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Functional object - First Aid Kit, William Wallace & Co, c. late 1950s

  • A square metallic first aid kit, facing the blue-painted front side with the red rear and a carry handle visible.

    First Aid Kit Closed Front

  • A square metallic box, facing the red rear side with a carry handle at the top and a metal clasp and the blue of the front side visible.

    First Aid Kit Closed Back

  • An open metal box with two sections, facing the one painted red. Several items including a first aid guide book, a small plastic cup, a bandage in plastic and a sachet of Bex powder are laid out in front.

    First Aid Kit Open Rear Side

  • An open metal box with two sections, facing the one painted blue. Two first aid guide books are laid out in front.

    First Aid Kit Open Front Side

  • A square metallic first aid kit, facing the blue-painted front side with the red rear and a carry handle visible.
  • A square metallic box, facing the red rear side with a carry handle at the top and a metal clasp and the blue of the front side visible.
  • An open metal box with two sections, facing the one painted red. Several items including a first aid guide book, a small plastic cup, a bandage in plastic and a sachet of Bex powder are laid out in front.
  • An open metal box with two sections, facing the one painted blue. Two first aid guide books are laid out in front.

Historical information

This kit most likely originates from the late 1950s. The enclosed St Johns Ambulance first aid guide was published in 1955 (the 8th impression of the 40th Edition). It belonged to Doug Twaits , presumably first when he lived in Kew; while a residence in Kew is not recorded in biographical information about him, this too would most likely have occurred in the late 1950s after he returned from Papua New Guinea and before he lived in Essendon. Twaits had previously lived in Emerald, and would return later in life.

The first aid book was not originally included in the kit and may not be contemporaneous with the box it is now stored in. However, based on the items stored within the kit it is unlikely to originate from much later, and it most likely did originate at a similar time to the enclosed book. In particular, Dex Powder was banned in the 1970s due to health risks, placing a hard limit on how late it could be from.

Significance

This kit represents the state of home healthcare in the mid-20th century.

Physical description

The metal box is a rectangular prism in two equal halves, one painted blue and the other red. The blue side - the front - features a cross and text announcing it as a home first aid kit. On the left are two hinges connecting the two parts; on the right is a metal clasp closing the box. A carrying handle is attached to the top of the box, on the red rear section.

The box still contains many elements of the first aid kit itself:
- Three first aid guidebooks (a 283-page textbook published by St Johns Ambulance Association, a 27-page booklet published by Smith & Nephew, and a 15-page booklet published by Savlon)
- Tubes of "strangulator tubing," cotton wool, boracic (boric) acid, sodium bicarbonate, and salt tablets
- Vials of Sal Volatile (smelling salts), Acriflavine antiseptic, calamine lotion, castor oil, and benzethonium chloride germicide.
- Five sachets of Bex Powder (a mix of caffeine, aspirin, and phenacetin)
- A cardboard box containing a squeeze tube of 'Portex Medicated Plastic Skin' (likely a combination painkiller and liquid bandage)
- A carboard box containing an eye dropper
- Several bandages
- A eye dust remover
- A plastic cup

Inscriptions & markings

Box: "Home Safety / FIRST AID KIT"
Black Book: "FIRST AID / TO THE INJURED / THE ST. JOHN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION"
Black Book, handwritten inside cover: "D. TWAITS / 101 BARKERS ROAD / KEW"
Red Booklet, Front Cover: "FIRST AID / S&N"
Red Booklet, Rear Cover: "S&N / Published by / SMITH & NEPHEW LTD / Welwyn Garden City, Herts., England / Manufacturers of / Elastoplast Products / Gypsona P.O.P. Bandages / Surgical Dressings, etc. / PRINTED IN ENGLAND 893EL"
Blue Booklet: "HANDBOOK OF / FIRST AID / 'Savlon'"

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