Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester visited St John Ambulance Cymru’s Priory House headquarters on September 4th to officially re-open the building following its recent refurbishment.
The visit came 20 years since the building was officially opened by The Duchess, who is Commandant-in-Chief of St John Ambulance Cymru, alongside her husband The Duke of Gloucester, who is the Grand Prior of the Order of St John.
Her Royal Highness was joined at the event by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of South Glamorgan, Mrs Morfudd Meredith; The High Sheriff of South Glamorgan, Mrs Janet Davies; as well as the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Adrian Robson and Lady Mayoress, Cllr Jayne Cowan.
After being introduced to the Prior for Wales, Paul Griffiths OBE KStJ JP DL and St John Ambulance Cymru’s Chief Executive, Richard Lee MBE CStJ QAM, Her Royal Highness spoke with a number of St John People including volunteers, staff and Trustees who help deliver the charity’s work all over Wales.
The Prior for Wales, Paul Griffiths said:
“It was a privilege to welcome Her Royal Highness to our headquarters and it was fitting that 20 years after Priory House was officially opened, The Duchess returned to mark this important step in our charity’s journey.
“Her Royal Highness was keen to hear how everyone played their part in supporting our work and was particularly interested to hear how the charity had evolved since the covid-19 pandemic and our vision to make Wales a community of lifesavers.
“We are extremely grateful to The Duchess, in the role of Commandant-in-Chief, for helping raise awareness of the dedication of our St John People, especially as many of them are busy providing additional first aid demonstrations around the country for our Save a Life September campaign.”
The visit concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to mark the event and official re-opening of the refurbished building, which has recently been adapted to accommodate all the charity’s operations in Cardiff.
To find out more about the work St John Ambulance Cymru does across Wales, visit www.sjacymru.org.uk.
Feature image: The visit concluded with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to mark the event and official re-opening of the refurbished building.
