ORIGINS OF THE
SALVATION ARMY
G'day folks,
The distinctive Salvation Army women’s bonnets were worn for the first time in 1880 in a procession through London’s East End.
Fifteen years earlier, Methodists William and Catherine Booth
had decided that the changes they wanted to make in society could not
be achieved simply by delivering sermons from a church pulpit: they
needed to get amongst the people on the streets and offer direct help.
Their first meetings were held outside the Blind Beggar pub in East London in June, 1865,
which led to the birth of a new organisation, The Christian Mission. It
grew rapidly and in 1878 the name was changed to the Salvation Army,
the organisation adopting a quasi-military structure with officers and
members wearing a military-style uniform.
This came about through the belief that converts became soldiers in an
army, fighting against human suffering. They were at war – on the side
of the poor and destitute.
Their work included providing shelters for the homeless, running soup
kitchens, setting up rescue homes for women escaping domestic abuse and
prostitution, and even offering a family tracing service.
The Salvation Army also campaigned for better working conditions and was
responsible for the world’s first labour exchange – opened in 1890 to
help people find work.
The United States was the start of the Army’s worldwide expansion when
in 1879 Salvationist Amos Shirley travelled to Philadelphia with his
family. By late 1880 operations had been extended to Australia, the hungry of Adelaide being offered food.
The following year Catherine Booth-Clibborn,
daughter of the founders, moved to France and started to hold meetings
in Paris. Now expansion really took off and by 1883 Salvationists were
working in Switzerland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and
Canada.
Indeed, as a national charitable organisation that employs more than
10,000 people in over 400 communities across the country, the Salvation
Army is today Canada’s largest non-governmental provider of social
services.
But back in the 1880s, new types of social work began. In 1883 a
prison-gate home was opened in Melbourne, Australia, to support
prisoners re-entering the community, and in 1885 the age of consent was
raised in the UK after a campaign by the Army.
The first Salvation Army hospital was opened in 1897 at Nagercoil,
India. There are now tens of hospitals worldwide, plus thousands of
schools, health projects, sanitation work and other social services.
William Booth
was born in the “Robin Hood city” of Nottingham in 1829. By the time of
his death in 1912, Salvationists were working in 58 countries, while
today the figure is more than 130.
The Army has more than 1.5 million members dedicated to bringing
salvation to the poor, the destitute, and the hungry “by meeting their
physical and spiritual needs.” In addition, thousands of volunteers
around the world help the cause.
Apart from their many other activities the volunteers run what is known
in the UK as charity shops, and in the US as thrift stores. These retail
outlets raise considerable funds for the Army’s charitable activities.
* In March, 1966, the Blind Beggar pub was back in the news over an
incident that could not have been further removed from its Salvation
Army connection. Gangster Ronnie Kray shot dead a member of a rival gang
who was sitting at the bar. The murder was one of the crimes that led
to Kray being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Clancy's comment: I recall seeing them and hearing their music at Christmas.
I'm ...
