Torridon Mountain Rescue Team

  • Home
  • About us
  • History
  • New base
  • Training
  • Support us
  • Contact

St John Scotland

St-John-Scotland-logo

www.stjohnscotland.org.uk

St John Scotland (SJS), formed in 1947, is a Scottish charity dedicated to helping others through medical and rescue activities. Its head office is in Edinburgh.

Unlike St John in England, it does not provide ambulance and first aid training services.

Instead, SJS supports other life-saving and life-enhancing projects overseas and in Scotland. These include the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem and a Mother and Baby scheme in Malawi, while closer to home St John Scotland provides patient transport services in several areas of Scotland, defibrillators at golf clubs and public places, and funded neo-natal ambulance in Glasgow.

Mountain rescue has been a key project that St John Scotland has supported over the past two decades, mainly by providing rescue bases and vehicles for Scottish mountain rescue teams, but also more recently by funding a Mountain Safety Instructor for the benefit of Scottish university climbing clubs.

It would be hard to overstate the importance of the contribution that SJS has made. Since 1998 SJS has funded 14 bases and the purchase of 42 vehicles. By the middle of 2017 SJS will have given approaching £4 million in support of mountain rescue in Scotland. Given that the annual grant from Scottish Government is just over £300,000, the crucial importance of the funding from SJS is apparent.

Quite simply, the service offered by mountain rescue in Scotland would be greatly diminished without the massive benevolence of SJS.

The origins of the Order of St John can be traced to an 11th century hospital – the Hospital of St John in Jerusalem.

In 1113 the people who administered this hospital were formed into a religious Order. Soon after, they took on military duties and became known as Knights Hospitallers.
That Order, which exists today, is now commonly called the Order of Malta. It recruited members and owned property throughout Western Europe.

The first property in Scotland was established at Torphichen in West Lothian. Acquired during the reign of David I, King of Scots (1124-1153), it became, and remained until the 16th century, the Order’s administrative centre in Scotland.

Being Roman Catholic, the Order ceased to function in the British Isles at the time of the Reformation. In the first half of the 19th century a group of people set out to revive the Order of Malta in the United Kingdom. They formed a separate organisation which they called the Order of St John. In 1888, Queen Victoria made the Order a Royal Order of Chivalry with the monarch as its Sovereign Head. Since then the Grand Prior has always been a member of the Royal Family – currently, HRH The Duke of Gloucester.

The Order was revived in Scotland in 1947, when the Priory of Scotland was established, and since then it has devoted itself to its principal aims of working for the relief of those in sickness, distress, suffering or danger.

Support Torridon MRT

Donate now

Or visit our support page to find out how you can help.
Training

St John Scotland

Gallery
Torridon Mountain Rescue Team

2 days ago

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team
"so you're going to run 55km around these hills and swim 3.5km across five lochs enroute?""Yes!"We are lucky to have some wildly capable people in our team, and this was demonstrated at the weekend by our very own @stretton.sarah who took on a solo, unsupported 'Ring of Stirling' round - the wildest swim/run in the UK. Taking in the Torridon giants and some committing swimming, including across the Diabaig Narrows, Sarah made the most of the recent stable weather to cruise around in style - not even wearing a wetsuit!The round was created in memory of Chris Stirling who loved these rugged landscapes, and competed in multiple @cxtriCeltman triathlons here. Search 'Ring of Stirling' to find out more about the round and get inspired to take it on yourself."All good adventures start in Shieldaig" - Chris Stirling@scottishmountainrescue#ringofstirling#torridon#swimrun#westerross#nc500 ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team

1 week ago

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team
BACK TO BACK CALLOUTSJust as most of the team were settling into their evenings after a full day on the hill training on Sunday, we were called out to assist with a painful ankle injury on the northern slopes of Sgùrr a Chaorachain. Driving up from Craig, we located the casualty just as it got dark before providing pain relief and immobilising for a stretcher carry across steep and boggy ground to the waiting road ambulance. Most of the team were in bed by 3am.Monday morning saw a call come in for another ankle injury in one of the most remote locations in our area, Uags Bothy. The team mobilised at Toscaig for a boat journey around the coast to treat and extract the casualty.It's a beautiful week of sunshine ahead of us in Torridon so we hope you can all make the most of it! Everyone involved in these rescues was well prepared for having an extended wait in the hills when the unexpected happens. Make sure you are #AdventureSmart and head out prepared.Our team is made up entirely of volunteers who are on call to rescue those in need in the Scottish mountains 24/7 365 days a year. Please consider donating at the link in our bio.Scottish Mountain Rescue#Torridon #applecross #nc500 ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team is at Inverness Airport.

2 weeks ago

Torridon Mountain Rescue Team
It was a beautiful evening for winch training with the Bristow crew in Inverness last week. A big thanks to the pilots, winch operators and winch paramedics for the base tour and opportunity to get on the cable.Training regularly in friendly environments is important to make these critical skills muscle memory for the real thing, in potentially much more challenging conditions.Maritime and Coastguard Agency @bristowgroup_inc Scottish Mountain Rescue ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Torridon MRT team members area

       Scottish Mountain Rescue
        St John Scotland

Contact

Team Leader
teamleader[at]torridonmrt.org.uk

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Support Torridon MRT

Donate now


Or visit our support page to find out how you can help.

© 2025 · Torridon Mountain Rescue Team · Website by www.emmanoblecreates.co.uk · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy