David Heard in 2024 the world's longest-serving volunteer for St John with 80 years in its South Australian ranks

Murray Bridge, South Australia, farmer David Heard receives an ultra-long service medal from the Order of St John in 2021, with his daughter Lorna Hawke and granddaughter Emma Hawke, also serving in the St John first aid ranks.
Image courtesy St John SA Historical Society/Facebook.

South Australia’s David Heard, the world’s longest serving St John first aid volunteer, celebrated 80 years service in 2024. Heard joined  St John Ambulance South as a cadet with the Colonel Light Gardens volunteer team while at primary school in 1944.

The Murray Bridge farmer, at 91 in 2024, had ceased operational duties but continued serving as treasurer of the St John Ambulance Historical Society.

The early years with St John saw Heard, still at Urrbrae agricultural high school, delivering first aid alongside adult volunteers at events including harness racing, picnics, football and the Christmas pageant. His most memorable event was Victory in the Pacific Day in 1945: “I was on duty as a cadet and we went into the town on the corner of King William Street and North Terrace  (Adelaide city). People were cheering and hugging and kissing. They were crammed in. I’ve never seen anything like it since.”

In 1950, Heard began volunteer ambulance work on Friday and Saturday nights. This included attending vehicle crashes and accidents: “We saw some bad things and we would go back to the station and have a talk about it.”  Heard also learnt “skills for life. One day I just happened to be going past a motor car crash when the passenger, a woman, had scraped her knee quite badly I had a fresh laundered handkerchief which I used to bandage her knee. A week or so later she sent it back to me in the post, freshly laundered and ironed thanking me for my help.”

Heard become an apprentice mechanic at the Kelvinator factory, progressing to write service manuals for the company. After meeting his wife Joy, Heard went to help manage her family’s property near Murray Bridge, transferring to the local St John volunteer team. He assisted St John at Mannum set up a team at Mount Pleasant and Tailem Bend with Meningie. Volunteer teams were the basis for ambulance services in these areas. He also supported the cadet teams started at Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend, Mannum, Karoonda and Mount Barker.

Awarded the Order of St John Service medal in 1958, and 10 bars since, Heard was conferred with the prestigious rank of Knight of the Order of St John. All his four children joined as cadets and his daughter Lorna and two granddaughters were still volunteering in 2024: “It’s in our blood.”

The St John Ambulance Association was started in 1877 in England by the Order of St John to address the growing need for effective first aid training to deal with the increase in accidents in an industrialised and urbanised society. St John Ambulance began in South Australia in 1885. It helped tens of thousands of people across the state annually with health and medical services at events, first aid training and products, and social inclusion.