Lifetime of service: Mt Barker ambulance volunteers Elsa Drage and Neil Crofts celebrate 50 years with St John

Performing life-saving first aid in a dress and driving patients all the way to Perth are among the memories that stick out after 50 years of service with St John WA for two veteran volunteers from Mt Barker. Elsa Drage and Neil Crofts each celebrated half a century with the ambulance service with a function at the Mt Barker Bowling Club on October 15. Mr Crofts has been volunteering with St John Ambulance since he was in Year 7 and marked his official 50th anniversary in April 2018. Mrs Drage reached her 50-year anniversary this year after being inspired to volunteer with St John when she and her husband had to drive their injured child to Albany after an accident. The experience prompted Mrs Drage to look into taking a first aid course and she joined St John when her eldest child was 10. She has since been elevated to the level of Commander, although she does not like to use the title as she prefers to “treat everybody at the same level”. Over the years, both Mrs Drage and Mr Crofts have seen a lot change in the ambulance service, from improvements in training and qualifications to the ambulances they drive. “We’re now driving Mercedes; we used to drive a real cumbersome old, heavy Ford years ago and they were hard to steer,” Mrs Drage said. In their early years of volunteering, they would have to drive their patients to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment. “When I first started, we used to take 80 per cent of our patients to Perth,” Mrs Drage said. “That’s a 12-hour journey where we had people, even with a broken leg, taken to Perth. “And that is a long trip with someone that’s injured, someone that’s ill, and you do what you can for them.” Another change over the years has been their uniforms. When Mrs Drage first started volunteering, the mandatory uniform for women was a dress, which became a hindrance when she was delivering emergency first aid. She said one of the highlights of her time with St John had been helping to deliver three babies. Mr Crofts had fond memories of ambulance training competitions against other sub-branches across the Great Southern. But regularly dealing with life and death situations comes with its challenges, especially in a close-knit regional community. “Of course the bad bits are when you can’t save everybody,” Mrs Drage said. “I’ve attended a countless number of car accidents and 90 per cent of them are with people we know that haven’t survived. “It’s always the sad bit, but I think you’ll always come out of it stronger.” Mr Crofts said the volunteer “family” supported each other through difficult jobs. “You’ve got to be able to talk to others if you do have a few little issues,” he said. Both volunteers said serving their community of Mt Barker was what had kept them going for so long. “To me, the most enjoyable thing is when you can say hello to people after you’ve seen them in their worst possible time,” Mrs Drage said. “You see them maybe a month or so later and they’re walking, upright, happy. “And that to me is the best of all, that you’re able to help.”