The St John Ambulance Brigade in Bourne owes much of its existence to the endeavours of one man, Ernie Robinson, who was not only a founder member but also a stalwart worker for the cause over a period of more than 70 years and who passed on his enthusiasm for the work to many young people.

His career with the brigade also brought him many honours and on 27th May 1959 he was appointed a Serving Brother of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem by the Duke of Gloucester, then Britain’s Grand Prior.

George Ernest Robinson was born at Counter Drain, near Spalding, on 26th June 1901 and after attending Bourne Primary School in Abbey Road, became an apprentice to Henry Kelham and Son, tailors, of North Street. His first encounter with ambulance work came when he served as an orderly at the military hospital set up in the Vestry Hall during the Great War of 1914-18 to treat soldiers wounded at the front in France and he continued with his work on first aid during the Second World War of 1939-45 by joining the Civil Defence and becoming an active member of the Bourne unit. During this period, he attended the scene of the German bomber crash on  the Butcher's Arms public house in Eastgate in 1941 and remembered the horrific devastation and loss of life in vivid detail.

By this time he was also a leading member of the Bourne branch of the St John Ambulance Brigade which he had helped form in 1931, providing valuable cover during the war years, supplemented by a cadet division he established in 1944. While working as a lorry driver for T W Mays and Sons Ltd, the fellmongers and fertiliser merchants based in Bourne, he also volunteered to drive the ambulance owned by the council and in 1950, as this work began to develop into a more stable organisation under the direction of Kesteven County Council, he joined the County Ambulance Service as a full time driver and attendant, retiring in 1968 with the rank of Station Officer.

In 1950, he was commended by both the brigade and the county council for rescuing a man from a blazing car that had overturned in a field near Market Deeping. The citation said: “The patient was unable at the time to appreciate what you had done but there is no doubt that your prompt action saved the man’s life.”

In 1959, as Cadet Superintendent, Mr Robinson was presented with a long service medal to mark fifteen years of efficient service during the annual area inspection of the brigade, the Bourne cadet band heading the parade through the town with contingents from Boston, Skegness and Long Sutton taking part.

Ernie Robinson never tired of his work with the St John Ambulance Brigade, becoming Area Staff Officer (Cadets) for the south of Lincolnshire and was chosen for duty in the capital at both the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He was also for many years instrumental in organising camping trips for the cadets which were held annually at various sites throughout the country, providing a sense of adventure as well as training for the lads enjoying a spot of outdoor life. The most notable of these was the Coronation Camp, an international event at Stubbers Adventure Centre at Upminster, Essex, in the summer of 1953 which was attended by cadets from all over the world, when a case of meningitis was reported and Mr Robinson's first duty was to communicate with the parents back in Bourne to assure them that their boys were safe.

In July 1965, he was presented to Princess Margaret at the annual brigade cadet rally held at Derby when three Bourne cadets, Richard Kelk, Graham Bryant and David Fox, were also on parade.

He had many other interests, notably freemasonry, as a member of several local lodges including the Hereward Lodge in Bourne. He was also a member of the Toc H organisation in Bourne, an honorary member of the Bourne Probus Club and a keen sportsman, being at various times chairman, trainer and committee member of Bourne Town Football Club, but he always found time for a spot of gardening on which he was particularly keen.

He was married to Daisy Reedman at Bourne Abbey Church on 11th April 1925. They had known each other since schooldays and the union was to last for 72 years until her death in 1997, aged 96, when they were both living at The Cedars Nursing Home in Bourne where they had celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary two years previously and received a telegram of congratulations from the Queen. He died there on 17th June 2000, aged 98 years, and the flag of the St John Ambulance Brigade was draped over the coffin for the funeral at the Abbey Church, conducted by the vicar, Canon John Warwick, followed by cremation at Peterborough. He left a daughter, Mrs Mavis Wright.

See also     The St John Ambulance Brigade    The ambulance service

The Eastgate plane crash