Joint Council of Order of St. John and Red Cross Society

The administration of the supplies and money sent over by the Patriotic Fund Board and the Joint Council of the Order of St. John

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and Red Cross Society from New Zealand was in the hands of Colonel MacCormick till May 1941, when Colonel Waite¹ arrived to set up a separate department which functioned till the end of the war. The supplies were of the greatest value to the hospitals in supplementing the regular army medical stores. Linen for the operating theatres, special dressings, invalid food, bags with toilet necessities to replace those lost by casualties, and very many other items were all invaluable. Grants of money were also made to medical units to buy articles locally, and also at times to obtain equipment not procurable from army sources. Some furnishings for patients' and sisters' common rooms were bought in this way.

The sick and wounded fund of the Joint Council proved especially valuable in procuring extra equipment for the rest homes and other units not on ordinary army establishment.