Recollections of War > Records

St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant

c. 1900 - 1920
Overview

Scottish sterling silver pendant medal or pocket watch fob issued by the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association.
It has an oval, openwork cutout design with a central figure of St. Andrew holding his traditional saltire (X-shaped) cross. The words 'ST. ANDREW'S' are embossed upwards on the left border.'AMBULANCE' curving across the inner top arch, and 'ASSOCIATION' running down the right border.
This is surmounted by detailed Scottish thistles and leaves forming a decorative crown above the wording.
There is a suspension ring at the very top for attaching to a necklace or pocket watch chain.
The reverse has the same design, but 'K157' is engraved in the arc between the lower arms of the cross.
There are no hallmarks or maker's marks.

Historical information

The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association was a pioneering Scottish charity founded in 1882 in Glasgow. It offered public classes in first aid and casualty transportation. In April of that year, they purchased Scotland's very first ambulance, which began servicing Glasgow and transporting accident victims to hospitals.
During the World Wars, the organisation mobilised rapidly. Within 48 hours of the declaration of World War One, they completely staffed Scotland's military hospitals so regular staff could serve overseas. In World War Two, they trained the general public in Air Raid Precautions (ARP) and gas defence.

The serial number (K157) on this medal dates fromaround the World War One era. Prior to 1900, there was just a number. Single letter prefixes followed by a number were then introduced and became the standard method for cataloguing distinct certificate sequences, registry cohorts, or specific regional training branches. As the number of trained volunteers rapidly increased following World War One, the single-letter sequences were quickly exhausted. The Association then rolled out two-letter combination prefixes to accommodate the tens of thousands of newly certified members across Scotland.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-119-RoW01077
Item type
Badges
Collectibles
Ephemera
Jewellery
Personal Effects
Themes
Medicine and Health
Social History
Material
Metal
Silver
Width
19 mm
Height or length
33 mm
Depth
2 mm
Inscriptions and markings

On front of pendant:

"ST. ANDREW'S AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION"

On reverse of pendant:

"K157"

Keywords
Silver
Fob
Medal
Ambulance
Membership Badge
SCOTLAND
History - Social
Year
c. 1900 - 1920
Primary significance criteria
Social or spiritual significance
Comparative significance criteria
Interpretive capacity
Last modified
Monday, 14 September, 2026
Completeness
94
Recollections of War

Recollections of War

St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Angled view of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Angled view of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Other angled view of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Other angled view of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Reverse of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant
Reverse of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association medal pendant

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