AJSAHistoryVol6Iss2 September 2021

ISSN 2206-2572 (Online)

September 2021

Volume 6The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History is published by The Salvation Army, Australia

Eastern Territory Historical Society.

2016 Issue 2

Issue 2 September 2016

Edition The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 1

storical Symposium

Call for Papers
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History

ISSN: 2206-2572 (Online)
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History is a multi-national journal that fosters a dialogue on all aspects of the
history and development of The Salvation Army. Articles are encouraged to be glocal, that is, both local and global in
consideration. All articles in this journal have undergone editorial screening and peer review by at least two reviewers. The
aim of the journal is to publish timely, useful, informative, original and honest historical research which will be of value to
both a general audience and those interested in Salvation Army history.

The journal is published by Cross and Crown Publications and seeks to promote the interest of Salvation Army history
by increasing the knowledge and understanding of the Army’s formation and development.

The journal publishes research papers and historical papers in any areas relating to the history and development of
The Salvation Army, including, but not limited to:

Aged Care, Biographies of individual Salvationists and employees, Buildings and Architecture, The Booth family, Brass Banding, Corps
history, Education of Salvationists, Education organised by Salvationists, Emergency relief and management, Fashion of uniform - design
and meaning, Gender and Cultural Diversity, Genealogical studies, Health work and ministry, Holiness Movement, Human Rights,
Hymnology, Internationalism, Leadership styles, Methodist and Salvationist theological development, Orders and Regulations and policy
development, Religion Studies, Literature Studies, Signs and Symbols meaning, Social justice and The Salvation Army, Social Work,
Social Welfare, Social Impact, Urban ministry, Unemployed and Vulnerable people, Welfare State, Young Peoples’ Ministry.

Papers presented at Salvation Army heritage meetings will be welcome. Where possible, primary sources should be
used and presumptive statements avoided. Images and graphics will be accepted if the contributor or The Salvation Army
holds the copyright and they are visually clear for reproduction. All articles contributed must be original, the contributor's
own work and referenced throughout. Articles previously published in either Army or non-Army publications will be
considered on a case-by-case basis.

Interested contributors are highly encouraged to submit their manuscripts/papers to the executive editor via e-mail at
[email protected]. Please indicate the name of the journal (The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History) in
the cover letter or simply put ‘Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History’ in the subject box if submitting by e-mail.

AJSAH is inviting papers for Vol. 7, Iss. 1. The online publication date is March 2022.
Submission deadline: 30 December 2021.
For any additional information, please contact the executive editor at [email protected]
Blessings,

Garth R. Hentzschel
Executive Editor - The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History

© The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History 2021 Cross & Crown Publications
Cross & Crown Publications
PO Box 998
Mt Gravatt Qld 4122, Australia

ISSN: 2206-2572 (Online)

The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of The Salvation Army, the AJSAH,
executive team or peer reviewers. Every effort has been made to obtain and publish reliable
information. The journal, however, accepts no responsibility for incorrect information or advertising content. The journal
is not an official publication of The Salvation Army.

Cover: The Salvation Army tricolour ribbon on a black background. The logo of the journal. The picture is a cartoon from

Review of reviews, (October 1890) depicting William Booth leading public figures of the time to a shortcut for the promised
land. The cartoon was influenced by The Salvation Army’s Darkest England Scheme.

Executive Team The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history was formed in
Executive Editor Mr Garth R. Hentzschel 2016 and is prepared by a group of historians as well as others who
Associate Editor Dr David Malcolm Bennett are interested in researching, writing, and displaying Salvation
Associate Editor Major Kingsley Sampson Army history. Contributors are Salvationists and non-Salvationists
from Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. It is published by
Peer Reviewers Cross & Crown Publications and peer reviewers represent Australia,
Dr. Glenn Horridge, Major David Woodbury, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Professor Emeritus R. David Rightmire,
Guest Peer Reviewers

Brian Fox and Peter Medbury

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 2

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2 2021

Editorial Note Hentzschel; The mob and the mayor by Dr. Glenn K.
Horridge; Now you know! by Garth R. Hentzschel and
COVID-19, with its various strains, continues to force our Major Dean Smith’s review of The sacramental journal of
researchers and reviewers into and out of lockdown. Many The Salvation Army: A study of holiness foundation.
places that house historic sources still have restrictions on
the visiting of collections, yet we have again received Fourthly, Garth R. Hentzschel continues the list of
important papers to assist in the historical understanding of Salvation Army related books in “A bibliography of
The Salvation Army. This issue of the journal, as previously, Salvation Army literature in English”.
is divided into two sections by several advertisements aimed
to bring resources to the attention of researchers and people The final paper in this section is by Major Stephen
interested in Salvation Army history. Court who presents a memorial on the life of
Commissioner Wesley Harris. Harris had been Territorial
To commence the collection of papers, Professor R. G. Commander in the Australasian region and contributor to
Moyles presents a self-contained review of satirical Army writings.
imagery directed at The Salvation Army from the Victorian
era. Images analysed are presented throughout the paper for To commence the final section, the journal gives a
visual assistance. primary source in the form of a memoir by Major Dr
Patricia Hill who served in Zambia from 1969 to 1970.
In the second paper, Selwyn Bracegirdle investigates a
well-used quotation by Catherine Booth, “There is no Garth R. Hentzschel next researched the current
improving the future, without disturbing the present”. The narrative and primary sources to investigate if the Golden
paper outlines possible influences of the quote and Stairs in Katoomba, Australia were linked to The Salvation
concludes by showing how the quote has gone on to Army or if the narrative was a folk tale.
influence others.
The final paper for this issue of the journal is by Dr.
Lt.-Col. William (Bill) Allott presents the third paper. David Malcolm Bennett who investigates the Christian
This paper gives an historical survey of New Zealand revival in Britain from 1878 to 1885. Using statistics
politicians who had links with The Salvation Army. People Bennett investigates the growth of The Salvation Army
investigated cover the time span from the 1880s through to during the aforementioned period.
current times.
A new section of the journal, “AJSAHistory News” will
The final paper in this first section is written by Ron keep our readers informed of the work the journal is doing
Inglis. Through Inglis research, the names and to promote the interest and knowledge of Salvation Army
demographic information of the expatriate staff of The history. We hope this will keep you informed, and we
Salvation Army’s Chikankata Mission in the period of encourage you to become engaged.
1970 to 1985 are identified. The paper outlines how the
staff arrived at the mission and what they achieved post As in other issues, there are several requests for
working in Zambia. assistance with research into specific areas of Army
history. Please let the researchers know if you have sources
Like earlier issues of the AJSAHistory, the middle or information. Finally, we have letters and comments sent
section of the journal houses information that will be of to the editor. Let us know if there are any subjects you are
interest to researchers or readers of Salvation Army history. researching or other comments via a letter to the editor. We
Firstly, there are advertisements on newly published books, are willing to assist in research, writing or promoting
resources, and gatherings. Please note that the journal Salvation Army history related projects.
receives no finances from these advertisements.
I would like to thank the authors of each paper, the
Secondly, readers are introduced to a Salvation Army people who wrote letters to the journal, the peer reviewers
officer author, Lt.-Col. Ian Southwell. Southwell has and editorial team, and the special guest peer reviewers,
contributed to Army writings in the areas of biblical Brian Fox and Peter Medbury. The editorial group have
teaching, Christian living, and historical biography. worked for many hours with individual writers to ensure
accuracy and clarity in all the papers published. We know
Thirdly, four book reviews are presented. These include you will enjoy this issue.
reviews on In darkest England: 130 years on by Garth R.
Stay safe in the strange COVID-19 times.
Blessings, Garth R. Hentzschel

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 3

The Australasian Page Title/Author CONTENTS
Journal of 3 Volume 6
Salvation Army Issue 2
History 2021

Title/Author Page

Editorial note Book review, Now you know! 102
Garth R. Hentzschel Reviewed by Garth R. Hentzschel

Contents 4 Book review, The sacramental journey of The

Contributors 5 Salvation Army

Reviewed by Dean Smith 104

An important adjunct to historical research – A bibliography of Salvation Army literature in

Cartooning. The Salvation Army in Victorian English 1988 – present. Anon or ‘Authority of

Britain the General

R. G. Moyles 6 Garth R. Hentzschel 107

Catherine Booth’s disturbing quote 24 Saluting ‘Gloryflag’: On the availability of
Selwyn Bracegirdle
Wesley Harris

Politicians grounded in Salvationism: New Stephen Court 123

Zealand politicians with links to The Salvation A Salvation Army missionary officer’s

Army

William (Bill) Allott 34 experience in Africa: A memoir of Zambia 1969
– 1970

A profile of expatriate staff of a Salvation Army Patricia Hill 130

Mission Station in Zambia, 1970 to 1985

Ron Inglis 47 The Golden Stairs: Folklore or historical fact?

Garth R. Hentzschel 138

Advertisements of resources, books, and events Rapid advance 1878 – 1885
72 David Malcolm Bennett

163

Meet the author 82 AJSAHistory News 170
Ian Southwell

Book review, A celebration of an Army classic Request for information to assist with research
174
Reviewed by Garth R. Hentzschel 93

Book review, The mob and the mayor Letters to the editor and feedback on the
Reviewed by Glenn K. Horridge
99 AJSAHistory Volume 6, Issue 1 175

Salvation Army officer cap and bonnet bands (L) Ranks – Lieutenant to Major (R) Rank – Commissioner
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 4

Contributors - Vol. 6 Iss. 2 roles in the areas of Social Sciences, Education and Humanities
in tertiary education providers. He has degrees in education,
Lt. Colonel William (Bill) Allott is a retired Salvation leadership and counselling (BEd, BAdminLead, MEd [SGC]).
Army officer living in Christchurch, New Zealand. He trained Hentzschel is the director of Cross & Crown Publications,
as a school teacher at Ardmore Teachers College, Auckland president of The Salvation Army Historical Society, Brisbane
and graduated from Victoria University, Wellington. With his Chapter and series editor of They took up their cross. He has
wife, Heather, he has been involved in Salvation Army service published works and presented papers on school chaplaincy,
in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in education, and Salvation Army history. Publications include;
a variety of roles which have included teacher training, youth With a smile and a cuppa (2007), The bag hut tabernacle
leadership, officer training and church leadership. For three (2012), contributions to the magazine, Others, the Bulletin of
years he edited The war cry in New Zealand and was for five The Methodist Historical Society of Ireland and AJSAHistory.
years Editor-in-Chief of Salvation Army publications in
Australia. In retirement he has edited the Dallington Major Dr Patricia Hill graduated from Otago
community news for the local Residents’ Association and has University’s medical school before working in Zambia and
been a family budgeter for the Army in Christchurch. He has studying tropical medicine and obstetrics in London. She
also researched Salvation Army history and this can be served as a Salvation Army medical officer in Zimbabwe and
accessed on https://billallott.blogspot.co.nz. New Zealand, including in corps and the Army’s Bridge
programme. In 1991 she commenced working as a GP at the Te
Dr. David Malcolm Bennett is a Christian researcher Aro Health Centre. For her work, Hill has received the
and writer based in Brisbane who has the gift of doing quality distinguished service medal from the College of GPS and the
historical research and presenting it in a readable form. He has Queen’s Service Medal. She retired in 2007.
written two biographies of William Booth: William Booth and
his Salvation Army (Even Before Publishing) and The General: Dr. Glenn K. Horridge is a teacher in Westminster,
William Booth (2 vols. Xulon Press). He is also the editor of London with degrees in education and history (BA [Hons],
The letters of William and Catherine Booth and of The diary PGCE, NPQH). He co-established both the SA Historical and
and reminiscences of Catherine Booth. His other books include Philatelic Association of which he is Chairman and also
The altar call: Its origins and present usage (his MTh thesis, Abernant Publishing. He has written a number of books on
awarded with merit) in 2000 and The origins of left behind different subjects, the latest of which is The toll of war, Christ
eschatology (his PhD thesis) in 2010. He is currently writing a College Brecon 1914 – 1918. Horridge divides his time between
biography of Catherine Booth, the first volume of which, London and his home in Wales where he is currently converting
Catherine Booth: From Timidity to Boldness, was published in a barn into a museum and study centre for Salvation Army
2020. He is contributor and Associate Editor for The history.
Australasian journal of Salvation Army history.
Ron Inglis BA/DipEd and MEdSt is a retired high
Selwyn Bracegirdle is a fourth-generation Salvationist school teacher and a soldier of the Campsie Corps in Sydney. He
and was brought up in Corps in New Zealand and Western was a staff member of The Salvation Army’s Chikankata
Australia. He has been a bandsman, songster, National Songster Secondary School in Zambia 1977 – 1979. His interest in
and loves singing sacred music. Most of his working life has Salvation Army history and Australia’s participation in the First
been as a self-employed graphic designer. The past six and a World War has seen him publish a number of books, the most
half years have been spent at The Salvation Army Heritage recent being; Centenary history of the Campsie Corps, with
Centre & Archives, NZ. Bracegirdle is “forever amazed at the Colleen Morton, (2012), Centenary history of the Campsie
capability and commitment of our New Zealand Salvation Band (2013), Lest we forget the Western Front (2016)
Army pioneers.” His great grandfather, Alfred Wilkinson was and Auburn Remembers (2020). Ron has also contributed articles
one such Salvationist who holds a special place in Bracegirdle’s to Under the Tricolour.
heart and faith. He has published works for the SA Heritage
Centre & Archives, NZ, and privately published New Zealand Professor R. Gordon Moyles, PhD, FRSC, is a
seashells – over 1,000 species illustrated (Raven & Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta in Edmonton,
Bracegirdle, 2020). Alberta, Canada. He taught in the Department of English and
was, for some years, Associate Dean of Arts. His specialties were
Major Stephen Court loves Jesus and is convinced Bibliography and Methods of Research, Canadian Literature and
that everybody else should, too. He aims at multiplying Children's Literature. Moyles has written more than twenty
disciples multiplying bases to speed Jesus’ return. To that end books, but in his retirement, has concentrated solely on the
he evangelises, strategizes, and blogs, see history of The Salvation Army. Moyles’ two most recent
http://armybarmyblog.blogspot.com/. Court is the editor of the publications are Across an ocean and a continent. The Salvation
Journal of aggressive Christianity see Army as a Canadian immigration agency 1904 – 1932 and
http:www.armybarmy.com/jac.html and has authored and co- Conversations with William Booth: A series of imagined
authored books including One for all, Be a hero, Grater things, interviews. He is an active member of The Salvation Army and
Army on its knees, High counsel, A field of exploits, Boundless, lives in retirement in Edmonton.
Leading the way, Holy!, Stayed, and Drug of choice.
Major Dr Dean Smith is Senior Lecturer in Theology
Garth R. Hentzschel is currently conducting research and Philosophy, Nazarene Theological College, Brisbane,
for a PhD in history. He has been a lecturer and held leadership Australia.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 5

“CHARITY NEVER FAILETH.”1

1 Tom Merry [William Mechan], “Charity never faileth”, St. Stephen’s review, (17 January 1891).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 6

AN IMPORTANT ADJUNCT TO HISTORICAL RESEARCH –
CARTOONING

THE SALVATION ARMY IN VICTORIAN BRITAIN

R. G. Moyles

The Victorian era was the golden age of political and social cartooning – men such as John Tenniel,
Harry Furniss, Linley Sambourne, Thomas Nast and George Cruikshank became household names
as their cartoons were eagerly scanned by readers of such serio-comic magazines as Punch (the elite
middle-and-upper class social critic), Fun, Judy, Moonshine, Funny folks and Comic cuts.

In them readers would find current cartoons which poked fun at (sometimes flayed) prominent
politicians, satirized social conventions and generally gave a humorous visual interpretation of current
events. They not only brought a chuckle at the Saturday breakfast, but, central to their purpose,
prompted their readers to take a more serious interest in the ‘news of the day.’

It has been amply shown, in numerous studies, that cartoons not only brought a chuckle on
dreary Saturday mornings but also (especially the more political kind) helped determine and
sometimes alter the course of events. It is said that Napoleon rated the British cartoonist James Gilray
as one of his arch-enemies, allegedly declaring that Gilray “did more than all the armies of Europe to
bring me down.”2 Similarly, the foremost cartoonists of the Victorian era skewered some of the most
famous politicians, altering the public’s attitude and thereby altering the course of political history.
In important histories of the period cartoons provide important commentaries on the events being
written about, illuminating, even as the text cannot, subtle insights into public moods or attitudes.
Thomas Kemnitz wrote,

The cartoon has much to offer the historian concerned with public opinion and popular attitudes.
. . . Not only can cartoons provide insight into the depth of emotion surrounding attitudes, but also
into the assumptions and illusions on which opinions are formed. They remind the historian of
the importance contemporaries placed on seemingly insignificant events and of the relation
between these occurrences, popular attitudes, and public opinion. They frequently offer evidence
of groups deliberately attempting to shape opinion.3

What is true of major social and political histories is equally true of Salvation Army history.
For, though we do not often find them in the mainstream histories, there are many cartoons which
offer both subtle and candid commentaries on the Army’s progress from its inception in 1878 through
to its emergence as a well-respected religious institution in the 1890s. And they range, as all cartoons
do, from those which merely intended to poke a little fun at Army practices or people to those which,
often in a scurrilous manner, aimed at disparaging or even curtailing certain Army practices. At the
one extreme, the cartoonist’s belief was that the humour should be good-natured, and should gently
point out human foibles rather than ridicule them; at the other, cartoons (such as those in Punch) were
designed “to elicit not laughter but solemn awe, or outraged fury.” In between, of course, there were
many modulations of those extremes.

Reference citation of this paper; R. G. Moyles, “‘An important adjunct to historical research – Cartooning: The
Salvation Army in Victorian Britain”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 6 – 23.
2 Cited in Frederick Luis Alldama (ed.), The Oxford handbook of comic book studies, (New York, USA: Oxford
University Press, 2020), 205.
3 Thomas Kemnitz, “The cartoon as historical source”, The journals of interdisciplinary history, 4, (Summer 1973), 86.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 7

Cartoons for merely comic relief
If we look first at the lower end of the cartoon spectrum – at the merely comic with only a touch of
satire – we see that what intrigued and amused the cartoonists was the unusual nature of Salvationism:
its military style; strange uniforms; prominent employment of females (‘hallelujah lasses’) in their
distinctive poke-bonnets; its asceticism (prohibitions against liquor, smoking, finery, etc.); and
generally its ability to gain public attention.

William Booth, titled the “Field-Marshal and Commander-n-Chief,”
and wearing a silly hat made out of War Crys, is drilling his female officers:
“HALLELUJAH LASSES. ATTENTION! EYES DOWN! STOP WINKING! WITHSTAND AT

HEES! PRE-PARE TO REMAIN SINGLE!”4
The last command is, I think, quite amusing.

This cartoon suggests that the Army’s poke bonnet might become a fashionable headdress for many
young society belles. The caption reads: “A lady of title has discovered that the Salvation Army

costume (especially the bonnet) becomes her exceedingly. She therefore intends to adopt it sooner or
later, exactly as it is worn, or with variations in cut and colour.”5

4 “Field-Marshal and Commander-n-Chief”, Fun, (6 October 1886).
5 Funny folks, (17 October, 1891).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 8

This cartoon pokes fun at the Army’s regulation which forbad finery of any kind.
In it a newly-converted lady states quite emphatically:

“Look ‘ere, guv’ner. T’aint no use. I cawnt get along without a feather.”6

Cartoons for criticism

Though the serio-comic kind of cartoon, which merely intended to “poke a little fun” at the Army,
remained popular to the end of the century (and long after), many cartoonists, representing the more
serious (and often angry) mood of the English public, were not so kind. They reflected, and often
helped create, the public’s chief criticisms of the Army, and did so in a scurrilous manner.

The first of those criticisms was that the Army’s worship style was too ‘rowdy’ and ‘irreverent,’
and was, indeed, a “parody of religion.” “That religion could ever have been rowdy,” complained
Frances Power Cobbe, “would have seemed an impossible feat, but the Salvation Army has
accomplished it.” She complained of the noise, the vulgarity of the sermons, the familiarity with
which Salvationists addressed God, and the “outrageous” language and metaphors used to gain the
attention of the lower classes. “The stillness of Heaven itself is broken to our ears by vile talk of
‘rows,’ ‘Hallelujah gallops’ and ‘jolly’ prophets ascending in ‘fiery vans.’ Nothing is left for awe or
solemnity above or below.”7

6 Pick-me-up, (5 March 1892).
7 Frances Power Cobbe, Contemporary review, (1882), 186 – 187.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 9

And who was responsible for this so-called “travesty of religion?’ Why, William Booth, of
course. “The whole movement,” Leopold Katscher told the public,

is incorporated in the person of the General; he holds all the threads in his hands. His influence
extends from the highest to the lowest grades. He is an absolute monarch, and the monarchy is
his creation. The organization, and the whole construction of the ‘Army,’ are mainly the offspring
of his own brain.8
It was only fitting, therefore, that the General himself should bear the brunt of the cartoon
criticism. He was, they suggested, a supreme exhibitionist, always in a self-created limelight,
promoting his mission by whatever means he thought effective (even if sometimes seemingly
outrageous). He was, as some critics put it, always “blowing his own horn”—an apt metaphor
considering the Army’s love of brass bands. One of England’s most popular satirical magazines
thought so and the September 1883 issue of Punch magazine featured what was possibly the most
popular conception of William Booth: “General Booth: His Own Trumpeter.”

“General Booth: His Own Trumpeter”9

8 Leopold Katscher, National review, (1885), 71.
9 “General Booth: His Own Trumpeter”, Punch magazine, (September 1883).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 10

William Booth was drawn as No. 159 of “Punch’s Fancy Portraits,” a series by the famous
cartoonist Linley Sambourne (who created more than two hundred of them). His gallery of notables
included such men as Prime Minister Gladstone, the Prince of Wales, John Ruskin, Charles Darwin,
Cardinal Manning and Robert Browning. Therefore, to be included in the series, though in a satirical
manner, was considered an honour, for only the “most famous” commanded a “Fancy Portrait.” And
William Booth was, even at that early date, one of the ‘famous’ men of his time.

Even more malicious than that was the cartoon which appeared in St. Stephen’s review (1883).
The fact that most Army services were (to say the least) celebratory, with new songs set to secular
tunes, lively music, loud testimonies, much clapping and even dancing (when ‘the spirit moved)
seemed repulsive to many people and was therefore considered to be an ideal subject for cartoon
ridicule. Just why the cartoonist chose to portray Booth as a female vaudevillian is difficult to
understand, though it may have been in keeping with the vaudeville tradition of cross-dressing and
female impersonation.

William Booth as a female vaudevillian10
While the ‘trumpet-blowing’ style or ‘vaudevillian’ antics of William Booth may have
antagonized the public, it was the Army’s outdoor activities –its street marches—which really roused
their ire. As long as the ‘dancing dervishes’11 did so within the confines of their own buildings, they

10 St. Stephen’s review, (1883).
11 ‘dancing dervishes’ or ‘whirling dervishes’ is a 700-year-old religious ritual, through rhythmic breathing, spinning,
and chants in the desire to become one with God.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 11

might be tolerated; but when they took their ‘brazen’ instruments into the streets, marching (singing
loudly as they did so) past the churches and businesses; when they established their ‘open-air’
meetings right outside the pubs or (perhaps even worse) on the beaches of the resort towns, that was
an entirely different matter. The editor of the Saturday review put it this way:

Since there are people so coarse and ignorant as to think they propitiate their GOD by bawling
gibberish to music-hall airs, and flourishing fusty pocket-handkerchiefs about on their knees, in
the sacred name of human folly let them do these things within four walls. When the mechanical
operations of the Spirit, however, lead to disturbances in the streets, the professors should be
promptly required to choose between fine and imprisonment. No sophistry about religious liberty
can do away with the fact that a noisy mob rambling after a banner and a band, with a reformed
housebreaker or converted potboy performing antics in front, is a nuisance. When a quiet
neighbourhood is invaded every Sunday by a rabble of this sort, it is subjected to a cruel infliction.
The national sense of decency is degraded by the spectacle, and by the rather cynical toleration
which allows it to cover itself with fine names. The thing has been allowed to go on unchecked
long enough to show that there is no wish to limit anybody’s religious liberty, and now the mere
public noise of the Army should be stopped on the purely mundane ground that it is a nuisance.12

So widespread was the discontent that even Punch magazine, usually quite tolerant of the
Army’s ‘antics,’ felt obliged to include a long satirical poem on the subject (July 22, 1890),
accompanied by a brilliant cartoon by one of England’s best-known artists, Harry Furniss. It was, by
any standard, a blatant denunciation of the Army’s street ministry:

12 Saturday review, (31 May 1884).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 12

Some talk of Wagner chorus of war’s wild rataplan,
Of the well-thumped tom-tom of happy Hindostand;
But the sweetest of all shindy to which man’s ear can list,
Is the tow-row, tow-row, tow-row of the loud Salvationist!

They muster in their thousands on market-place, or
green,

With blatant brazen braying, and thump of tambourine.
Are you at prayer, asleep or sick? What odds? Your
forced to list
Is the tow-row, tow-row, tow-row of the loud
Salvationist!

They throng with thunderous tramplings the city
thoroughfare.

In rural nooks their shoutings are on the summer air;
Though sea-side peace be pleasant, its spell may not resist
The tow-row, tow-row, tow-row of the loud Salvationist!

Traffic may be obstructed, the tympanums be rent,
The noise may torture sufferers with sickness well-nigh spent;

But these be merely trifles. Your anguish may assist
The tow-row, tow-row, tow-row of the loud Salvationist.

So Justice in zeal’s bonnet, so Jurymen in haste!
What are the claims of comfort, health, commonsense or taste,
Compared with those of brainless Noise, our new evangelist,
And the tow-row- tow-row, tow-row of the loud Salvationist!13

Though the Army’s street parades were enough to infuriate many people – especially
businessmen – the presence of Army bands and preachers at such seaside resorts as Worthing,
Ilfracombe and Eastbourne raised public animosity to new levels.

The curse of Ilfracombe on Sunday is that uncompromising, uncharitable, intolerant, Salvation
Army, with its smug, stuck-up, howling fanatics, and its brazen-lunged and drum-banging band.
Their preachers, preaching only to their own followers, are street nuisances, and, on the rocks,
where you would fain retire into solitary communion with your best self, those ignorant, vulgar,
conceited sectarians come ranting and roaring, to the utter discomfort of all quiet, retiring,
contemplative persons.14

Even at the seaside, so this Punch cartoon suggested, it was impossible to get away from The
Salvation Army.

13 Punch magazine, (22 July 1890).; Cartoon by Harry Furniss, Punch magazine, (22 July 1890).
14 Punch magazine, (14 September 1889).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 13

A Punch magazine cartoon from 1889.15
Another cartoon, which appeared in Moonshine is one of the most malicious to appear in
support of the people (mainly the ‘toughs’) who tried to suppress The Salvation Army. Its caption
reads: “Well done, Eastbourne! Public Opinion is obliged to you.”

‘Well done, Eastbourne! Public Opinion is obliged to you.”16
Thus, between 1884 and 1891, The Salvation Army was involved in a series of physical
confrontations with people opposed to their outdoor meetings – mainly town ‘roughs’ and skeleton
armies (whose “hideous black banner bore the figure of a human skeleton painted in white”). So fierce
were the assaults that many Salvationists were injured and, to prevent further confrontations, some
towns, such as Worthing and Eastbourne, passed by-laws specifically disallowing Salvation Army
street marches. And, as expected, when Salvationists ignored the law, many of them found themselves
in jail.17

15 Punch magazine, (14 September 1889).
16 Moonshine, (5 September 1898).
17 For information on these events, see Glenn Horridge, The Salvation Army origins and early days 1865 – 1900,
(Godalming, UK: Ammonite Books, 1993 ), Chapter 4.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 14

It was, as historians have shown, a severe time of testing for the Army, but was nevertheless a
factor in its growth. It was clear that, while ‘rowdyism’ might have been largely responsible for the
confrontations, ‘popular feeling’ tolerated and approved them. That is, many respectable people found
“the tramping and parading and processioning of the Salvation Army through their quiet streets an
intolerable nuisance”, a fact which newspapers made blatantly obvious and which, as we shall see,
several cartoonists took pains to illustrate.18

Wouldn’t it be a delight, Punch suggested if the Salvationists would sing,
‘We’re going away,
Away we will stay,

And never come back no more!’
“Oh, that would be, indeed joyful, my dear brethren, and our Sundays in London and elsewhere
would be tranquil, undisturbed by the belaboured drum, the tinkling cymbals and the noisy brass
of General Booth and all the Salvationist lads and lasses.19

18 Saturday review, (23 August 1884).
19 “A prospect of peace”, Punch magazine, (19 January 1889), 25.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 15

That sentiment was echoed (though not so sourly) in a cartoon that appeared in a “magazine of
fun” called Moonshine (which had little to do with liquor but more to do with lunacy). In it, William
Booth is wearing what looks to be a Salvation Army cap, but one with clanging bells, while he himself
is playing a pan-flute and pounding a drum attached to his back, while an angry-looking ‘hallelujah
lass’ behind him is rattling a tambourine. One can almost sympathize with the bystander who says to
his companion: “I say, old fellow, the public is beginning to get tired of this nonsense.”

A cartoon in Moonshine20
Cartoons of acceptance of The Salvation Army
In spite of the wish expressed by Punch, The Salvation Army, as we all know, did not “go away.” As
a cartoonist for Moonshine had to admit, William Booth was here to stay and John Bull (though
perhaps reluctantly) was forced to carry him on his shoulders, “and he’s not likely to be shaken off
either.”21

Not only did the Army not ‘go away’ but flourished beyond all expectations and had, by the
mid-1890s, become a well-respected religious institution; a remarkable transition that can be
accounted for in several ways. First would be the fact that once Salvationists had gained the right to
march unmolested in the streets, from a decision made by the Queen’s Bench on 1 July 1890, they
were no longer as noisy and confrontational as they had been; a Salvation Army band on a street
corner was often a pleasant experience.

But much more than that, it was now generally recognized that The Salvation Army had been
“an influence for good” among the lower classes. Here is how a writer in the Leicester daily post put
the matter:

We are willing to put up with a good deal of trumpeting if we are satisfied that the trumpeter has
been effectually rescued from evil courses. It is better to march with a brass band than to roll in

20 Moonshine, (27 July 1889).
21 Moonshine, (27 February 1892).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 16

the gutter. It is better to wear a bonnet of a repulsive shape than to walk the streets in nameless
and shameless infamy. There cannot be any dispute as to the practical debt which the country
owes to General Booth for his work of reclamation in the darkest places of our social system. This
reflection must be in the minds of many who were at first disposed to regard the Salvation Army
as an unmitigated mischief of a peculiarly irritating kind. Civic authorities who were at one time
ready to harry the Salvationists must surely see now that General Booth has served the public
interest by spreading sobriety, thrift and other virtues amongst classes who never learnt these
things from police, boards of guardians, and district visitors. That is a considerable achievement.22

William Booth on the shoulders of John Bull23
But, the chief reason why the public soon grew very fond of the Army was that in 1890 William
Booth added a social dimension to his evangelical mission. Following the amazing success of his
‘Darkest England Scheme’ launched by the publication of his best-selling book, In darkest England,
and the way out, Salvation Army hostels, rescue homes, prison-gate refuges, and so forth, became
much-valued institutions in many British cities. It was generally conceded that Booth’s ‘Darkest
England Scheme’ did more to make the Army universally known than mere revivalism ever could
have.
For most of the ‘90s, therefore, the attention of Britain’s cartoonists was focussed mainly on
the Army’s social work. And, curiously enough, it was again the serio-comic kind which dominated,
some of the cartoonists being quite amused by the predictions made (or allegedly made) by William
Booth, such as the one in Funny folks called “The Future Police Force.” It was supposedly based on
Booth’s statement to the effect that “he hoped to see the day when the police would be rendered
unnecessary by the influence of the Salvation Army.”24

22 Daily post, (16 October 1891).
23 Moonshine, (27 February 1892).
24 “The Future Police Force”, Funny folks, (17 September 1891).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 17

“The Future Police Force”25

And when Booth suggsted (in section 7 of In darkest England) that he might establish a Matrimonial
Bureau and eventually established a Safety-Match Factory (to help relieve the effects of the deadly
phosphorous that crippled many young women), some cartoonists were quick to link the two ideas (a
‘match factory’ being a convenient pun). There are two of note. In the first (Melbourne Punch), we
see Wiliam Booth as a rather grizzled Cupid, the caption reading: “General Booth has started a match
factory. Why, we thought he already ran one.” And in the second (Funny folks), Booth appears on a
box of “Safety Matches” again as a kind of big-nose Cupid promoting the more romantoic kind of
‘matches.’

“General Booth has started a match factory. “Safety Matches”27
Why, we thought he already ran one”26

25 “The Future Police Force”, Funny folks, (17 September 1891).
26 Punch, (18 June 1891).
27 Funny folks, (7 January 1892).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 18

Melbourne Punch was not finished with the pun and linked the matches with the Army’s
Matrimonial Bureau. Another cartoon with the following commentary: “Safety Matches for Life. –
The following notice has been issued by the Salvation Army: ‘Safety matches are now made by the
Social Wing without sulphur or phosphorus, which will flame without striking. What do we mean?
Just this. That if you are unmarried, and do not know where to choose a partner, you can communicate
with Colonel Barker, Matrimonial Bureau, 101 Queen Victoria Street, E.C., and he will probably
supply you with just what you want – somebody loveable and good’.”28

But, after the serio-comic cartoonists had had their little fun with Booth’s improbable
suggestions (some of which he may have regretted), it was generally acknowledged that Booth was a
kind of genius, whose social scheme was being supported and praise by almost every prominent
person in the land. The London Times alone in almost every issue carried either favourable reports
by or congratulatory letters from such dignitaries as Cardinal Manning, Mr. Gladstone, Archdeacon
Farrar, the Prince of Wales and even Queen Victoria. And two cartoons, the first in the magazine Fun
labelled, “The Triumph of Magician-General Booth”; and the second in W.T. Stead’s Review of
reviews, sum up the dominant mood of praise and respect:

O GENERAL BOOTH, whose military rank
Pertains unto that Army of Salvation

Which, as a moral force, one ought to thank
For warring against vices in our nation;

Your ‘Darkest England’ mending scheme bids fair
To bear result in many hearty greetings
From individuals who nowise share

Your special view anent29 religious meeting.
Magician Booth, the while your public drum
Disturbs our ears with its portentous thunders,

Such spiritual evidences come
As make us think it may be working wonders;

Until we feel it must be, as we gaze,
In beating up support a mighty factor,
Since from tripod’s fume it seems to raise
Archbishop, Prince, Duke, Cardinal and Actor.

28 Punch, (2 April 1892).
29 A Scottish word meaning concerning or about.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 19

“The Triumph of Magician-General Booth”30

30 “The Triumph of Magician-General Booth”, Fun, (19 November 1890).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 20

‘Dear General Booth,’ thus they address you now
Who ne’er before have shown themselves so chummy;

And well it is, for you have told them how
To heal deep sores in places that are slummy.
God speed the mercy work! Ay, rich indeed

Might be the harvest in this teeming city,
Whilst poor the creed that, scorning other creed

Denied its helping hand to noble pity.

Cartoon from Review of reviews, 189031
As such cartoons suggest, support for Booth’s ‘Darkest England Scheme’ was overwhelming.
But, while it is true that many leading citizens, including the royal family, did openly state their
confidence in Booth’s idea (and supported it financially), there were a few who did not. And one of
their chief claims (quite unfounded) was that that the money raised would be devoted to the
“aggrandisement of the Salvation Army”; or, perhaps, even for Booth himself. That, indeed, is what
one of the most famous cartoons of the period seemed to suggest. Drawn by William Mechan,
otherwise known as ‘Tom Merry,’ one of Britain’s most famous cartoonists, it appeared in St.
Stephen’s review (Jan. 17, 1891), with the title “Charity Never Faileth,” Booth’s finger against his
nose clearly suggests that “You and I both know where this money is going. Enough said!”

31 Review of reviews, (October 1890).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 21

“Charity Never Faileth,”32

But Tom Merry’s rather malicious cartoon was pretty well the lone negative depiction of any
aspect of Booth’s ‘Darkest England’ scheme. Henceforth, with few exceptions, the cartoonists were
very kind to the Army, returning chiefly to the serio-comic kind which allowed them to poke a little
fun at the eccentricities of Salvationism and allowed Salvationists to laugh at themselves.

That they, and the public, had grown fond of William Booth is clear enough. By the end of the
nineteenth century, they had little reason or desire to ridicule the man who had not only fostered a
new and vibrant religious organization, whose originality had attracted hundreds of thousands around
the world, but who had also instituted a scheme of social reclamation that had rescued (and was
rescuing) just as many from city slums. “It was the triumph of General Booth,” the editor of London’s
Daily express later wrote,

… to beat down by nobility of character and achievement a sea of prejudice which must have
drowned a lesser man. He and the Salvation Army represented at one time, even to earnest
Christians, a drum-beating and cymbal-clashing movement of hysterical and misapplied
religiosity. Many years before he died he was able to know himself secure in the respect and
affection of all who valued true religion and sound social work, to see the Salvation Army
established firmly as a great religious and social organization, doing great service in all lands.33

It ill behooved any cartoonist to ridicule this great man; though occasionally they could still have a
little fun at his expense.

32 Tom Merry [William Mechan], “Charity Never Faileth”, St. Stephen’s review, (19 January 1891).
33 The daily express, (August 1912).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 22

Shakespeare on the Salvation Army receiving General Booth
“Beat loud the tambourines, let the trumpets blow,
That this great soldier may his welcome know”34

34 “Troilus and Cressida, Act. I, Sc. 5”, Punch, (6 August 1898).
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 23

Catherine Booth in Salvation Army uniform1

1 Cabinet card image of Catherine Booth c1880, courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives,
Upper Hutt.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 24

CATHERINE BOOTH’S DISTURBING QUOTE

Selwyn Bracegirdle

Catherine Booth is attributed to saying the words, “There is no improving the future, without
disturbing the present”. However, did Booth really say these words? While many secondary sources
have attributed the words to Booth,2 or different words with a similar meaning;3 similar words have
also been attributed to her husband William Booth.4 If Catherine Booth did say these words, did she
quote another, or was this an original utterance? If the phrase was used by Booth, were these her exact
words? It is important to consider these questions for two main reasons. Firstly, the quotation has
been used as an authority to support other writer’s ideas, or to spur Salvationists to action.5 Secondly,
there is a growing movement to question the work and words of historic people, the current generation
desires authenticity.6 Answering these questions will identify if these words emulate Booth’s exact
position; her ‘heart and mind’. If however, Booth quoted from another source, the quotation will
identify an influence on Booth’s ministry and teaching. This paper outlines the investigation of the
questions listed above to search for the authentic position of Catherine Booth.

West End, London, 1880

During a series of services in the West End of London during the summer of 1880, Catherine Booth
is assumed to have uttered the words: “There is no improving the future, without disturbing the
present”, from this point forward referred to as ‘The Quote’.

Reference citation of this paper; Selwyn Bracegirdle, “‘Catherine Booth’s disturbing quote”, The Australasian
journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 24 – 33.
2 See for example “Catherine Booth Quote”, BrainyQuote (2001 – 2021),
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/catherine_booth_187234 accessed 7 May 2021.;
QuoteForever, (2020) https://www.quoteforever.com/quote/241022 accessed 7 May 2021.; Idkehearts, (2006 – 2021),
https://www.idlehearts.com/2733340/there-is-no-improving-the-future-without-disturbing-the-present accessed 7 May
2021.; “Catherine Booth,” Quote Master, (n.d.), https://www.quotemaster.org/qa76c46004f94c5bd680d2a9d1e6dee19
accessed 7 May 2021.
3 See for example Rolf Rǿnning and Marcus Knutagård, Innovation in social welfare and human services, (Oxon, UK:
Routledge, 2015), 1.
4 Lee Ball, “Addiction: The root of ‘disease’ and the renewal of hope”, chapter 6, 116 – 129, in Rebecca Goldsmith
(ed), In darkest England 130 years on, (London, UK: Shield Books, The Salvation Army UK Territory with the
Republic of Ireland, 2020), 129.
5 Floyd Tidd, “Holy disruption”, Others, (12 September 2018), https://others.org.au/viewpoint/holy-disruption/ accessed
19 July 2021.; Sharon Bussey, “Catherine Booth”, Salvation Factory (2021),
https://www.salvationfactory.org/catherine-booth/, accessed 19 July 2021.; Anon, “Doing justice in today’s world” Just-
action Blog (n.d.), https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/just-action-2019/blog/doing-justice-todays-world-0 accessed 19
July 2021.; Ian Hutson, “From the director”, in Paul Barber, Ranji Tanielu and Ana Ika, State of the nation 2021, (New
Zealand, The Salvation Army, Social Policy & Parliamentary Unit, February 2021), 3.
6 See for example Norman H. Murdoch, Frank Smith: Salvationist socialist (1854 – 1940). Principal ideologue of the
Darkest England Scheme that created Salvation Army social services, (Orlando, USA: National Salvation Army Social
Services Conference, 16 March 2003).; Norman H. Murdoch, Soldiers of the cross, Susie Swift and David Lamb.
Pioneers of social change, (Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, The Salvation Army National Publications, 2006).; David
Malcolm Bennett, “In Darkest England: Whose scheme was it?” 47 – 64, in Matthew Seaman (ed.), Darkness and
deliverance. 125 years of the Darkest England Scheme, (Nambour, Australia: Chaordic Creative, 2016).;
Darryl Whitecross, “Barry puts art and soul into recreating Booth’s vision”, Others, (29 April 2021),
https://others.org.au/news/2021/04/29/barry-puts-art-and-soul-into-recreating-booth-s-vision/ accessed 19 July 2021.;
Garth R. Hentzschel, “Thank who for the music? E. B. the songwriter”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army
history, 5, 1, (March 2020), 20 – 39, 25 – 26.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 25

It is firstly important to know the meaning of the word ‘quote’. While the origin of this word
may be found in fourteenth century marginal references, it was not until 1574 when the meaning to
“cite or refer to passages from a particular source” was first recorded. Then, from Samuel Butler’s
writings before 1680, is found the meaning of “quote” to be to “copy out or repeat exactly the words
of another”.7

As there were no audio or video recordings of Booth saying these words, the next process was
to look at the written word. ‘The Quote’ was first known in the published version of her lectures in
Papers on aggressive Christianity.8 To provide context, the preface to the book stated,

The addresses contained in this little volume were delivered during a series of services at the West
End of London, in the summer of 1880. That they were used then of the Lord I had abundant
evidence, and on that account I have consented to their reproduction in this form, hoping that He
may still speak through them to many souls.

I only regret that pressing public duties have prevented the shorthand writer’s notes being
revised as thoroughly as I could have wished, especially as they are reports of what was largely
unpremeditated utterances.

Catherine Booth
London, December 18809

It is clear therefore that Booth did not write the book, and the book was not developed from
Booth’s notes of the messages; any notes that there were, may have served little guidance as the
lectures were “largely unpremeditated utterances”. However, shorthand writers recorded the spoken
words of Booth during these services, and they were published by The Salvation Army in the book
Papers on aggressive Christianity in 1880 from “the shorthand writer’s notes”. Based on this
statement by Booth, it is impossible to predict how she might have edited her words, to ‘in retrospect’
express her thoughts satisfactorily in print and how that these might have differed in accuracy from
what she actually said in the lectures.

Cover of Aggressive Christianity10

7 Robert K. Barnhart and Sol Steinmetz (eds), Chambers dictionary of etymology, (Edinburgh, UK: Chambers, 1988),
878.
8 Catherine Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, (London, UK: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army,
1880), 49.
9 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, Preface.
10 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity. This is a photograph of the cover of an 1888 edition.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 26

In the Professional Doctorate thesis on the competency of shorthand, Joe M. Pullis, wrote that

accuracy of shorthand needed to be in both the shorthand script and the transcription of the scripts
into full English text. It is not known who took the shorthand of Booth’s lectures but Pullis found that

the better the shorthand scribe, the better their ability was to transcribe the script. Pullis also found
that a person’s skill was more important than their IQ score to predict their accuracy.11 Some of those

most experienced in shorthand can annotate more than 200 words a minute. The average speaking

rate is 173 words per minute and usually fewer in public speaking, so 200 words in shorthand a minute
is more than enough to record the words spoken by Booth.12 While Parkinson showed that many

people quickly reach 80% accuracy and then plateaued, Pullis showed that students, after a twelve-
week course, were showing 97% accuracy. There is therefore no good reason to doubt that the book’s
representation of Booth’s lectures is an accurate account of what she said.13

Taking a closer look

The entire book is presenting what Booth addressed in her services, and yet ‘The Quote’ is presented
in double quotation marks (“ ”), as were shown with some other phrases throughout the book. As
there appears to be little doubt on the accuracy of the shorthand notes – were the quotation marks

purely for emphasis of something immediately recognised as important, or was someone else being

quoted? Alternatively, what influence/s might have contributed to its utterance? It is worth examining
the paragraphs leading up to and including ’The Quote’. Are there clues to the origin of the quote?

Following are those relevant paragraphs,

Now, as in the individual, there is such a tendency to rest in form, so in the Church collectively;
hence this tendency to a formal religion. Just as it was with the Jews – their Temple service and
the paraphernalia of Judaism – was all in all to them, and they thought that Jesus Christ was the
most awfully severe and uncharitable person who ever appeared on the face of the earth, because
He told them the truth. And the same class of character presents the same attitude now. We shall
see when we get to the Judgment seat of Christ which is the true charity – that which covers up
things, or that which tears off the bandages, and shows people their hypocrisy and, as we have
just read, reveals to them the secrets of their hearts. I fear that we are very largely in the same
condition as the Jews were when Christ came. I say “very largely,” for I know that there are grand
and glorious exceptions; but I speak of the great whole, and I am backed up in this opinion by
some of the most thoughtful and spiritual men of this age. It is the lamentation everywhere – this
formality and death. It reaches us from all parts of the land, yea, from all parts of all lands. I once
heard a great divine, a leader of spiritual thought in his day, who has recently passed to heaven,
say, “I consider that the writings of the Prophets are far more applicable to the state of the churches
now than the writings of the New Testament, for we are in the same lapsed and fallen condition,
as churches, as Israel of old was.” So many think, and so many teach.

If this be the case, WHAT IS TO BE DONE? What would strike you should be done in this
state of comparative-spiritual eclipse? Evidently it would be madness to go on as we are. That
will mend nothing! Somebody must strike and do something worthy of the emergency. “There is
no improving the future, without disturbing the present,” and the difficulty is to get people to be
willing to be disturbed! We are so conservative by nature – especially some of us. We have such

11 Joe M. Pullis, “The relationship between competency in shorthand accuracy and achievement in shorthand dictation”,
(EdD Thesis, North Texas State University, 1966).
12Justin Parkinson, “Is the art of shorthand dying?” BBC News Magazine, (16 January 2016),
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34603886 accessed 7 May 2021.; Dom Barnard, “Average speaking rate and
words per minute”, Vitualspeech, (20 January 2018), https://virtualspeech.com/blog/average-speaking-rate-words-per-
minute accessed 7 May 2021.
13 Parkinson, “Is the art of shorthand dying?”; Pullis, “The relationship between competency in shorthand accuracy and
achievement in shorthand dictation”.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 27

a rooted dislike to have anything rooted up, disturbed, or knocked down. It is as much the work
of God, however, to “root out, and to pull down, and to destroy,” as “to build and to plant;” and
God’s real ambassadors frequently have to do as much of the one kind of work, as of the other.
This is not pleasant work; but what is necessary to be done? Is it not manifestly necessary that we
should go back to the simplicity, and SPIRITUALITY of the Gospel, and to the early modes of
propagating it amongst men?

On the two last Sunday afternoons we tried to show what was the pure Acts of Apostles
Gospel – calling men to forsake their sins, to cast away their idols, come out from the world of
the ungodly and be separate in order that their sins might be forgiven, and that God might receive
them, and they become His sons and His daughters. Last Sunday we spoke of faith and what it
would do for us.

Now, with respect to the outward manifestations and propagation of the Gospel it is equally
necessary to go back. We have such a heap of rubbish to carry away – the accumulated
traditionalism of ages to go through and dig under – that it sometimes takes a considerable amount
of time, and force of character, and a great deal of the Spirit of God to enable us to do it.
Nevertheless, it must be done if we are to reach a better state of things.

It seems to me, in order to do this we should not shrink from a recognition of our lapsed
and fallen condition...14

It is interesting when reading these excerpts to note the concluding comments in the paragraph
preceding ‘The Quote’. Booth was reputed to have stated,

I once heard a great divine, a leader of spiritual thought in his day, who has recently passed to
heaven, say, “I consider that the writings of the Prophets are far more applicable to the state of
the churches now than the writings of the New Testament, for we are in the same lapsed and fallen
condition, as churches, as Israel of old was.”15

It is followed by Booth asking, “If this be the case, WHAT IS TO BE DONE? ...Somebody must
strike and do something worthy of the emergency.” Her urgent response: “There is no improving the
future, without disturbing the present.” But this did not complete the sentence – it is important to note
she went on to say “…and the difficulty is to get people to be willing to be disturbed!”

But who was the great divine, the spiritual leader, who has recently died and how recent? Who
did Booth previously quote? The possibilities included; Albert Barnes (1798 – 1870), John Boucher
(1819 – 1878), Horace Bushnell (1802 – 1876), Charles Grandison Finney (1792 – 1875), and Charles
Hodge (1797 – 1878). While the timing of their deaths might seem to fit ‘recently’, there seems to be
no evidence of any of them having spoken/written anything resembling ‘The Quote’ to suggest that
Catherine was quoting one of them.

In The life of Catherine Booth the mother of The Salvation Army, Frederick Booth-Tucker listed
various Christian divines, theologians and evangelists, such as Butler, Wesley, Finney, Fletcher, and
Mosheim, as people whose works Booth had studied by reading their published works.16 Finney
stands out as others were from the previous century. Also, Booth-Tucker wrote, “Finney’s lectures
on theology she [Catherine Booth] specially appreciated”.17 Clearly, Booth read much of Finney’s
work and he was a great contributor to spiritual thought. That he may have spoken “I consider that
the writings of the prophets...etc.,” is perfectly reasonable. In fact, when you read some of his lecture

14 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, excerpts from chapter Adaptation of Measures, 48 – 50.
15 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, 48 – 50.
16 F. de L. Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth the mother of The Salvation Army, 3 volumes, (London, UK:
International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 1892), 1:39.
17 Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth, 1:39.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 28

notes you can imagine them as utterances of Catherine Booth. It is reasonable to consider the ‘divine’,
who has recently passed to heaven, that Booth refers to, is Charles Finney.18

But how did ‘The Quote’ come into existence. There is a sense of urgency in the language - in
capitals “WHAT IS TO BE DONE? ...madness to go on as we are... Somebody must strike...”
Something must be done, people stirred up, action effected. So, it is almost a natural response to say
we MUST disturb things as they are now, so we can make it better. “There is no improving the future,
without disturbing the present.”

Charles Finney and Catherine Booth comparison

The words of Booth and Finney can be compared and doing so shows from where Booth received
some of her thinking. In Revivals of religion, Charles Finney stated: “The fact is that God has
established, in no Church, any particular form, or manner of worship, for promoting the interests of
religion. The Scriptures are entirely silent on these subjects, under Gospel dispensation, and the
Church is left to exercise her own discretion in relation to all such matters.”19 In another of Finney’s
works, Finney’s lectures on theology, he wrote “That God has no where in the Bible given directions
in regard to any particular form of church or secular government, is a matter of fact.”20 Similar to this
idea, in Aggressive Christianity, while Booth made reference to the “...lively, gushing, spontaneous,
and ... disorderly ... services of The Salvation Army” and placed great significance on 1 Corinthians
14,21 she also stated:

We cannot get the order of a single service from the New Testament, nor can we get the form of
government a single church. Hence one denomination thinks theirs is the best form...but this very
quarrelling shows the impossibility of getting from the New Testament the routine, the order, and
the fashion of mere modes. They cannot get it, because it is not there!22

Even though this is a limited example, there is a sense of the influence of Finney’s lectures on Booth’s
thinking in such matters.

A broader view

What other influencers might there have been? As a young child Catherine Booth, then Mumford,
had a short period at school, but, was otherwise home taught. She was encouraged to read the Bible
as a source of supreme wisdom, which she read eight times before she was twelve. Booth read widely
on theology and church history, including a book about the life of John Wesley, which impacted her
future vocation. She was well read. What writings might have come within her realm of observation?
What did other people say in line with ‘The Quote’?

18 See for example, F. de L. Booth-Tucker (ed.), The successful soul-winner. A summary of Finney’s Revival Lectures,
(London, UK: Salvationist Publishing and Supplies, 1926).
19 Charles Grandison Finney, Revivals of religion – Lectures, (London, UK: Morgan and Scott, 1910; 1834/35), 313.
20 Charles Finney, Finney’s lectures on theology, (Bethany Fellowship, 1968), 245. The 1840 edition titled Skeletons of
a course of theological lectures.
21 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, 53.
22 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, 53.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 29

Quotes of interest

While researching ‘The Quote’, it was interesting to see that often inspirational quotations were
attributed to famous people without research into when or where they were originally stated. Many
of the cited internet quotation sites and published collections of quotations often pass along popular
attribution, without having done adequate research. While there were also attempts throughout this
research to resolve this and collect more reliable sources, as this was not the aim of the paper, and
there were time restraints, none of the quotations here listed could be tracked to their source. Although
sources are not listed many still cite these quotations, without question, to the author, or give authority
to the ideas they contain. These quotation are therefore listed as ideas or sources that Booth may have
used for ‘The Quote’.

Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) is reputed to have said,

How do you become better tomorrow? By improving yourself, the world is made better. Be not
afraid of growing too slowly. Be afraid of standing still. Forget your mistakes, but remember what
they taught you. So how do you become better tomorrow? By becoming better today.23

To Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) is attributed the phrase,

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.24

Albert Barnes (1798 – 1870) wrote in Scenes and incidents in the life of the apostle Paul,

Think amid your plans and anticipations of future gaiety what the redemption of your soul has
cost, and how the dying Savior would wish you to act. His wounds plead that you will live for
better things.25

Brigham Young (1801 – 1877) was reputed to have stated,

Never let a day pass that you will have cause to say, I will do better tomorrow.26

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) is linked to the words,

Look not sorrowfully into the past; it comes not back again. Wisely improve the present; it is
thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear, and with a manly heart.27

Charles Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) is believed to have stated,

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.28

Finally, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) is attributed as saying,

23 John C. Maxwell, The 3600 Leader. Developing your influence from anywhere in the organization, (Nashville,
USUAL Thomas Nelson, 2011).
24 Daniel Coenn, Abraham Lincoln: His words, (USA: BookRix, 2014).
25 Albert Barnes, Scenes and incidents in the life of the apostle Paul, (USA: Zeigler, McCurdy & Co, 1869), 224.
26 Quote Junkie: Business Edition, (Hagopian Institute, 2008), 14.
27 Ted Goodman (ed.), Forbes book of quotation, (USA: Forbes, 2016).
28 Gregory L. Jantz and Keith Wall, The anxiety reset workbook, (Carol Stream, USA: Tyndale House Publishers,
2021), 18.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 30

The future influences the present as much as the past.29

These quotations show that many great thinkers and writers have thought about the past and future
and how they relate to each other. None of these were directly quoted by Booth and there is no clear
evidence that any one of these quotations had a direct impact on her, although some of their writings
were known to Booth.

Spiritual guidance

A greater influence on the life, ministry and thinking of Booth was the Bible. The researcher must
think, how might Bible perspectives, pointing to a better future, have influenced Booth’s thinking?
Some of the Scripture references in this field include.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.30

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are called according to his purpose.31

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.32

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new.33

While there are ideas about the future perspective influenced by the present in both scripture and in
the writings of famous people, nothing has been found identical to ‘The Quote’.

Disturbing influence

The following quotations came after Booth’s death and may have been influenced in some degree by
her or her influences. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) stated “The future depends on what we do in
the present”;34 Gaston Berger (1896 – 1960) stated “The purpose of looking at the future is to disturb
the present.”35 Although there has been no direct link identified between the two quotations and Booth
‘The Quote’, there is evidence that Gandhi at least knew of The Salvation Army and studied its
work.36

One quotation with a direct link to Booth’s was written by author Helen Brown. Brown
published a devotional book titled 365 glasses of wine in which she made the statement: “My father

29 Richard Watson, Future files. A history of the next 50 years, (Melbourne, Australia: Scribe, 2007), 31.
30 Proverbs 3:5 – 6 (KJV).
31 Romans 8:28 (KJV).
32 Romans 12:2 (KJV).
33 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV).
34 Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra and Yashwant Pathak (eds), Gandhi and the world, (Lanham, USA: Lexington
Books, 2018), xvii.
35 Reil Miller (ed.), Transforming the future. Anticipation in the 21st century, (New York, USA: UNESCO and
Routledge, 2018), 167.
36 See for example C. F. Andrews (ed.), Mahatma Gandhi at work, His own story continued, (UK: George Allen &
Unwin, 1931), Chapter 11.; William Stuart Nelson, Bases of world understanding, (India: Calcutta University, 1949),
13.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 31

has often said that you cannot improve the future without disturbing the present.”37 Although there
was no link cited in the book, communication with Brown revealed that her parents were Salvation
Army officers and that it was more than likely her father became aware of ‘The Quote’ at this time
and therefore they are Booth’s words.38

In addition to the three quotations that may have been influenced by ‘The Quote’, there have
also been four different versions of ‘The Quote’ that have been used in official Salvation Army
literature and attributed to Catherine Booth;

1) “There is no improving the future without disturbing the present”39
2) “Impossible to improve the future without disturbing the present”40
3) “... we cannot improve the future without disturbing the present”41
4) “If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present”.42
The fourth example is quoted from Booth’s final public speech at The City Temple in London in
1888. She spoke for upwards of an hour and was near collapse as she sat when finished.
Through Salvation Army literature and also in Salvationists’ thinking, Booth’s ‘The Quote’ has
continued to be used to spur on Salvationists to action or push a point when change is needed.
In conclusion then, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it is my view that we should
regard ‘The Quote’ as being the original words of Catherine Booth.

“There is no improving
the future, without

disturbing the present.”
Catherine Booth

37 Helen Brown, 365 Glasses of Wine, (USA: Xlibris, 2017).
38 Email to the author from Helen Brown, (25 June 2021).
39 Booth, Papers on aggressive Christianity, 49.
40 Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth 1:xvii.
41 Gateshead 1860, Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth, 1:350.
42 Last Platform Utterances 1888, Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth, 3:371.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 32

Mrs. Booth at the City Temple, London one of the occasions she is reputed to have stated
‘The Quote’43

43 Booth-Tucker, The life of Catherine Booth, 3:359.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 33

POLITICIANS GROUNDED IN SALVATIONISM
NEW ZEALAND POLITICIANS WITH LINKS TO THE SALVATION ARMY

William (Bill) Allott

Christian doctrine covers a variety of topics, but politics is given little or no prominence. This is also
true for Salvation Army media and literature, despite a contemporary emphasis on social justice and
the eradication of poverty. Over the years the Army has followed the lead of its Founder, William
Booth, who acknowledged in his last public address,

I might have chosen as my life’s work the housing of the poor ... the material benefit of the
working classes ... [the promotion of] temperance reform ... the physical improvement of the
health of the people ... and the interests of the criminal world.1

In each of these cases Booth indicated that the Army had done something, but he stated that politics
was not his priority in the following words.

I might have carried out my consecration for the improvement of the community by devoting
myself to politics. I might have turned Conservative, or I might have been a Radical, or a Home
Ruler, or a Socialist, or have joined the Labour Party, or, what is more probable, if the catastrophe
had occurred, I might have formed another party. I saw something better than belonging to either
party, and that of being the friend to every party I was far more likely to secure the blessing of the
multitude and the end I had in view. And the object I chose all those years ago embraced every
effort, contained in its heart the remedy for every form of misery and sin and wrong to be found
on the earth and every method of reclamation needed by human nature...2

The recent death of a Salvationist initiated this consideration of the impact people associated
with the Army have had on the political scene in New Zealand. Rex Arbuckle was promoted to Glory
from Christchurch Hospital on 25 March 2020 aged 90 years. He was a bandsman at the Christchurch
City Corps for over 50 years and was Corps Sergeant-Major, the senior local officer position in the
corps, for 12 years, 1966 – 1978.

In 1974, Arbuckle was elected to the Christchurch City Council. He was the owner of a St.
Martins service station and garage when he was approached by the Mayor, Hamish Hay, to put his
name forward for the Cashmere Ward. As a first-time candidate he wasn’t expected to be successful,
but sneaked in by 37 votes. Arbuckle said, “It was as if the Lord was saying, ‘You’re there mate but
don’t get big-headed about it.’”3

Arbuckle was exceptional in that Salvationists have not been prominent in local and national
politics in New Zealand. At times the Army has been described as apolitical but that suggests that it
is “not interested or involved in politics”. That doesn’t adequately describe The Salvation Army’s
position which is clearly stated in a Positional Statement approved by the General in March 2011

Reference citation of this paper; William (Bill) Allott, “Politicians grounded in Salvationism: New Zealand
politicians with links to The Salvation Army”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 34 –
46.
1 William Booth’s last public address delivered in London’s Royal Albert Hall, on 9 May 1912, cited in Cyril J. Barnes
(ed.), The founder speaks again: A selection of the writing of William Booth, (London, UK: Salvationist Publishing and
Supplies, 1960), 169.; Harold Begbie, Life of William Booth, The Founder of The Salvation Army, 2 Volumes, (London,
UK: McMillan and Co, 1920), 2:458 – 460.
2 Cited in Barnes, The founder speaks again, 170.
3 Interview with Bill Allott in 2012.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 34

Candidate William Denham taken at Mullumbimby, New South Wales, 1906
Denham was elected as a member of New Zealand parliament for Invercargill

in the Labour party’s first government in 19354

4 Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 35

The Salvation Army is politically non-partisan. Although it seeks to influence governmental and
public affairs, it will not promote or endorse specific candidates or political parties.5

The question of the freedom of Salvationists so far as politics is concerned was affirmed in a 1900
British War cry;

Our Officers and Soldiers are well aware that, while each soldier is free to vote for the candidate
whom he thinks is likely to promote the good of the State, the Army, as such is neutral. Politics is
not its work, and, therefore, no barracks, banners, musical instruments, or other property
belonging to the Army, must in any way, be employed to further the interests of any political
candidate or party.6

Rex Arbuckle served on the Christchurch City Council from 1974 – 1980 and 1983 – 1995.7
He was Chairman of its Town Planning Committee and also of its Cultural and Public Relations
Committee. He was a Council appointee to the City Plan Hearings Committee. He also served on the
Welfare Committee. As a City Councillor he was appointed to the Executive of the Christchurch Civic
Music Council through the 1970s and 1980s and the quality of his service was recognised in his
appointment as a Life Member of the Music Council.8 Arbuckle worked tirelessly to uphold Christian
ideals in every task he was given.9

Salvation Army authorities have generally adopted a neutral political position, but this has
possibly resulted in Salvationists not being very politically active. This is particularly the case when
it comes to parliamentary representation. However, there have been several Salvationists and former
Salvationists who have entered a career in politics. This paper presents an historical survey of those
who have been involved in national New Zealand politics.

Thomas Daniel (MP 1881 – 1884)

Probably the earliest record there is of someone associated with The Salvation Army being involved
in New Zealand politics is that of Thomas Daniel in the deep south town of Riverton. He had been a
member of the Otago Provincial Council until it was disbanded along with other Provincial Councils
in 1876. He was then elected Mayor of Riverton in 1880.10 He was also a Justice of the Peace who
adjudicated cases of petty crime in the local court.11 At the end of 1881, Daniel was elected as a
Member of the House of Representatives for the Wallace electorate. He was a member of the Liberal
Party. A year-and-a-half later the Wellington correspondent of the Morning Herald wrote:

5 General of The Salvation Army, The Salvation Army international positional statement, The Salvation Army and the
state, (London, UK: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, March 2011), 2, 6.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/412b2aec-575d-4510-8591-
d04ecbd20810_English+The+Salvation+Army+and+the+State+IPS.pdf. The views expressed in this international
positional statement constitute the official position of The Salvation Army on the issue addressed, and they may not be
modified or adapted in any way without the express written permission of International Headquarters.
6 The war cry, (London, 13 October 1900) cited in Arch R. Wiggins, The history of The Salvation Army, Volume 4 1886
– 1904, (London, UK: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1964), 4:190.
7 Caption for photograph of Rex Arbuckle, H. Bramwell Cook, Think on these things, The Salvation Army Christchurch
City Corps,1883 – 2008, (Christchurch, NZ: The Salvation Army Christchurch City Corps, 2008), 115.
8 April 2020 Notes to Affiliates of the Christchurch Civic Music Council.
9 “Tribute: Rex Arbuckle”, The war cry, (New Zealand, 17 October 2020), 18.
10 “Mayor of Riverton”, Western star, (8 December 1880), 2.
11 Southland times, (13 June 1883), 2.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 36

T. Daniel has joined the Blue Ribbon Army,12 and wears the badge of that body in the House. Mr
Daniel also contemplates joining The Salvation Army. He thinks that there is a capital field for
the Army’s operations among members of the House.13

When Major Pollard, the head of The Salvation Army in New Zealand, visited Riverton to officially
open the corps, Daniel claimed in a testimony to be “the humble instrument of bringing the Army to
Riverton, and lauded that organization for the amount of good it had already affected in the town”.14
Under a heading “Salvation Tea”, Daniel’s further involvement with the Army is recorded in the
Western star newspaper:

T. Daniel said it was only three months since The Salvation Army came to Riverton, and when he
looked around him he was very much surprised and gratified at the large number of soldiers now
around him, who had been converted since the first meeting at the beginning of the year ... When
in Wellington, his son, who had joined the Army, had asked him to attend one of their meetings
there, and he was favourably impressed with the amount of good the organization had done in the
Empire City, that he would not rest until he got Captain Burfoot to visit Riverton with a contingent
of the Army. Riverton, which had always been to the fore in temporal affairs, would, he felt sure,
come forward in large numbers for the Saviour; and he hoped to see the day when everyone in
Riverton joined The Salvation Army, and took up arms for their Master, Jesus Christ.15

Associating with The Salvation Army did not seem to enhance Daniel’s political career as he was
defeated in the 1884 general election.16 He died in 1893.17

Henry E. Holland (MP 1918 – 1933)

The New Zealand Labour Party was formed in 1916 out of various socialist parties and trade unions.
Henry E. Holland was a founding member. Holland was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales,
Australia. He was not well educated but was an enthusiastic reader. In his younger days Holland was
a Salvationist. He married Annie McLachlan who he met at the Army. In 1890, Holland was
unemployed “and he left the Army at this point, believing that its response to poverty was
inadequate”.18 In 1892, he joined the Australian Socialist League and shared in publishing a socialist
journal. He was imprisoned in 1896 for libel and again for two years in 1909 for sedition.

Holland moved to New Zealand and by 1913 was editor of the Maoriland worker. In a
waterfront dispute he was again imprisoned for sedition but was considered a martyr by workers.
Holland won the West Coast parliamentary seat of Grey in 1918 and from 1919 – 1933 represented
the Buller electorate. He was leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition 1926 – 1928.
He died in 1933.19

12 The Blue Ribbon Army was a temperance movement that aimed at curbing the consumption of alcohol. It promoted
national prohibition in elections on a number of occasions.
13 Oamaru mail, (NZ, 19 June 1883), 3.
14 Western star, (NZ, 22 March 1884), 2.
15 Western star, (NZ, 16 April 1884), 2.; Neil C. Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, (Invercargill, NZ: The Salvation Army
Invercargill, 1984), 225.
16 Western star, (NZ, 26 July 1884), 2.
17 Southland times, (NZ, 25 March 1893), 2.
18 Patrick O’Farrell. “Holland, Henry Edmund”, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996. Te Ara -
the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3h32/holland-henry-edmund, accessed 7 May
2021.
19 O’Farrell. “Holland, Henry Edmund”.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 37

William Lee-Martin (1927 – 1943)

In a by-election in 1927, when Holland was Leader of the Opposition, William Lee-Martin won the
Raglan seat in the New Zealand House of Representatives. He was defeated in 1931. Lee-Martin then
re-won the seat and held it from1935 to 1943. He had been a Salvation Army officer and as such
played a part when Salvationists were imprisoned for street ministry in the Otago town of Milton in
1893. Captain Lee-Martin wrote a letter defending Major Robinson, the divisional commander,
concerning false statements made by a Mr Coombe.20 Robinson had been imprisoned along with
Colonel Reuben Bailey, the colony commander, “for playing a cornet and a concertina in the streets”,
to welcome home seven Milton Salvationists previously imprisoned.21 In 1895, Lee-Martin was
Corps Officer at Rangiora, New Zealand,22 but after six years he resigned his officership and was later
a lay preacher for the Wesleyan Church in Wanganui.23

Lee-Martin took up farming in the Waikato district and from 1926 to 1927 he was president of
the Waikato Farmers’ Union. In 1927, he entered parliament as the Labour member for Raglan. Mr
H. E. Holland, Leader of the Opposition, stated that “the election of Mr Lee-Martin, a farmer,
disposed of the bogey that the Labour Party was inimical to farmers”.24 He became a Cabinet Minister
in the first Labour Government in 1935, being allotted the portfolio of agriculture.25 He retired as a
government minister due to ill-health in 1941, and from Parliament in 1943. Lee-Martin was
appointed to the Legislative Council in 1946 and died in 1950.

David William (Bill) Coleman (MP 1931 – 1949)

Salvationist, David William (Bill) Coleman joined William Lee-Martin in Parliament in 1931. In her
book, As for me and my house, Joan Hutson stated that Coleman “strode the Gisborne stage from the
time of his arrival in 1905 until he died in 1951”.26 He was born in London in 1881, and lived as a
child and young man in Queensland, Australia. He worked as a carpenter and later as a furniture
salesman. In 1902, aged 21, he emigrated to New Zealand and first lived in Wellington27 where it
seems that he joined The Salvation Army. In 1912, Coleman was commissioned as Young People’s
Sergeant-Major in Gisborne and was then appointed Corps Sergeant-Major until 1926. He was also
an active bandsman.28

Coleman was Secretary to the East Coast Trades and Labor (sic) Council in 1910.29 and called
a meeting to form a branch of the political Labor (sic) Party of New Zealand the same year.30 From
1914 – 1919 he was secretary of the Poverty Bay Labourers Union. Coleman was on the Labour
Party’s first national executive. He was the Member of Parliament for Gisborne, 1931 – 1949, and
Mayor of Gisborne, 1931 – 1933 and 1935 – 1941. From 1942 – 1947 he was the Labour Party’s

20 Waikato times, (NZ, 19 October 1893), 7.
21 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 80.
22 The star, (NZ, 1 February 1895), 3.
23 Wanganui herald, (NZ, 8 August 1908), 3.
24 Thames star, (NZ, 30 September 1927), 5.
25 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 281.
26 Joan Hutson, As for me and my house: A salute to early Gisborne Salvation Army families, 1886 to 1952, (New
Zealand, Flag Publications, 2004), 94 – 97.
27 “David Coleman (New Zealand politician”, Wikipedia, (6 December 2020),
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Coleman_(New_Zealand_politician) accessed 7 May 2021.
28 Hutson, As for me and my house.
29 Poverty Bay herald, (NZ, 22 June 1910), 1.
30 Poverty Bay herald, (NZ, 22 August 1910), 1.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 38

junior whip. Coleman was then appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Defence
1947 – 1949.

Salvation Army Gisborne Silver Band at the Congress in Wellington in 1919
David Coleman is seen on euphonium, middle row, second from right31

Once Parliament was over on a Friday, he would travel mostly by train and service car, and
sometimes by car, right through to Gisborne 550 km away. After little or no sleep he would be
available on the Saturday for his electorate commitments. On Sunday he would attend every meeting
and parade – often singing his testimony – at The Salvation Army, ending the day by giving the
Edward Murphy Hospital staff a ride home. On Monday it would be back to Wellington.32

In March 1951, The Salvation Army Citadel was packed for his funeral service. Coleman’s
obituary said it all. “He was indeed a Man of the People.”33
William (Bill) M. C. Denham (MP 1935 – 1946)
In 1935 Lee-Martin and Coleman were joined in Parliament by William (Bill) M. C. Denham. He had
been born in 1887 at Tomakin, New South Wales, Australia. He trained as a Salvation Army officer
in Melbourne and was commissioned on 24 June 1908. Denham was appointed to Dunedin North in
Otago, New Zealand.34 At that time New Zealand was part of the Australasian Territory. At the

31 Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
32 Hutson, As for me and my house, 94 – 97.
33 Hutson, As for me and my house, 94 – 97.
34 New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre – William Denham Officer Career Card.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 39

beginning of 1909, with the rank of lieutenant, he was given marching orders as an assistant officer
to the Blenheim Corps at the top of New Zealand’s South Island.35

William Denham, 1922
Shown with Bb Bass in the Invercargill Corps Band 36
Denham was then transferred in turn to Lyttelton, Reefton, and Palmerston South. Each of these
three appointments were of two months duration.37
On 12 January 1911, the Army sanctioned his engagement to Candidate Gwendoline Meadows.
A fortnight later he was appointed to Tapanui. Denham objected to this appointment as a “hard go”.
No agreement could be reached, and his resignation was accepted 11 April 1911.38
Denham stayed in The Salvation Army as a soldier and became Band Sergeant at Dunedin City
on 19 November 1912.39 Bill and Gwendoline were married in Dunedin in 1913 before they moved
to Invercargill.40 The Salvation Army authorities, for a few years after Denham’s resignation, were
proactive in trying to get Denham to reapply for officership.41 Reinsborg wrote,
Denham gained employment as a tram driver on the municipal tramways [in Invercargill]. His
work on the trams saw him become Secretary of the Tramways Union, and later President of the
General Labourers’ Union. Denham was also a member of the Invercargill City Council during
the depression years, and was chairman of the council’s works committee.42

35 Marlborough express, (NZ, 15 January 1909), 4.
36 Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
37 Marlborough express, (NZ, 4 February 1910, 4,; Inangahua times, (NZ, 10 March 1910), 2.; Plowman Resource
Centre Archives – William Denham Officer Career Card.
38 New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre.
39 New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre.
40 The war cry, (Wellington, 28 June 1913), 5.
41 New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre.
42 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 299.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 40

His employment status changed at the end of 1918. The [Tramways Appeal] Board, while sorry
for the appellant, dismissed an appeal in the case of W. C. Denham, President of the Union. He had
appealed against dismissal in connection with a collision.43 He continued in his role as President of
the Union but for the next 20 years “was engaged in the general grocery trade”.44

In June 1919, the Southland times reported, “Mr W. C. Denham has accepted an invitation to
play in the Dunedin Salvation Army Band which is to go to Wellington next week to take part in the
welcome to Commissioner Howard.”45 He is depicted as a B flat bass player in Invercargill Salvation
Army band photographs in 1922 and 1926.46

Denham was elected as a member of parliament for Invercargill in the Labour party’s first
government in 1935. He remained in Parliament until 1946. Reinsborg wrote,

During his term as a Parliamentarian, Denham was an indefatigable worker for his electorate, and for
various causes which came within his sphere of interest. He was largely responsible for the introduction of
State housing, was also one of a team that worked hard to ensure the legislation for social security became
effective and was partly responsible for the Act that brought the Invercargill Licensing Trust into existence
in 1944, as the first licensing trust in New Zealand.47

Throughout his life William M. C. Denham took an active interest in The Salvation Army. Neil
Reinsborg concluded, “Denham was an ardent supporter of the Salvation Army Social Service Centre
and served as a member of its Advisory Board up to the time of his death on 21 September 1969.”48

Norman Kirk (MP 1957 – 1974; Prime Minister 1972 – 1974)

A decade would pass before another politician with a Salvationist background would appear in the
New Zealand Parliament. George or Goerdie Kirk, the grandfather of Prime Minister Norman Kirk,
was for 31 years the Salvation Army bandmaster at Gore Corps in Southland.49 Norman’s parents,
Norman and Vera Kirk were married in 1922 dressed in Salvation Army uniform.50 Norman Eric Kirk
was born at Waimate, New Zealand, 6 January 1923.

In 1928, the family moved to Christchurch where they worshipped at the Christchurch City
Corps. Young Kirk played in the junior band and his parent’s names were on the corps roll until
1943.51

Norman Kirk left school at 13 years of age, but he was a keen reader and inherited skill with
his hands from his father. This enabled him to build his own house in Kaiapoi, a town to the north of
Christchurch. Kirk became Kaiapoi Mayor from 1953 to 1957. He entered national politics when he

43 The southern cross, (NZ, 21 December 1918).
44 Otago daily times, (NZ, 17 October 1938), 16.
45 Southland times, (NZ, 6 June 1919), 5.
46 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 144. See also photographs facing page 304. Of personal note is the father and
grandfather of the author of this article are pictured as playing in this band with William Denham.
47 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 299.; “‘Human capital’ – Defence of Social Security Bill”, Otago daily times, (NZ, 25
August 1938), 12.
48 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 199, 299.
49 Reinsborg, Sallies of the south, 244. Bandmaster George Kirk was married to Janet Cook, the sister of Agnes Cook,
who was the grandmother of the author of this article.
50 David Grant, The mighty totara – The life and times of Norman Kirk, (New Zealand: Random House, 2014), Chapter
1 photograph.
51 Kirk’s parents joined the Cooneyites and although Kirk attended Cooneyite meetings for a short period, he was not
happy with their fundamental belief. It does not appear that Kirk was sworn-in as a senior soldier of The Salvation
Army and gradually retreated from organised Christianity. He married a non-Salvationist, Ruth Miller in 1943. By 1955,
Kirk’s parents returned to The Salvation Army as it was stated they were “devoted to The Salvation Army”. Grant, The
mighty totara.; Cook, Think on these things, 90.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 41

became the Member of Parliament for Lyttelton, 1957 – 1969. Kirk then transferred to become the
member for Sydenham. He was Labour Party Leader, 1964 – 1974, and Leader of the Opposition 16
December 1965 to 8 December 1972. Kirk became Prime Minister of New Zealand from December
1972 until his early death on 31 August 1974.52

Relevant comments concerning Kirk often acknowledged the influence of his Salvation Army
background. Four examples include those from his printed biography and internet sources. On two
occasions Kirk’s biographer, David Grant wrote about the importance of Kirk’s Army connections,
Grant wrote,

The bedrock of his later humanitarianism, which formed the essence of his political philosophy,
evolved from studying the New Testament in the Salvation Army church of his parents, although
he would set aside adherence to formalised religion as an adult.53

Later Grant also wrote,

Kirk’s social conservatism rooted in Christian compassion, explains why abortion and
homosexual law reform was anathema to him. In this he was holding to views that were becoming
less and less tenable as the dynamic social and sexual revolutions of the early 1970s swirled all
around him. These changes would be felt with increasing intensity, but remained ‘in the closet’
during his prime ministership.54

Labour Party historian Michael Bassett wrote,

In time his adherence to The Salvation Army faltered; no other religion replaced it, although Kirk
respected several.55

Finally, Bassett stated,

Norman Kirk seldom used the word ‘socialism’ and summed up his and the Labour government’s
political philosophy as “a social programme which will promote the housing of our people, protect
their health, and ensure full employment and equal opportunity for all”.56

There were two sides to Kirk’s character. As broadcaster Dr Brian Edwards commented, “Kirk
was an ethical conservative and a populist.”57 This was also illustrated during Kirk’s final visit [to
Waimate] in August 1973. According to his biographer, Grant, “When he opened a new Salvation
Army citadel he [then] hopped behind the bar of a local hotel and dispensed glasses of beer with
considerable skill.”58

52 Gavin McLean, “Norman Kirk, Biography”, New Zealand History, (27 June 2018),
www.nzhistory.govt.nz>people>norman_eric_kirk accessed 7 May 2021.
53 Grant, The mighty totara, Preface.
54 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter. 22.
55 Michael Bassett. “Kirk, Norman Eric”, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the
Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5k12/kirk-norman-eric accessed 7 May 2021.
56 Bassett. “Kirk, Norman Eric”.
57 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 11.
58 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 1.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 42

The opening of the new Salvation Army Waimate Hall,
South Canterbury, New Zealand on 18 August 1973

Centre, Prime Minister Norman Kirk receiving the key from Commissioner Ern Elliot59

New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk at the opening of the new Salvation Army Waimate Hall,
Left, officially opening the hall. Right, addressing the congregation60

All too soon Kirk began to display symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Nevertheless, he kept
working right up to his final hospitalisation. Kirk was 51 when he died of “congestive cardiac failure”
and “thromboembolic pulmonary heart disease” on Saturday, 31 August 1974.61

59 Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
60 Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
61 Bassett. “Kirk, Norman Eric”.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 43

On the following Monday Kirk’s body was brought to lie in state in Parliament’s foyer. An
initial funeral service took place two days later at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington. Commissioner
Ernest Elliot, the Territorial Commander of The Salvation Army, was present as a representative of
other denominations. Kirk’s biographer referred to The Salvation Army in this context as “the Kirk
family’s church”.62

Lt-Colonel Thomas McKenzie and The Salvation Army Singers (sic) took part in the Norman
Kirk Memorial Service that was held in the Christchurch Town Hall.63 Kirk had represented the
Sydenham seat in Christchurch for about five years.

There was finally a simple burial at Waimate, Kirk’s birthplace. The cortège arrived surrounded
by an honour guard of policemen, while a Salvation Army band played the 23rd Psalm. After the final
prayers, the Army band played Abide with me.64

On 9 February 1975, The Salvation Army opened a home for the elderly in Upper Hutt,
Wellington. It was named the Norman Kirk Memorial Eventide Home.

Ian Brooks (MP 1970 – 1975)

A contemporary politician with Norman Kirk was Salvationist Ian Brooks of Blenheim. He was sworn
in as a Salvation Army soldier in 1943 and was a bandsman from 1944 until he retired as a 90-year-
old in 2021. During the 1980s he was deputy songster leader (1980 - 1984) and door welcome sergeant
(1981 - 1987).65

In the November 1969 parliamentary election Brooks, a senior post office clerk and farmer,
stood for the Labour Party in the Marlborough Seat.

Brooks was unassuming, affable and diligent, but as a relative political greenhorn was expected
to be no match for the well-organised National machine in the electorate.66

The incumbent was Tom Shand who had held the seat for 23 years and was Minister of Labour.
He retained the Marlborough seat for National in the 1969 election with a comfortable 2460 vote
majority over Brooks. A month later Shand died of lung cancer aged just 58 years. On 22 February a
by-election was held and in one of the biggest shocks in New Zealand political history Brooks
defeated Shand’s son by 1,131 votes, a swing of 17.5 per cent.67

Brooks held the Marlborough Seat at the following election so was in parliament from 1970 to
1975, initially when Norman Kirk was Leader of the Opposition and also when he as Prime Minister.

Reporter Oliver Lewis spoke to Brooks in 2016 who recalled that during a visit to Hanmer
Springs, he was told by the police they had received death threats against him – he was seen as a
communist because of his opposition to the Vietnam War. He said he felt that the Labour Party
represented the interests of ordinary, working New Zealanders and that there was “too much
inequality in New Zealand.”68

62 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 20.
63 Cook, Think on these things, 90.
64 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 20. The Salvation Army brass band was made up from bandspersons from the
Timaru, Oamaru, and Waimate Corps.
65 Blenheim Corps Officer, Lieut. Jacob Howan.
66 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 8.
67 Grant, The mighty totara, Chapter 8.
68 Oliver Lewis, “Labour’s last MP for Marlborough Ian Brooks talks records and death threats”, Stuff (20 October
2015), https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85549251/labours-last-mp-for-marlborough-ian-brooks-talks-records-
and-death-threats accessed 7 May 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 44

David Lange (MP 1977 – 1996)

It would be wrong to suggest that David Lange was ever a Salvationist. As a child and young man he
was active within the Methodist Church and at one time was a lay preacher. He was a Labour member
of parliament from 1977 to 1996, Leader of the Opposition, 1983 – 1984 and Prime Minister, 1984 –
1989.

He mentioned in his autobiography that his Mum was “curiously catholic in her non-conformity
while the Methodist church was always her focus”. He then added:

We were often taken to Salvation Army services which I enjoyed for the robustness of the music
and simply for the variety they offered. 69

Glen Bennett (MP 2020 - )

Some 24 years would elapse before there would be another parliamentarian with a connection with
The Salvation Army. In the October 2020 general election Labour politician Glen Bennett won the
New Plymouth seat from the National Party in what proved to be a significant countrywide swing to
the left. He’s the son of retired Salvation Army officers, Majors David and Judith Bennett.

Glen has worked in the community sector as a foster parent for more than 20 years. He was
featured in the third episode of TVone’s “Mucking In” programme in 2000. It was then said of him:

Glen has been a tireless CYFS [Child, Youth and Family] caregiver for over four years; his house
is used as the local ‘hangout’ for all the boys and their friends. At any time of the night or day,
Glen can, and will, be called by the local police – to collect a wayward youth with nowhere to go
and no one to call. He spends hours preparing delicious food for the weekly community dinners;
he is Chairman of the Marfell Community Centre and yearly hosts the annual Marfell Kids
Christmas Party.70

Bennett presented his maiden speech the day after he wed his husband, Jon O’Neill, in the
Legislative Council Chamber.71 He said in his speech that in 1984 he wrote in his school journal:
“When I grow up, I want to be like my dad. My dad’s a Salvation Army officer. My dad helps people.
When I grow up, I want to help people.” He also referred to his mother’s role as a chaplain at Mount
Eden’s women’s prison and the fact that as a nine-year-old he sometimes accompanied her on her
prison visits! Bennett indicated that he’s now kept grounded by his faith community, Incedo.72 This
community is described as “a bunch of people committed to following Jesus and living to serve the
community”.73 He was foundational in helping to set up the Salvation Army’s family store in Waitara
and occasionally pops into the Army’s Wednesday night recovery church in New Plymouth.74

69 David Lange, My life by David Lange, (New Zealand: Penguin Books, 2006), Chapter 2.
70 “Episode 3, Glen Bennett, New Plymouth”, TVNZ, (2021) http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_minisite_story_skin/1792406
accessed 7 May 2021.
71 Leighton Keith, “New Plymouth Labour MP Glenn Bennett ties the knot in Parliament”, Stuff (8 February 2021),
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124179657/new-plymouth-labour-mp-glen-bennett-ties-the-knot-in-parliament
accessed 7 May 2021.
72 Glen Bennett (9 February 2021) https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-
debates/rhr/document/HansS_20210209_052860000/bennett-glen accessed 7 May 2021.
73 Incedo, http://incedo.org.nz/ accessed 7 May 2021.
74 Taranaki Team Leader, Captain Karl Foreman.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 45

Finale

There may be others who should be included in this survey. The parliamentarians mentioned were all
members of the left-of-centre Labour Party with the exception of Thomas Daniel who was a Liberal.
His parliamentary involvement predated the formation of the Labour Party. It seems to be coincidental
that the successful politicians were left-of-centre. None made any direct correlation between their
association with The Salvation Army and their choice of political ideologies. As there is such a small
sample in this survey, it is also hard to draw conclusions of links between political and religious
affiliations.

In New Zealand there has, in more recent years, been a few avenues opened up to Salvationists
to become more engaged with the political processes. For a number of decades, a Public Questions
Board has been appointed by Territorial Commanders to advise on matters of public and political
concern. In particular it has prepared submissions for Parliamentary select committees when they
have considered legislation on moral and social issues.

In 2004, The Salvation Army in New Zealand created a Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit.
It was launched in the Great Hall of Parliament on 24 August. Later General Shaw Clifton recorded
his motivation for its establishment. Clifton wrote,

Matters of social justice and making ethical choices have long been of close interest to me. ...
Opportunities for further initiatives arose later on my becoming a Territorial Commander. In New
Zealand I was able to set up a new Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit to conduct research and
propose social policy initiatives to government. The unit has published a series of influential
“State of the Nation” reports.75

This unit has worked towards the eradication of poverty by encouraging policies and practices that
strengthen the social framework of New Zealand. It has provided solid social research and robust
policy analysis, engaging with national opinion makers in politics, government, business, media and
education.76 Its periodic reports are commonly commented upon by the national media.77

Of the group surveyed, 50% retained their connection with the Army, three left long before they
entered parliament and one probably found it difficult to remain active as a Salvationist due to his
sexual preference. One thing that the above politicians had in common was their willingness to
become involved in local politics and community activities. From these they progressed into politics
at a national level. Current observation would suggest that Salvationists are not usually involved in
Residents’Associations, Community Boards, Hospital Boards, City and District Councils or as active
members of political parties. Only a few may be involved in Unions, Business Associations and
School Boards. Consequently, there’s now little likelihood that they will be nominated for
parliamentary seats or placed on party lists.78

75 Shaw Clifton, Something better, Autobiographical essays, (London, UK: Salvation Books, 2014), 318.
76 “Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit”, The Salvation Army, (2021),
https://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/research-policy/social-policy-parliamentary-unit accessed 7 May 2021.
77 This experience inspired the establishment of the International Social Justice Commission (ISJC) based in New York
near the United Nations building when Shaw Clifton was General.
78 Electors have two votes in New Zealand parliamentary elections – one for a representative of an electorate seat and
another for a party list candidate. There are 64 general electorate seats and seven Māori electorates plus 49 MPs selected
from party lists.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 46

An oblique aerial photograph of The Salvation Army’s Chikankata Mission, 19941

1 Photograph courtesy of Major Miriam Ward.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 47

A PROFILE OF EXPATRIATE STAFF OF A SALVATION ARMY
MISSION STATION IN ZAMBIA
1970 TO 1985

Ron Inglis

Introduction

The literature of The Salvation Army, and that of the wider Christian church, is replete with
biographies of heroic individuals who went out to bring the light of the gospel to foreign lands. These
missionary stories, of crossing cultural boundaries in the cause of Christ, enrich our faith and inspire
us to greater commitment.

However, it is not often noted that the ministry of these dedicated individuals was rarely a solo
enterprise. Almost all worked in a group/community of fellow missionaries, gathered together in a
specific location in a foreign country. This paper explores the nature of the expatriate staff of one
such community, The Salvation Army’s Chikankata Mission, located in Zambia, southern Africa.
The period studied was 1970 to 1985.

Mission Station

Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, it was a common strategy for Christian missionary
organisations to establish mission stations in the frontier regions of inland Africa. A mission station
was a beachhead in unevangelised territory, a control and supply centre on the remote frontier, which
spearheaded the evangelistic, medical, educational, literacy and development activities of a given
church missionary organisation.

In 1927, pioneering Salvation Army officers journeyed north into the vast wilderness of then
Northern Rhodesia and established a mission station at Ibbwe Munyama, just north of the Zambezi
river. Ibbwe Munyama had been a boma, that is a government district headquarters but colonial
officials decided it was too remote for their purposes. The government buildings, basic as they were,
were handed over to The Salvation Army. Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, was a vast territory,
larger than France, larger than the Canadian province of Alberta, larger than all of Texas, USA. For
an Australian comparison the territory was only slightly smaller than the state of New South Wales.

Salvation Army leaders, like the colonial officials before them, found Ibbwe Munyama to be
an unsuitable location and the mission was moved in 1945 to a more favourable site up on the
Zambian plateau. Taking its name from one of the landowners keen to see a mission station
established, the station became known as the Chikankata Mission or, in everyday conversation, just
Chikankata.

Though closer to the north-south rail and road spine of Northern Rhodesia, the Chikankata
Mission was still frontier territory – low population density but an abundance of African wildlife.
Even as late as the 1960s the roar of lions and the trumpeting of elephants could sometimes be heard
from Chikankata.2

Reference citation of this paper; Ron Inglis, “A profile of expatriate staff of a Salvation Army Mission Station in
Zambia, 1970 to 1985”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 47 – 71.
2 Beverley McInnes, Flag across the Zambezi, (Zambia and Malawi Territory of The Salvation Army, 1997). Australian
Salvationists Herb & Beverley McInnes served as lay workers in the Zambia Command 1996-1998. Emails from

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 48

Expatriate staff

Right from the beginning, the pioneer officers established training courses so that qualified Africans
could be raised up to carry forward the medical and educational work of the mission, as this quote
from the New Zealand War cry indicates,

Once the hospital is established it is intended to develop it as a training centre. One hundred and
fifty miles away at Ibbwe Munyama is a Salvation Army centre for the training of native teachers,
with boarders and a small dispensary in charge of a European nurse. After training at the hospital,
African nurses and orderlies will go out to establish small dispensaries throughout the Zambezi
valley, a dispensary being allocated to each Salvation Army corps in the district, so that the work
of healing will proceed with the work of soul saving.3
The first Australian Salvation Army officer appointed to the Chikankata Mission was Adjutant
Dr Mavis Mortimer, daughter of the legendary First World War Salvation Army Chaplain William
‘Fighting Mac’ McKenzie. Dr Mavis Mortimer, along with her husband, New Zealander Adjutant Dr
Kingsley Mortimer, were appointed to Chikankata in 1945. The Mortimers were the first medical
officers appointed to the new site after the move from Ibbwe Munyama.
Probationary-Lieutenant Peggy Linton, of the 1945 Fearless session of cadets in Sydney was
appointed nurse at Chikankata Hospital from 1946 to 1949. She was followed by Brigadier Cath
Stephen from the former Australia Southern Territory who served as Matron of Chikankata Hospital
1952 to 1962.

Brigadier Cath Stephen (left) and United Kingdom Salvationist Dr Joyce Fleming are shown here with
the graduating nurses of Chikankata Hospital in April 1963. This photograph was taken just before
Brigadier Stephen returned to Australia.4
First appointed to Africa in 1948, Captains Stan and Eva Morton were appointed to Chikankata

from 1956 to 1959, Stan as head of mission and Eva as head of Domestic Science teacher training.
The Mortons returned to Zambia 1975 – 1980, appointed as District Officers on the Copperbelt.

Commissioner Dr Paul Du Plessis to author on the role of South African officers Alf and Hyacinth Erikson in selecting
the site and establishing the Chikankata Mission, (21 October 2020 and 28 October 2020).
3 “In Livingstone’s steps”, The war cry, (New Zealand, 17 February 1945), 7.
4 Photograph courtesy of Lieutenant-Colonel Miriam Pull.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 49

Australian Salvation Army officers Captains Stan and Eva Morton with their three children, Dorelle,
Joycelyn and Howard at Chikankata in 1959. Howard Morton returned to Chikankata as a secondary

school teacher 1976 – 1979.5

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the old European empires that had ruled Africa for a century
or more were crumbling, sometimes relatively peacefully, sometimes violently. South Africa with its
strict apartheid laws and Rhodesia with its Unilateral Declaration of Independence were enclaves of
white supremacy holding out but in the rest of Africa the old colonial orders were being swept away.

As economic development proceeded in Zambia after independence in 1964, the demand for
qualified workers greatly increased, not only for medical and educational services but for all sectors
of the economy. National development goals prioritised the training of Zambian citizens but clearly
a large body of qualified Zambians could not be produced overnight. To fill gaps in the labour force
the Zambian government issued work permits to qualified expatriates willing to come to Zambia and
contribute to economic and social development.

The outworking of this policy was illustrated by the Statistical profile of Zambian education
1977/78 issued by the Zambia Ministry of Education.6 This document showed that in 1970 there were
292 Zambian and 2,035 non-Zambian teachers in the nation’s secondary schools. By 1977, the
number of qualified Zambian teachers had jumped to 1,518. However, secondary school enrolments
increased over that period from 56,000 to 84,000 students so there was still a need for around 2,000
expatriate teachers across all Zambian secondary schools throughout the 1970s. It was not until the
1980s that the supply of Zambian government teachers was such that expatriate teachers were no
longer required.

In retaining Zambian nurses and teachers, remote, rural Chikankata was at a disadvantage. As
in Australia, so in Zambia, the first preference of teachers and nurses were the ‘bright lights’ of the
urban areas.

The era of transition

Setting the boundaries of any historic period is always to some extent arbitrary. Changes in history
do not present themselves in neat decades nor years, but the period 1970 to 1985 may be validly
described as an era of transition in which there were two distinct trends in the staffing of the
Chikankata Mission. Firstly, during the 1970 to 1985 period, qualified Zambians became available in
increasing numbers thus reducing the need for expatriate staff. Secondly, in that era, the composition

5 Photograph courtesy of the Morton family.
6 Statistical Profile of Zambian Education 1977/78, (Zambia: Ministry of Education, Republic of Zambia, 1978).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 50