79-year-old St John’s Ambulance worker who once helped save Queen awarded BEM

A 79-year-old St John’s Ambulance worker who once helped save Queen Elizabeth II has been recognised in the New Year Honours list for his achievements in the service.

John Heasman, from Rotherhithe, Southwark, received the British Empire Medal (BEM) for his dedication during nearly seven decades of service to the national first aid and health response charity.

He said: “I am over the moon and couldn’t believe that I had been nominated for the BEM when I was told. 

“I feel incredibly grateful and humbled.” 

Mr Heasman first volunteered for St John’s Ambulance service as a 10-year-old cadet in 1954. His first aid skills were quickly put to good use when he saved the life of a man who had been stabbed in an attack.

Continuing his time in the service he was awarded the Binney Memorial Award in 1982 after he helped disarm Marcus Serjeant, who fired blanks at Queen Elizabeth II at Trooping the Colour.

By 1997 Mr Heasman’s volunteering work for the charity amounted to more than 11,000 hours.

He has also been a regular first-aider at Millwall FC for five decades and was awarded by the club for his work in 2012.

In the same year, he volunteered for six weeks without a break during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Becoming President of the St John unit in Dulwich in 2013, Mr Heasman continued in his first-aider role until February 2023. 

He now volunteers for the St John Fellowship, working one day a week at St John’s Gate in Clerkenwell, in Farringdon.

Pictured top: John Heasman has volunteered at St John’s Ambulance service for nearly seven decades (Picture: St John’s Ambulance Service)