ST JOHN Ambulance volunteers are unsung heroes. They do not enjoy the high profile of health service paramedics who rush to the scene of emergencies, but the St John medics play a vital role in public life.

The organisation can trace its history back 900 years, and York's St John centre was established in 1890, long before the National Health Service began. All of us grew up attending events made possible by these remarkable men, women and children.

The very permanence of St John Ambulance makes it all too easy to take them for granted.

But how we would miss them if they were not there. The quiet presence of St John volunteers makes every kind of event possible: sports matches, agricultural shows, rock concerts, summer fairs.

They were there when 200,000 pilgrims gathered at Knavesmire to see the visit of the Pope in 1982; they were there five years later when "Fergie fever" swept the city as the Duke and Duchess of York visited for the first time.

St John Ambulance members deliver instant comfort to the injured and the exhausted. They also save lives.

It would be impossible to calculate how many people owe their lives to the brigade. Some will have been saved directly by a St John volunteer applying expert medical attention on the spot. Others will have been saved by the many who have attended a St John first aid course.

For generations, the St John Ambulance has given selflessly to the community. Now it is our turn to give something back.

The aim of our Life Savers Appeal is to buy York St John a new Crusader ambulance, equipped with the latest medical technology. It will be stationed at Clifton Moor and be on hand at events attended by thousands of local people.

A fully-equipped Crusader costs £45,000. With your help, we can raise that money. It is our chance to say thank-you for the wonderful work of St John Ambulance.

Updated: 10:27 Friday, March 01, 2002