The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons and the Mark Benevolent Fund have supported the Order of St John and St John Ambulance for many years, the Mark Benevolent Fund has now joined in partnership with the charity and pledged £3,023,700 for a two year programme to provide up to 52 replacement state of the art ambulances and support vehicles.

This latest donation from the Mark Benevolent Fund also marks the 140th anniversary of St John Ambulance in 2017 and the 150th anniversary of the Mark Benevolent Fund in 2018. Local communities around the country will continue to benefit from the services of St John Ambulance who can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.

The first of these Ambulances was to be donated to East Lancashire, with Cheshire receiving the first Support Vehicle.

On the 17^th July, the PGM, RW Bro Alex Mclaren and his wife, Leslie, attended the Presentation and Dedication of the two vehicles for the St John Ambulance Service.

The PGM and Leslie travelled down to London on the Sunday with the PGM of Cheshire, RW Bro David Sellers and his wife Maira and a very pleasant two days were had by all.

The Ceremony was held at the Honourable Artillery Company Headquarters on Old St in London and was attended by the Grand Master, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, the Grand Prior of the Order of St John, HRH The Duke of Gloucester and Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Greater London, Ken Olisa Esq.

The Pro Grand Master, MW Bro Raymond Smith, the Deputy Grand Master RW John Prizeman and the Assistant Grand Master RW Bro Stephen Davison were also in attendance along with other Distinguished Guests from the Order of St John, the St John Ambulance and of course Mark Masonry, in particular, the Mark Benevolent Fund.

The second photograph shows  Leslie at the wheel ready to drive it back to East Lancashire, but unfortunately, the ambulance had to have the final re fit before heading north.

It was a beautiful day and very hot but the Presentations and Dedication were relatively brief and the guests then retired inside Armoury House for light refreshments.

There will be a full article of the Presentation on the MMH Web Site soon with several other professional photographs.