Ashford litter used by St John's Ambulance Association, Auckland.

Sir John Furley, one of the founders of St John's Ambulance Association

adapted the design of German horse-drawn ambulances to produce a a light and mobile demountable stretcher with small detachable wheels - he patented the design and called it the Ashford Litter. This was described as an 'ambulant stretcher'. In 1875 the British Order of St John officially called these litters “St John Ambulances”. The St John Ambulance Association was formed two years later in 1877, by which time “ambulance” had become a well established word for any vehicle that conveyed the sick and injured to hospital.

Ashford litters were used during the Anglo-Boer war, and to a limited extent during WW1. Although replaced within the regular ambulance service they continued to be used in some situations through to the early 1930s.