Caring on the home front » Fundraising exhibitions:

Stories » Resource Library » Fundraising exhibitions

Fundraising exhibitions

Exhibitions were a popular way of raising money for St. John Ambulance and the British Red Cross during the Second World War. One, in 1943 at Dorland Hall in London, was entitled “Arctic Convoy”, and showed the whole course of aid being sent to Russia through the Aid to Russia Fund.
From May 1942, an exhibition created by official Joint War Organisation artist Doris Zinkeisen toured the country, raising over £6,000. The model was displayed in Marks and Spencer’s stores.

The model consisted of beautifully constructed scenes showed the work of St. John Ambulance. Doris Zinkeisen was a theatre set designer by training.

They included a depiction of the first hospital of the Order of St. John in Jerusalem; an air raid on London; a first aid casualty station on the Underground; an ambulance station amid bombed buildings; a first aid treatment room; a ward in a military hospital; a scene in a convalescent home; and a POW parcel packing centre.

You can see paintings based on these scenes in other parts of the website.
St. John Ambulance cadets also organised exhibitions throughout the war to promote their work. Guidelines were offered with information such as this: “A few really well-made handicrafts, First Aid items, books and pamphlets are infinitely preferable to a large number of indifferently made exhibits, which give the appearance of a ‘Secondhand Stall.’”