Mystery of a Serving Brother

Singing in the morning - a fun session. Some 'interesting' harmonies!

An afternoon of painting - the skirting boards in the 'Music Room' are finished at last. No more painting in there for a week or two - until MrM alters the door frame slightly to fit the new for when it arrives. So I shan't put away the paint brushes just yet...

The certificate has been lurking in the hall since we started decorating the 'Music room', while we work out where to put it. It belonged to my dad, who was appointed "as a Serving Brother" of the 'British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem' in 1958. The order is still in existence, and is best known for the health organisations it founded, and still continues to run.

Dad was an intensely private person and, looking back, I realise that I never really knew him at all. He was rarely at home for long. Very much the family 'breadwinner', he went out to work each day in an era when the wife was expected to stay at home and look after the house and family. In the evening he came home for a meal and then, more often than not, went out to a meeting one of the several organisations to which he belonged. St John Ambulance Brigade was one, and the Civil Defence Corps another. Other than belonging to St John Ambulance Brigade, we have no idea why he was appointed a serving brother.