The Crest - Vol. 15 No. 1 SUMMER 2014

Im VOLUME air NUMBER rn Summer/Autumn 2014

THE CREST

NEWS AND VIEWS OF THE SALVATION ARMY ARCHIVES
AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, CANADA AND BERMUDA

100th. Anniversary Sinking ,

Empress of Ireland.

/ ^ne hundred years ago on May 29, 1914 the Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence

j- Jft' River. Among the passengers on board were 177 Salvationist enroute to the 3rd.International

Congress of The Salvation Army in London England. 156 of those on board were drowned,
including 29 of the 41 member Canadian Staff Band and most of the Territorial leadership,

including the Territorial Commander, Commissioner David Rees and Mrs. Rees and the
Chief Secretary, Colonel Sydney Maidment and Mrs. Maidment.
Commemorative Events were held across the country to mark the 100th anniversary
of the sinking.
It was a glorious sunny Sunday in Mount Pleasant Cemetery as the the Territorial
Commander, Commissioner Brian Peddle, supported by the members of Cabinet and the
CSB, addressed the large crowd in attendance at the 100th anniversary service.

Also in attendance were Pam and Tony Kingswood, from England who laid a wreath on
behalf of the family in memory of the late Commissioner David Rees, a distant relative.

Commemorative services were also held in Rimouski, Que. and London, ON, as well as :
several other towns and cities.

A special week of activities took place in Rimouski with the Chief Secretary, Colonel Mark
and Colonel Sharon Tillsley and a CSB ensemble participating in activities.

Canada Post Commemorated The 100th.
Anniversary With A Special Empress Of
Ireland First Edition Stamp.

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tmpreii of Ir•eIlQa!nI,d•*>!<•

1. ffl gg|JT f p > I' The CSB ensemble at the Canadian Pacific Railway

^HjwIj f | monument which was erected to mark the burial site
of a number of those who were drowned when the
Empress Of Ireland sank.

COMMENTARY

BRIDGING THE GENERATIONS, SINGING AS WE GO!!!

.We hear a lot today about tradition and contemporary It goes something like this “ Oh, I just can’t

seem to enjoy the services these days. I miss the traditional songs.” This raises the question, “ When

was The Salvation Army ever ‘traditional’ in its music and forms of worship?”

The late Commissioner Will Pratt wrote, “ when God raised us up He wanted us to be more than just
one more church. To quote Albert Orsbom’s famous perceptive statement: The sky was already full of
steeples when The Salvation Army was bom.” Roy Trevivian in his preface to the book Joy Webb, A
Song For All Seasons, wrote: “ Is there another way of expressing Christian truths in words put to
tunes that the mass public, particularly the young will understand? My firm conviction is that the mid¬

dle- aged and upward want only the old hymns if they want anything. But the young are open to new

forms of expression.”

Major Joy Webb in her book, ‘And This Is Joy’ said of her group, “ The name Joy Strings had been
chosen for us by our studio and Army leaders. The ‘strings’ part was obvious: we certainly were a
direct contrast to the more traditional music of the well loved Salvation Army Bands.”

The early years of the 20th. century in Canada saw a proliferation of musical groups both in name and
style. At one count there were 47 groups, brass bands, string bands, vocal groups and combinations of
every shape and size. The following is just a sample of these musical aggregations:
Territorial Staff Band, Canadian Household Troops Band, Fife and Drum Band, Guard’s Band, Hal¬
lelujah Trio, Griff’s Quintette, Harmonic Crusaders, Junior Staff Band, Khaki Band, Lassies Jubilee
Band, Musical Musketeers, Lassies String Band, Red Knight’s Of The Cross, Social Wing Musketeers,

Territorial Staff Orchestra/String Ensemble, Seraphaiic Band, King’s Own Band.

One wonders what was traditional or were we ever traditional in our mode of worship or music.

Today The Salvation Army, while preserving the fundamentals of evangelism and remaining true to
the Army’s Mission continues to embrace different worship styles and modes of music. Brass bands
and ‘worship teams’ compliment each other in the ebb and flow of Sunday worship services in many
corps and are the means of engaging worshippers of all ages, those new to the Army and those of
long standing. Creativity in worship is not ours to claim but has its genesis in the Old Testament. It
was the Psalmist who instmcted God’s people to :

k Shout forjoy to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn-
shout for joy before the Lord, the King

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J.E.C

VOLUME 14 NUMBER 4 Summer/Autumn

A MusicaC (PictoriaCJourney. . ..

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The Salvation Army Archives, Canada and Bermuda Territory, 26 Howden Road, Toronto ON MIR 3E4

JfistoricaC Society Meeting WE ARE ON THE WEB:
WWW.SALVATIONIST.CA/MUSEUM-ARCfflVES

Monday December 8, 2014 _E-mail: heritage centre(fl,can.saIvationarniy.org

The Territorial Commander Telephone: 416-285-4344
Fax: 416-285-7763
Commissioner Susan McMillan

University Of Toronto Soldiers’ Tower

Soldiers’ Tower located on the campus of the University of Toronto was built in 1924 to hon¬
our students, staff and faculty who served in the First World War and is Canada’s second larg¬
est war memorial, the first being the Peace Tower in Ottawa.

4»
Several years ago eight new stained glass windows were installed in the Tower commemorat¬

A ing those who served in both the First and Second World Wars. The windows depict the
Women’s Royal Naval Service, The Canadian Women’s Army Corps, The Royal Canadian
Airforce ( Women’s Division), volunteers of the Canadian Merchant Navy, the auxiliary ser¬
vices of the YMCA, Red Cross, Knights of Columbus, THE SALVATION ARMY and the
Canadian Legion, as well as Canada’s fallen of the First World War, Able Seamen of the
Royal Canadian Navy and the ground crew of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

THESE WE HAVE KNOWN....

Their influence lives on.

Commissioner Edward Read lives on in his writings and in the lives of the many
who had the privilege to know him and to sit under his Bible teaching ministry.
Bom on a small family farm in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia and raised in
the Town of Parrsboro where he was converted as a teenager, the Commissioner’s
ministry was far reaching and world wide in scope.

Commissioner Read was first of all a teacher of scriptural holiness. His teachings
while Principal of the Toronto and St. John’s training colleges impacted the lives
of hundreds of cadets, and his Brengle lectures were used greatly of God to enrich
the lives of Brengle delegates in many territories around the world. The author of eight books, his teaching
on holiness and Godly living was far reaching and continues today to shape the lives of those who read his
writings.
An able administrator who held a number of senior executive appointments both in Canada, the Caribbean
Territory, and the United Kingdom, the Commissioner never lost the common touch. He always had time to
write a personal note of encouragement to individual officers and many young officers were invited out for
a coffee and at the conclusion brought before the Lord as the Commissioner offered a fervent prayer on
their behalf. The influence of Commissioner Read and that of his life long partner, Doris, who was a very
strong support to her husband and in her various appointments complemented his ministry of encourage¬
ment lives on.