As there are no volunteers locally to who they could hand over the trusteeship after retiring, as there is no longer any St John Ambulance or Nursing Division as existed for 100 years, it will be taken on by the Order of St John.

The trustees, who calculate their total service to St John in Todmorden, tops 250 years between them, are Pamela Booth, Arthur Eastwood, Reg Hill, Alison Walker and Douglas Wilson.

That means a volunteer medical service will still be run from Victoria Road as the Order currently operates through the Todmorden First Responders under the control of the St John County Ambulance headquarters at Ossett in West Yorkshire.

First Responders are volunteers over the age of 18 who receive high-quality training and support on how to deal with life threatening medical conditions including the use of a defibrillator. They can deliver early medical care in threatening emergencies while an NHS ambulance is on the way.

Earlier this year the St John trustees and custodians, under the supervision of the Charity Commissioners arranged for the Order to take on the trusteeship and this was completed by early July.

In handing over the responsibilities of trusteeship, they stipulated that in the event that Todmorden ceases to be a part of any St John unit then the provisions of the original trust deed, established when the premises were purchased in 1928, remain in effect.

This would mean that in such an event the proceeds of the building's sale would then be applied for like charitable purposes within Todmorden and not be swallowed up in the general funds of the Order.

On their retirement and the handover of the premises, Dr John Shortland, Commander of the St John Ambulance for South and West Yorkshire, sent the Order's thanks to them via chairman of the trustees group Douglas Wilson, saying:

""Your perseverance over the many years is very much appreciated by me personally and the senior members of the county and those dealing with the properties nationally.

"Please covey our thanks and appreciation," said Dr Shortland.