A mum who says she “was put on this earth to help people” is celebrating her 40th year of volunteering for St John Ambulance (SJA).

Claire Maycock, who works as a dementia coordinator for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services (ADSS), has been giving up her free time for the nation's leading first aid charity since she was just 17 years old in 1984.

The 57-year-old, from Ridgeway Avenue in Gravesend, has trained and worked out of the SJA Eric Harden VC Memorial Hall in Northfleet and for the last four decades has spent at least two hours per week helping her community.

She said: “I had a friend in the charity but I actually became interested in the SJA during the Northfleet Carnival as it went through Perry Street.

“I saw the volunteers and thought it was something different. So I went up and I joined.

“I started volunteering, turning up each week, being taught first aid, going to community events, covering those, learning a lot about people, culture, and it sort of blossomed from there.”

Over the years the mum-of-one has worked her way through several positions within the charity.

In 1986 she became divisional secretary, in 1996 she became a divisional officer, ran the London Marathon for St John and gained her service medal for her time with the charity.

Then in 1999 Claire walked 120 miles over a week to celebrate the St John Nonacentenary.

In 2006 she began competing in first aid competitions and then in 2009 she was awarded her 25-year certificate.

That year she also became the officer in charge of the Maidstone and Tonbridge SJA cadets.

During this time she was also the divisional officer at the Northfleet branch.

In 2011 Claire became the divisional superintendent of the Maidstone cadets.

Then in 2013, she became the district youth officer for Kent, a year later she was admitted to the Order of St John Ambulance.

Throughout the pandemic Claire became vaccination lead, helping the NHS with the Covid jab rollout and in 2022 she became district youth lead for Kent.

During this time Claire also worked full-time in the care industry.

This included roles within a trade association, the ambulance service, Kent Police, Carers Support and the NHS.

In 2015 Claire and her wife, Fiona, a 37-year-old who teaches at Wilmington Grammar School for Girls, also joined the Isle of Sheppey Brass Band.

Claire said: “I didn’t have a clue how to play an instrument, my wife could play the saxophone and the flute and I was put on the cymbals.

“I played that for a while and in 2017 I was awarded the Bandmaster’s Personal Award for helping the youngsters who joined the band.”

Claire said the “fantastic network of friends” she’s made over the years is one of the reasons why she has given so much of her time to volunteering and helping others.

She explained: “You do get friendships for life, but it's become part of me.

“It's become a way of life, it's part of me, it's part of who I am.

“I can't see myself leaving at any point because I'm helping youngsters become a better version of themselves.

“I've always been in the care industry and I think, truly, that I was put on this earth to help people and that's what I think I've done.”

Claire, whose seven-year-old son William is a Badger cadet within the SJA, said one of her most memorable moments volunteering was at the Canada Heights motocross circuit in Swanley.

She recalled: “I can’t remember the year, but at one event, I noticed that one of the marshals had disappeared.

“Myself and another volunteer ran over to his last location and we saw that he'd actually fallen into a pit of sand and water and he was fitting.

“So I just jumped in, brought him back up to the surface, cleared his mouth out, because he had a load of sand in there, and as I pulled him, I couldn't move my legs because where he had fallen was like quicksand.

“As I pulled him, I fell backwards slightly, but he was on my chest, safe and above the water.

“Then all my other colleagues came and they got the young man out and treated him as I got myself out, I was caked in the sand and mud.

“After treating him we were told that apparently he’d had a fight the week before and he’d suffered a head injury.

“The day I helped him was after his second seizure, the paramedics treated him and took him to the hospital where they discovered he’d actually got a brain injury from the fight.

“I was told that he would have drowned if I wasn’t there to help as the amount of sand that had gone into his mouth would have gone into his lungs.

“I was so pleased that I was able to help him because he was only young, in his early 20s.”

Julie says the importance of SJA is to help communities become less reliant on the NHS.

She added: “It's about expanding your knowledge. What you learn can help anyone in need.”

If you’re interested in joining the charity as a volunteer or finding out more visit the SJA website.