJ's prelate and zooms in on his unique insignia. It turns out that Wikipedia is good for something after all.

We Need Your Help

Today, we have a request for any of our readers that come from the priory of Canada. While trying to categorise out photograph library of VOSJ images, we came across this one. It is from a Canadian event that took place in Newfoundland a couple years ago. Based on the insignia that this gentlement is wearing, though, it looks as if he is from Ontario. If anyone can provide some information on this man, we would be very grateful. It's possible that he is a Lieutenant-Governor, and therefore a Vice Prior, in one of the provinces, but we're not sure. All guesses and suggestions are welcome.

Follow-Up on SJA Logo

One of our readers (or possibly, our one reader) posted a comment a couple of days ago regarding the newly designed logo of the St John Ambulance. You can see the rationale behind the change here. One thing that is not mentioned on that page is the disappearance of the lions and unicorns from the principle angles of the Order's cross. We have been asking around, but have not yet heard any official word on the subject, but we'd speculate that it is part of a national (and possibly worldwide) trend of getting rid of all things historical and replacing them with the work of graphic designers. We'll be sure to let you know as we find out more.

Lord Prior Installed

As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the VOSJ has a new Lord Prior. He was officially installed yesterday as the new leader of the Order. It was a wonderful ceremony at Clerkenwell filled with many knights and dames all wearing their black mantles. Lord Prior Mellows asked members of the VOSJ worldwide to remember the roots of the Order. The originally knights hospitaller were founded in 1099 with a simple directive, to "serve, our lords, the sick." This is a very nice sentiment as he begins his tenure as Lord Prior.

Youth in the Membership

We were perusing the news in New Zealand recently and found a nice story about a dedicated young member of the VOSJ. Sonya Gale has been involved with the SJA since the age of six. Now that she is 27 years old, she has been made a member of the Order. It is great to see someone being so involved with charity and helping others at this stage in her life. According to the article in the Otago Daily Times, it is unusual for someone to be admitted to the Order at such a young age. It would be interesting to compare this with other Priories. We know that we've seen young people at investitures, but they may not have been members of the VOSJ. At any rate, you can see a picture of Ms Gale below with the Governor-General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand. Mr Satyanand is also a Knight of Justice and the Prior of the New Zealand Priory.