Order of St John - West Lothian

26/02/2026

26/02/2026

25/02/2026

ORDER OF ST JOHN THE KING has been graciously pleased to sanction the following Promotions in, and Admissions to, the Most Venerable Order of the ...

01/02/2026

Colonel Francis DUNCAN CB (1836 – 16 November 1888) was a Royal Artillery officer, lawyer, historian and politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1888.

Duncan was born in Scotland, the son of John Duncan and his wife Helen.
He was educated at the University of Aberdeen (honours MA) and entered the Royal Artillery in 1855

He was an instructor at the School of Gunnery (Royal Military Academy, Woolwich) from 1877 to 1882, becoming lieutenant-colonel in 1881.
He was employed with the Egyptian Army from 1883 to 1885 (3rd Class Osmanleh) and became a colonel in 1885.

While at Woolwich, Duncan, together with Surgeon-Major Peter Shepherd, a fellow graduate of Aberdeen, established the concept of teaching first aid skills to civilians. Duncan was a deeply religious man with high humanitarian values, who strongly supported the principle of battlefield ambulance transport.

It was this interest in first aid which led him to help form, with others, the St John Ambulance Association and Brigade.
As well as helping the civilian population, the St John Ambulance Brigade along with the Red Cross was drafted in to help the military.

This in turn proved so successful that it helped greatly to move Queen Victoria to grant a Royal Charter in 1888 creating the Order of St John as we know it today as a British Royal Order of Chivalry.

25/01/2026

“O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!”

Happy Burns Day.

13/01/2026

REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ORDER :

Please Note.....

Admission to the Order is an honour granted by HM King Charles III our Sovereign Head.

Admission is strictly by invitation only.
Requests to join the order are not permitted.

Candidates for consideration have usually given several years of exceptional voluntary work to a recognised Priory of the Order.

They are then carefully vetted before their names are submitted to the King for his approval.
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10/01/2026

This photograph is of John Dunlap, KStJ, the Prince and 81st Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,(SMOM) since 2023.
and
HRH the Duke of Gloucester,GCStJ. The Grand Prior,of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St.John of Jerusalem (Order of St John) since 1975

The two Orders have had a joint concordant agreed and codified in 1963 and have mutual recognition of their same ideals and aims.
To help those in need ,the poor and sick

Photo by Chuck Nguyen .

(www.chucktography.com).

03/01/2026

Scottish people from all walks of life have been recognised in the 2026 New Year Honours list.

01/01/2026

25/12/2025