At every kind of festival, fete and function, their distinctively modest uniforms have offered comfort and quiet help to all.

St John Ambulance, started in 11th Century Jerusalem, is still part of our lives today.

Their presence is woven so tightly into the fabric of British social life they are hardly noticed.

Until we need them.

Everyone knows someone who's been helped by St John Ambulance.

Starstruck teenagers, accident victims, grannies with twisted ankles, injured workers, sunburned bank holiday boozers and lost children.

St John volunteers were also the first on the scene after the terrorist bombings in London on July 7, 2005, and were involved in many rescue and first aid efforts during last summer's floods in our region.

The Dad's Army of the emergency services has been fighting on all fronts for 900 years. Now they have to battle to survive.

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Modern life leaves less and less time for volunteering and the level of emergency cover at events has to be ultra-professional rather than cheerful volunteer.

The new St John Ambulance will still have its presence at functions but they are no longer used at Bramall Lane or Hillsborough on matchdays and specialised, waged medical cover is now engaged at bigger events.

But St John is fighting back.

"We are in the process of modernising," said Philip Gee, St John Executive Director for South and West Yorkshire.

"Young people won't stand in wooden huts any more. We are changing – the modern St John is not like that."

Sheffield is to play a central role in the new, 21st century St John Ambulance .

"We moved to this purpose- built centre so we can control things better from one centre," said Philip.

"We have to have a very strong commercial base to compete in a very competitive market. Competition for funds is fierce and, contrary to what a lot of people think, we get no Government funding.

"The organisation has had to change over the years. The modern St John really grew after Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 when there was concern about crowd safety really for the first time.

"We supported healthcare and hospitals in the Second World War, had a donated organ transport role in the 1950s and Aeromedicine Service that repatriated sick British people from abroad.

"The old St John was largely built around miners and factory workers, where people wanted to learn to help themselves when health and safety provision in the workplace was very poor. That's not what we do any more. We don't want to lose our past but we have to look to the future.

"This whole area has become much more professional. If an event needs cover we can't have people not turn up because they are volunteers and can't get at the last minute.
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