Description:This St John Ambulance armband dates from the WW1 period when the Order of St John and the British Red Cross Society first came together to support the Armed Forces Medical Services; in November 1914 when 'Hill Crest' on Richmond Hill Road, Edgbaston, was attached to the 1st Southern General as an Auxiliary military Hospital it was the first to be operated by the Voluntary Aid Detachment and staffed by a St John's Ambulance unit; with only 25 beds it was too small to meet the growing need and the facility was moved to 'Harborne Hall' and expanded to 126 beds.