A St John Ambulance Cymru stalwart has received a prestigious award in recognition of three decades of dedicated voluntary service in Bridgend County Borough and beyond.
The nomination for the Mayor’s Citizenship Award for outstanding services to Bridgend County Borough came as a surprise to the charity’s Assistant Chief Commissioner for South and East Wales, Mike Flanagan, who learned of it via a letter in the post.
“It was a lovely surprise… I had been nominated by a neighbour who had seen me leaving in a green shirt to go on a St John duty early in the morning and coming home late at night on several occasions over the years,” Flanagan shared in an interview on the official St John Ambulance Cymru podcast, Just in Case: Stories from St John. “It’s just lovely to be recognised.”
His introduction to St John Ambulance Cymru began at age 12 in Colwyn Bay. Although the division closed shortly after he joined, his interest in “medically related topics” never wavered. After moving to South Wales, he reconnected with the charity in Bridgend, eventually rising through the ranks to oversee operations across three counties.
Reflecting on his motivation, Flanagan points to a deep-seated desire to help others:
“There’s something in us… where we get satisfaction from helping others. I’m quite happy to help and assist anyone who needs it. When people say thank you, it’s an enormous reward. It doesn’t have to be in terms of cash or gifts; a thank you is good enough.”
Flanagan’s contribution to Wales extends far beyond his ambulance duties. A former senior fire officer with 35 years of service, he currently balances his role at St John Ambulance Cymru with several other community pillars:
Education: Serving as Lead Governor for Health and Safety at both Penyfai and Tondu Primary Schools.
Justice: Acting as a member and Training Officer for the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Swansea, where he monitors prisoner welfare and reports directly to the Minister for Justice.
Local Government: Serving as a Community Councillor in his local village.
Throughout these diverse roles, Flanagan identifies compassion as the ultimate core value.
“I think compassion is the best attribute that you can have for the first aid elements. You see someone who is injured or hurt, and you give that reassurance and that compassion which comes from in here. Those events you take with you, and you just try and make somebody else’s bad day a whole lot better if you can.”
Despite his high-level managerial responsibilities, Flanagan remains a vocal advocate for the St John Ambulance Cymru youth programs. He encourages young people to join for the “life skills” that are often missed in traditional classrooms.
“If you are ten, twelve, thirteen years of age… for heaven’s sake, get in there because it’s a brilliant, fantastic charity and we do good work. The charitable arm of it is just absolutely amazing. It makes you quite emotional when you think about the great things that some of our volunteers do.”
St John Ambulance Cymru provides lifesaving support at events across Wales and provides volunteering opportunities and first aid training to people of all ages. To get involved, book training, or find out more visit www.sjacymru.org.uk.
Just in Case: Stories from St John is available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with new episodes set to release every month.
To listen on Apple Podcasts go to: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-in-case-stories-from-st-john/id1830427277
To listen on Spotify visit: open.spotify.com/show/05SXgJnpuJ2oX176hzSAcq.
Featured image: Mike Flanagan was presented with the citizenship award by the Mayor of Bridgend
