Ambulance Services in the U.K. formed after WW2 when an act of parliament was passed, The National Health Services Act 1946 which was set up to provide a health service to the whole of the U.K. It came into being on 5th July 1948 & lasted until it was replaced by The National Health Services Act 1977!!
Initially ambulance staff were volunteers, The Milar Report of 1964 changed that, making a recommendation that patients be treated en route to hospital. Training Schools were set up & recruits were trained in basic 1st Aid & other extended skills in the use of oxygen, Entonox etc, the cap badge they wore was a laurel leaf !
In 1974 the ambulance services transferred to The N.H.S. & the retro cap badges of 1974 replaced the earlier badges. These were again replaced in the late 1986 to the laurel wreath with the Q.C. these badges being mainly gilt enameled & termed as “ modern cap badge !
This early post 1948 Nottinghamshire Ambulance Service cap badge is one of the two varieties, a red or blue enameled centre, this being the blue ring version. Manufactured by Firmin or Gaunts of London, the enamel centre attached to an economy issue standard home office star & secured with the correct brass thin pin! The badge itself is in great condition for its age, these are the 1st pattern post 1948 cap badges & this particular ambulance service cap badge resonates a few ambulance services who adopted the fire brigade style cap badge. At that time, many ambulance stations were attached to fire stations & wore similar uniforms. Some even had the title “ Fire & Ambulance Service “, Birmingham, Bath, Wolverhampton being a few. When the N.H.S took over control of ambulance services in 1974 it was similar to the Fire Service Reforms of that year, changing borough’s & county borough services into county services.