Caring on the home front » Fundraising Exhibitions:

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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 JWO artist Doris Zinkeisen toured the country, raising over £6,000. The model was displayed in Marks and Spencer’s stores.

Doris Zinkeisen setting up the exhibition

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

Scene from the exhibition depicting an ambulance station amid bombed buildings

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.

Scene from the exhibition depicting a Convalescent Home

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, offering 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.”