Raelene Denham has spent many decades devoted to the ambulance service Raelene Denham pictured with her proud grandchildren after winning the Dame of Grace in 2012, she's now been recognised in the Australia Day honour list. RAELENE Denham recalls being a St John Ambulance nurse at Norwood Oval in the 1950s as the most hectic, yet memorable days of her service. The 76 year old from Golden Grove said many passionate fans had heart attacks in the stands during Port v Norwood games. Her job was to try to keep them alive after the St John men carried them down to the emergency room. "You could always be sure that working at Norwood Oval would be busy," Ms Denham said. I was lucky that there was always a more senior person helping me, but it was confronting at times. We didn't have the technology to do CPR, so we just had to get them down from the stands in a stretcher and do our best to keep them calm and breathing. Ms Denham started at St John Ambulance at 15 and worked hard to climb up the ranks, eventually becoming a mentor for cadet nurses. She also helped develop the first nationwide nurses' training curriculum. "At one stage I had about 70 cadets; a group of young professionals all wanting to learn," she said. It gave me great satisfaction to know I helped them improve their skills, especially because many became certified doctors. Her commitment to St John Ambulance has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal in the Australia Day Honours. Ms Denham, who was also awarded the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (Order of St John) in 2011 said she was humbled to receive the award.