Video
It’s that time of year again!
“We’re approaching that lovely festive season—Christmas is coming—and we wanted to use this opportunity to say thank you for all the work that St John people have done right across the world during this last year.”
Transcript
“It’s a great delight to be here at St John International Headquarters in Charterhouse Mews in London for our final Trustees Executive Committee and Order Honours and Awards Committee meeting for the year.
We’re approaching that lovely festive season—Christmas is coming—and we wanted to use this opportunity to say thank you for all the work that St John people have done right across the world during this last year.
It’s been another year of great global impact for the Order, with hundreds of thousands of volunteers touching the lives of millions of people across the 44 countries where we operate. It’s also been a year of long service. I think of people who have dedicated their lives to St John—Andy Adam in Guernsey, celebrating 40 years of volunteering this year, and Dame Betty Simpson in Whanganui, New Zealand, marking an incredible 75 years of service. These are truly inspiring examples of commitment to community.
Another important milestone this year is the centenary of cadets in Australia, which began on December 8th, 1925, and has been going strong ever since. Our youth programs across the St John world continue to build citizens and communities, making them stronger, safer, and more resilient. It’s a fantastic program, and as we move forward, we’ll see more centenaries emerging.
Our programmes have continued to thrive. The Mother and Baby Programme, an outstanding success in Africa, expanded into Kenya this year. I visited Zimbabwe recently and saw firsthand the huge impact it’s having on the health of mothers and babies. The St John Eye Hospital Group has faced immense challenges due to the war in Gaza, yet their determination, skill, and devotion have not wavered. In fact, they’ve grown stronger. Our hearts go out to them this Christmas for the difficulties they’ve endured, but they’ve continued treating patients—over 200,000 this year—across Gaza, Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus, and beyond. Next year, they’re set to grow even further.
Simple yet powerful initiatives like the Restart a Heart programme in Ghana, which have been embraced worldwide, teaching resuscitation skills, promoting the use of defibrillators, and ensuring their proper placement in communities. These are first-class ways the Order saves lives at critical moments.
From the Solomon Islands to Canada, Ghana to Malawi, Kenya to South Africa, the US, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia—across the entire St John world—thank you. Thank you for what you do for the communities you serve, for each other, and for the Order. Without your dedication and compassion, we are nothing.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy 2026. I look forward to meeting many of you as I travel around St John establishments next year.”
Professor Mark Compton AM GCStJ
Lord Prior
December 2025
