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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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St John Ambulance Brigade
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(London EC1) Charitable organization which provides volunteers, trained in first aid, to attend public events in Britain; the tradition began with Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. The Brigade derives from the Order of the Hospital of *St John of Jerusalem, which nursed pilgrims and crusaders to the Holy Land. The Knights Hospitaller, as they were known, retreated later to *Rhodes (1309–1522) and then to *Malta (1530–1798). They had an English branch from the 12C until it was suppressed by *Henry VIII in 1540. An Order of St John was revived in Britain in the early 19C. It was this body which in 1877 set up the St John Ambulance Association (which still provides first-aid training for the public) and followed this in 1887 with the Brigade.
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