 Downes was chairman of the Masseurs' Registration Board, a councillor of the Victorian division of the Australian Red Cross, and chairman of the Red Cross National Council. He was Victorian State Commissioner of the St. John Ambulance Brigade for 25 years. He was also president of the St John Ambulance Association for eight years, and chairman of the Victorian Civil Ambulance Service from 1937 to 1938. In 1930, he was appointed a Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John, and later became a Knight of Grace of the order in 1937. At the same time, Doris became an Officer of the Order of Saint John, in recognition for her fund raising efforts for the Victorian branch. She also later served as a member of its council from 1942 to 1953. Downes was instrumental in persuading the various state branches to come together as a national organisation, arguing that without a national body, the organisation would be eclipsed by the Red Cross.
