The very fine June 1951 Serving Brother of the Order of Saint John, Great War, Second World War Civil Defence, and Saint John Ambulance Brigade long service group with a most impressive chain-linked St. John Ambulance Association Proficiency Cross in Silver, as awarded to Private J.W. Marston, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was from Sileby, near to Loughborough, Leicestershire, and for 35 years was a volunteer Ambulance Officer with the Sileby Division in No.3 Leicestershire District, Saint John Ambulance Brigade, serving as such circa 1928-1961, during which period he was awarded the Service Medal of the Order of Saint John in 1939, before being awarded a further three five year service bars, and was made a Serving Brother of the Order of Saint John, as gazetted to him on 22 June 1951. He seems to have spent the entirety of his life in an around the small village of Sileby, and back in 1908 is recorded as having run the local coffee shop, though he later also work as a clicker in a boot factory.
Group of 5: The Most Venerable Order of Saint John, Serving Brother badge, 4th type (1948-circa 1973), an early version of type in silver and enamels; British War Medal and Victory Medal; (21857 PTE. J.W. MARSTON. R.A.M.C.); Defence Medal 1939-1945; Service Medal of the Order of Saint John, silver issue, with three additional award bars, all in silver; (17884 A/OFF. J.W. MARSTON. SILEBY DIV. NO.3 DIS. S.J.A.B. 1938.), mounted swing style as worn on screw post mounting bar, with original ribbons.
Condition: light contact wear and polishing, Good Very Fine.
Together with the following:
Recipient’s matching tunic medal ribbon bar, this complete with all emblems, and with screw post mounting.
An Army Form W.5118 from the RAMC Record Office at Woking, forwarding the ‘preliminary issue of the Victory Medal riband’, dating from 1919, and inscribed to ‘Mr J.W. Marston / 21857’.
A most impressive chain-linked St. John Ambulance Association Proficiency Cross in Silver, reverse bearing jewellers initials ‘WD&S’, and hallmarks for Birmingham with date letter ‘B’ for 1926, reverse engraved: ‘293025 JOHN W. MARSTON’, and as awarded in 1927, this affixed to its impressive chain baring a remarkable number of additional proficiency pass bars, these being in both silver and copper dependant on the year of issue, and detailed as follows. The smaller silver bars which measure 20 mm across, are consecutively dated from 1928-1940, therefore 13 bars in total, each has the same jewellers initials ‘’WD&S’, each is hallmarked, and each is engraved with the number ‘293025’, interlinked between these are three links, these all bear the letters ‘H.N.’ which possibly stands for Hospital Nurse, and the reverses of these three also bear the jewellers initials ‘WD&S’, and hallmarks for Birmingham with individual date letters, two with ‘D’ for 1928, one with ‘E’ for 1929, each of these links has engraved then number ‘293025’ and then respectively the years dates: ‘1930’, ‘1931’, and ‘1939’. After these 13 additional proficiency pass bars, there is a further silver one, this being larger, measuring 35 mm, and dated for ‘1941’, this is also hallmarked silver, has the same jewellers initials ‘WD&S’, and the Birmingham hallmark date of ‘O’ for 1938, and is similarly engraved on the reverse: ‘293025’. The subsequent proficiency bars of all in copper, though linked together with the earlier silver ones, and all measure 35 mm across. The first seven with the dates 1942 through to and inclusive of 1948, have the reverses engraved with the number ‘293025’, after this they are all plain. In addition for the early reverse numbered copper ones, there is also one more of the links bearing the letters ‘H.N.’, but this also made in copper, the reverse similarly numbered ‘293025’ and bearing the year date for ‘1944’. All other dated proficiency bars solely bear the year date with plain reverses, these number 13 in total and cover the years from 1949 through to 1961. The 34 proficiency bars and the four accompanying ‘H.N.’ marked links loop round to form a chain for wear round the neck. In all with the Proficiency Cross, this represents 35 years of St. John Ambulance Association proficiency tests, all accomplished by Marston.
John William Marston was born in 1890 in Sileby, near to Loughborough, Leicestershire, the son of Thomas and Dorothy Ann Marston. As of 1908 he is record as running the coffee house in the village of Sileby, and by 1911 was working as a clicker in a boot factory.
Owing to the Great War he then saw service as a Private (No.21857) with the Royal Army Medical Corps, and suffered some form of disability as a result of his military service, for which he later received a pension. After the war he returned to Sileby, and resided at 35 Swan Street. He appears to have been married to one Clara Bassford.
Marston became a long serving volunteer with the Sileby Division in No.3 Leicestershire District, Saint John Ambulance Brigade, when serving as an Ambulance Officer (No.17884). He would be awarded the St. John Ambulance Association Proficiency Cross in Silver in 1927 on qualifying, and gained a further 34 additional qualification proficiency bars spanning 1928-1961, along with what appear to be links indicating additional qualifications as a Hospital Nurse. Marston was awarded the Service Medal of the Order of Saint John in 1938, and was awarded three further five years service award bars, and would ultimately be awarded the Serving Brother of The Most Venerable Order of Saint John, this award being published in the London Gazette for 22 June 1951. He also saw service in Civil Defence during the Second World War. Marston died in 1965.
