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Auction: 323 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 752

The Order of St. John of Jerusalem Badge Attributed to Lady Superintendent Charlotte Bird, Dundrum Nursing Division, St. John Ambulance Brigade, Commandant of the Harcourt Street Nursing Hospital in Dublin, Set Up to Care For the Wounded During the 1916 Easter Rising
Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Serving Sister's Badge, silver and enamel, good very fine, on lady's bow riband, with the following related items:
- The recipient's St. John Ambulance Association Badge, silver (Hallmarks for Birmingham 1914), reverse engraved '184905 Charlotte Bird', with 1917 Bar, the reverse engraved '184905'
- St. John Ambulance Association War Service Badge, bronze and enamel, reverse numbered '8261', with 'Dublin' suspension bar
- Presentation Album, presented to the recipient by the members of the Dundrum Nursing Division, St. John Ambulance Brigade, on the occasion of the disbanding of the Division in 1923, containing various pen and ink sketches illustrating the wartime work of the Division, bound in leather, the cover embossed 'C. Bird 1914-1923'

Lady Superintendent Charlotte Bird joined the Dundrum (Dublin) Nursing Division, St. John Ambulance Brigade, in 1914. During the 1916 Easter Rising she was Commandant of the emergency auxiliary hospital which was set up by the St. John Ambulance Brigade at the High School in Harcourt Street, Dublin, to care for the wounded during the rebellion. Excellent work was done at the hospital, with many patients being admitted during the week. In connection with this hospital a Food Supply Depot was also organised at Dundrum. In total there were 300 ambulance men and over 300 nurses engaged during the Rising, and they were frequently under fire, especially when arriving and leaving the hospitals at the start and end of each shift. For her service Charlotte Bird was awarded the St. John Ambulance Brigade Certificate of Honour, and was subsequently appointed a Serving Sister of the Order of St. John in October 1918. The Dundrum Division was disbanded in 1923.

Sold for
$1,200