AJSAHistoryVol6Iss1 March 2021

While at Haberfield, Holloway used his sketches to assist at other Sydney suburban corps, such
as Newtown and Paddington Corps.21 Sadly many of Holloway’s drawings no longer exist, however
while at Haberfield he recorded many of his duties as a lieutenant or “Leff” in the autograph book of
his captain. These drawings included domestic chores, after school meetings, and musical practices.
They also showed Holloway could play a brass instrument, a mouthorgan, a concertina, and a fiddle.

Images drawn by George Holloway to show the life of an assistant corps officer22

21 “Newtown”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 25 April 1931), 12.; “Paddington”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 19
September 1931), 12.
22 Autograph book of Captain Edward Merrick, housed in The Salvation Army Australia Museum, Sydney, cited in
“Sketches from an autograph book”, 7 – 9.; Callaghan, “A recent arrival at the museum”, 7 – 8.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 101

From Haberfield Corps, Holloway was appointed to the finance department of Sydney Central
Division’s headquarters.23 During this appointment he was a ‘special’24 at corps throughout Sydney
and to its north. At each corps he used his “lightning sketches” to show “Bible Truths”. Some of the
Sydney corps visited by Holloway where he used his artistic skills included Balmain, Bexley,
Campsie, Daceyville, Hornsby, Liverpool, Mortdale, North Sydney, Paddington, Petersham,
Rockdale, Rozelle, Ryde, Sydney Congress Hall, Waterloo, Waverly and Willoughby. Sadly, many
of these corps no longer exist. Holloway’s artistic skills were used for corps cadet rallies, a Daffodil
Fair, evangelical and revival campaigns, harvest festivals, holiness meetings, indoor meetings, open-
airs, programmes, self-denial fund raising efforts, spiritual campaigns, and young peoples’ meetings.
At most of these meetings Holloway saw people, young and old come to the mercy seat to receive
Christ as their Saviour. He also assisted at churches such as the Methodist church at North Croydon.25

Advertisement showing Holloway preaching at Sydney Congress Hall
in connection with a Harvest Festival in March 193226

Upon the promotion to captain, most officers removed their yellow Lieutenant braiding to
replace it with a red braid, but not Holloway.27 Being the artist he was, Holloway painted his
trimmings on his uniform. The war cry reported,

Of a decided artistic turn is the young Officer who was seen at his desk at Territorial Headquarters,
with paint and brush changing the colour of the braid on his tunic. Only a skilful hand would
essay such a delicate task, but Captain George Holloway, promoted to the rank, was making a
good job of it. The Captain is known all over Sydney for his Bible object lessons with paint and
brush.28

23 “Official gazette”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 30 January 1932), 8.; “Mainly about people”, The war cry,
(Sydney, Saturday 30 January 1932), 8.
24 A term used for visiting speakers at Salvation Army meetings. Such meetings were usually advertised and used to
motivate local Salvationists or to encourage new people to attend Salvation Army meetings.
25 See for example, “Congress hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, 13 February 1932), 12.; “Religious announcements”, The St
George call, (Kogarah, Friday 4 March 1932), 2.; “Other services”, The Sydney morning herald, (NSW, Saturday 5
March 1932), 5.; “Paddington (NSW)”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 12 March 1932), 13.; “Corps-cadets take the
field”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 19 March 1932), 13.; “Coming events”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 2 April
1932), 13.; “Congress hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 16 April 1932), 14.; “Waterloo”, The war cry, (Sydney,
Saturday 16 April 1932), 14.; “Congress hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 21 May 1932), 12.; “Coming events”,
The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 28 May 1932), 13.; “Coming events”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 4 June 1932),
13.; “Coming events”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 11 June 1932), 13.; “Coming events”, The war cry, (Sydney,
Saturday 18 June 1932), 13.; “Crusade progress”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 25 June 1932), 8.; “Campsie”, The
war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 2 July 1932), 12.; “Revival crusaders”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 30 July 1932), 9.;
“Waverly”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 6 August 1932), 12.; “Coming events”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 6
August 1932), 13.; “Daffodil fair”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 3 September 1932), 13.; “Hornsby”, The war cry,
(Sydney, Saturday 22 October 1932), 16.; “Willoughby tent campaign”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 10 December
1932), 13.; “North Croydon Institute”, The Methodist, (Sydney, Saturday 3 September 1932), 11.
26 “Other services”, The Sydney morning herald, (NSW, Saturday 5 March 1932), 5.
27 “Official gazette”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28 January 1933), 8.
28 The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 21 January 1933), 10.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 102

Although a change of appointment could not be located, it appeared that Holloway had been
appointed to Territorial Headquarters (THQ), Sydney. Soon after Holloway became a captain, he was
involved in a failed rescue attempt. The Manly ferry left its jetty at 9:15pm and when it was between
the Sydney Heads a man went overboard. A lifeboat was launched, but when the man was found and
taken back to the ferry, he was unconscious. The passengers of the ferry attempted to revive the man.
The daily telegraph continued its report and stated,

One of those who worked tirelessly to try and restore animation was Captain Holloway of the
Salvation Army.

He did not know at the time that the man had frequently occupied a room at the Army
Hostel, and that in his pocket was a will leaving all he possessed to the Salvation Army.

Sadly, the man was not able to be revived and was pronounced dead.29
While he was stationed at THQ, Holloway continued to support corps around Sydney including

Botany Corps30 and Balmain Corps. At Balmain he assisted in a children’s campaign where his
“‘lightening sketch’ attracted old and young.”31

From THQ, Holloway was sent to be the assistant officer at Armidale Corps, located about
halfway between Brisbane and Sydney. A farewell report gave positive comments of his artistic skills,

Captain George Holloway, of Territorial Headquarters, has been appointed to Armidale Corps to
Assist. The smaller Corps around Sydney will miss the Captain, who has been a constant Special,
both interesting and instructing congregations with his crayon sketches of Bible stories and
parables.32

Following Armidale Corps, Holloway received a number of short-term appointments; Mayfield
Corps33 and Bexley Corps,34 both inner city corps of Sydney, and then Deniliquin Corps,35 a town
close to the NSW/ Victorian boarder. At many of these corps, Holloway was reported as having
conducted his talk with artistic sketches.36

The marriage of Holloway

From Deniliquin, Holloway was appointed to Nowra Corps on the south coast of NSW.37 While
stationed at Nowra, on 10 April 1935, Holloway married Captain Dorothy Isobel Mary Hoffman.
Hoffman had entered The Salvation Army Officer Training college from Willoughby, NSW in 1931
and was stationed at Griffith Corps at the time of their marriage.38 A local paper pointed out that

29 “Man drowned from ferry off the Heads”, The daily telegraph, (Sydney, Thursday 16 March 1933), 1.
30 “Botany”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 29 April 1933), 7.
31 “Balmain”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 25 March 1933), 7.
32 “Mainly about people”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 22 April 1933), 10.
33 “Mainly about people”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 17 June 1933), 11.; “Mayfield”, The war cry,
(Melbourne, Saturday 13 January 1934), 12.; “Mayfield”, Newcastle morning herald and miners’ advocate, (NSW,
Saturday 10 June 1933), 3.
34 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 2 December 1933), 10.
35 “Deniliquin”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 14 April 1934), 7.; “Salvation Army”, The independent,
(Deniliquin, Friday 19 January 1934), 4.; “Salvation Army”, The independent, (Deniliquin, Friday 29 June 1934), 4.
36 See for example, “Tighe’s Hill”, Newcastle morning herald and miners’ advocate, (Thursday 17 August 1933), 13.;
“Shortland”, Newcastle morning herald and miners’ advocate, (Saturday 30 September 1933), 4.
37 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 March 1935), 12.; “Nowra”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 6
April 1935), 12.; “Personal”, The Shoalhaven telegraph, (NSW, Wednesday 23 January 1935), 2.; “Advertising”, The
Nowra leader, (NSW, Friday 1 February 1935), 3.
38 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 6 July 1935), 12.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 103

Holloway had “made quite a number of friends during his comparatively short stay in Nowra.” While
he knew that as a married couple, they would receive a new appointment, they were not told where.39

The war cry carried a report on the wedding and pointed out that the local newspaper had included

the ceremony in its pages. The war cry stated,

OFFICERS’ WEDDING
Captain George Holloway and Captain Dorothy Hoffman
Nowra Hall was filled with people for the wedding of Captain George Holloway and Captain
Dorothy Hoffman. Lieutenant Hocking attended the bride, and Lieutenant Fischle supported the
bridegroom. Major Taylor conducted the wedding, which the local paper, in a lengthy report, says
was “in accordance with The Salvation Army regulations, and very impressive.”40
Hearty congratulations and the best of good wishes were passed on to the Captain and Mrs.
Holloway at an after-gathering, where the Rev. M. Newton (for the Churches), Sergeant-Major
Faulks (for the Corps), Lieutenant Hocking (for Griffith Corps), spoke. A large number of
telegraphed greetings were read.41

From the time of their wedding to February 1936, the couple were stationed at Rozelle Corps,
then another inner-city Sydney corps.42 They then were appointed to Sandgate Corps, Queensland
(Qld), a northern coastal suburb of Brisbane, where they soon engaged in all aspects of the corps.43

Queensland corps work

Information from this time again showed Holloway’s artistic ability and his use of his artwork in
meetings. At the Easter service, “[a] sketch will be given by Captain Holloway of Sandgate, picturing
the scene of Calvary, while the West End songsters will sing ‘The Old Rugged Cross.’”44 During the
State Congress he did a lightning sketch, “In Memory of the Founder”, William Booth.45 For
Christmas, Brisbane Salvationists held a musical festival and “[t]he closing special feature was a
Christmas sketch by Captain Holloway, who portrayed the story of the Wise Men and the Star”.46

On 7 October 1937, Holloway commenced his appointment at Boonah Corps, Qld, a rural town
about 80 km south-west of Brisbane.47 At the welcoming ‘social’, the corps folks played games,
participated in competitions and “[a] feature was a series of blackboard sketches by Capt.
Holloway.”48 Being a rural area, many activities of The Salvation Army were reported in the regional
newspaper, allowing more actions of Holloway to be identified. The Boonah Corps’ Young Peoples’

39 “Personal”, The Nowra leader, (NSW, Friday 5 April 1935), 4.; “Local and general”, The Shoalhaven news and South
Coast district advertiser, (NSW, Saturday 6 April 1935), 2.
40 While much of this quotation appeared in two local newspapers, The war cry inserted the word “very”. “Salvation
Army wedding”, The Shoalhaven news and South Coast districts advertiser, (NSW, Saturday 13 April 1935), 3.;
“Salvation Army wedding”, The Nowra leader, (NSW, Friday 19 April 1935), 1.
41 “Officers’ wedding”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 11 May 1935), 13.
42 “The Field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 May 1935), 12.; “Rozelle”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday
11 January 1936), 12.
43 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 15 February 1936), 15.; “Sandgate”, The war cry, (Melbourne,
Saturday 19 December 1936), 5.; “Contrasts between war and social spending”, The telegraph, (Brisbane, Monday 24
February 1936), 16.; “Salvation Army”, The telegraph, (Brisbane, Saturday 4 April 1936), 21.; “Anzac Day services,”
The telegraph, (Brisbane, Friday 24 April 1936), 5.
44 “Salvation Army Easter services”, The telegraph, (Brisbane, Saturday 11 April 1936), 17.
45 “Salvation Army Congress”, The courier-mail, (Brisbane, Tuesday 19 May 1936), 5.; “Salvation Army Congress”,
The telegraph, (Brisbane, Tuesday 19 May 1936), 20, 23.
46 “Brisbane Christmas musical festival”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 16 January 1937), 4.
47 The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 October 1937), 10.; “Boonah”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Thursday 11
November 1937), 12.
48 “Boonah”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Thursday 11 November 1937), 12.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 104

Anniversary in December saw Holloway use a different approach to his drawings; he did a “number
of sketches of children in the audience”. The program went for nearly two hours and it was reported
that “The Salvation Army Hall was inadequate for the accommodation of the large number of people
who turned out”.49

The following year, 1938 at the Boonah Corps’ Harvest Festival, Holloway assisted with the
decoration of the hall. The Queensland times recorded that,

A large illustration of five horses abreast drawing a reaping machine in a field of wheat was a
feature of the decorative effects. This was the handiwork, or, more appropriately, the artistry of
Captain Holloway, who is in charge of the local Army Corps.50

Holloway also used his skills at the neighbouring corps, Kalbar where he assisted with the Harvest
Festival and later the Self-Denial Appeal.51

An event in April showed the skills and gifts of both Captain and Mrs Holloway. The corps
took the School of Arts hall to run a concert to raise funds. The Queensland times covered the concert
and gave high praise for Holloway. In part, the newspaper stated,

The concert was produced by Captain and Mrs. Holloway, both of whom had put a great amount
of detailed work into the production, which was obviously enjoyed by the packed house. Several
of the items were of special merit, notably those in which Captain Holloway, with pencils and
paints, illustrated with rare artistry the song themes of the children. His ability as a black and
white artist was well demonstrated in his sketchings of “The Soliloquy of Sally.” During a vocal
duet entitled “The Church in the Wildwood” the theme was rapidly illustrated by the Captain in
a manner that was in the highest degree entertaining. A descriptive item – Noah’s Ark by the
children, was made realistic by animals, moulded in cardboard, gathered around a model of the
ark, and characteristic representation of the busy Noah.52

As he had done in Sydney, Holloway assisted churches in the Boonah area with his artistic
skills. When the new porch of the Lutheran Church at Dugandan was opened, it was revealed that
Holloway had painted the sign “St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1889” on the front of the new addition
to the church building. Twice in the year, Holloway also assisted the Methodist Church with a sketch
described as a “fascinating feature”. In addition to the Lutheran and Methodist churches, he assisted
the Church of Christ by presenting a sketch for their Harvest Festival.53

49 “Fassifern district”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Tuesday 7 December 1937), 8.
50 “Fassifern district”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Tuesday 22 February 1938), 2.
51 “Kalbar”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Monday 7 March 1938), 8.; “Kalbar”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich,
Friday 23 September 1938), 12.
52 “Fassifern district”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Tuesday 12 April 1938), 9.
53 “Porch dedicated”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Tuesday 26 April 1938), 6.; “Fassifern district”, The Queensland
times, (Ipswich, Saturday 14 May 1938), 14.; “Milford”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Thursday 29 September
1938), 12.; “Fassifern district”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Friday 31 March 1939), 2.; Aub Podlich and Kirsten
Podlich, Dugandan. Our people – our church. A pictorial tribute to the people of Trinity Lutheran Church on the 125th
anniversary of the dedication of our church, (Queensland: Lutheran Church of Australia, 2014), 69.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 105

(Left) Image of the sign painted by George Holloway on the Dugandan Lutheran Church
(Right) An enlarged section of the photograph showing Holloway’s signwriting54

The war cry contempory to this time showed the powerful effect of Holloway’s drawing. The
war cry reported,

The man had been boxing at a local show, and had noticed a copy of The War Cry being passed
to a mate of his by the Corps Officer from Kalbar. The man, who had a wound in the centre of his
forehead (received in a fighting bout), was later attracted by an Open-air crowd who were
watching Captain Holloway, of Boonah, sketching “Sin’s Boomerang,” which showed the
boomerang as a wound in the centre of a man’s forehead – the same spot as the boxer’s scar. This
so impressed the fighting man that he followed the Captain’s wife to the Quarters, just a little
ahead of the Captain, and asked to be instructed in the Way of Salvation. He afterwards left for
Melbourne, and the Captain is keeping in touch with him.55

William Booth hoped that ‘Salvation Graphics’ would “equal or excel anything that the world
can produce”.56 Holloway’s ability to paint animals and landscapes was clearly seen in a report
printed in The Queensland times. The report outlined that Boonah Corps had run an “Aussie
Afternoon”, then continued,

Captain G. Holloway had an illustration of a typically Australian scene extended across the back
of the platform. Two giant gum trees towered to the roof. Laughing jackasses [kookaburras] were
perched on its branches. Life-like paintings of two native bears [koalas] looked down on the
audience from the trees, and an old man kangaroo raised his giant bulk nearby. The
representations of two native bears [koalas], dressed as an old man and an old woman, carrying
their swags, were in the foreground. The shadow effects were done extremely well, and the picture
was appropriately named, “On the Sunset Track.”

The report also included that during the concert, Holloway completed a coloured picture of two
kookaburras on a blackboard as the laugh of a kookaburra played on a gramophone.57 His quality of
artistry was attracting attention!

54 Photograph courtesy of “a current member of Trinity Lutheran Church at Dugandan” and Friends of Lutheran
Archives, Queensland (FOLAQ). The people in the photograph requested to remain anonymous.
55 “The boxer and the boomerang”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 July 1938), 9.
56 Booth, “The General’s letter”, 1.
57 “Fassifern district”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Monday 4 July 1938), 2.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 106

As shown, regular Salvation Army activities staged Holloway’s talents, but so did larger Army
events.58 As with the Christmas musical festival in 1936, Holloway participated in a large divisional
event in 1938. During the Young People’s Demonstration in Brisbane Holloway again did his
“lightning sketches [which] attracted close attention”.59

The year 1939 was another busy year for Holloway at Boonah Corps:60 he wrote a serial in The
war cry called “Not a farmer but a sower of seed”;61 a son, Bernard George Holloway was born on
24 May;62 sketches and back drops were painted for Kalbar Corps’ Self-Denial, Beaudesert Corps’
Bush Fair, and Boonah Corps’ Fete.63 Holloway was also listed as playing his mouth organ in
concerts.64

Advertisement for George Holloway sketching at Beaudesert65

In 1940, the family were appointed to the Fortitude Valley Corps, Qld, which was an inner-city
Brisbane corps.66 This appointment placed Holloway in a good location to be used at combined
Salvation Army meetings in Brisbane. First, Holloway was used for the combined Self-Denial Appeal
thanksgiving meeting; here he “depicted, by sketching, the various branches of The Army’s work”.67
Second, the combined Brisbane Easter meetings had “[t]he programme … enriched by two sketches
by Captain Holloway, ‘The Song of Brother Jones’ and ‘Death to Life’”.68 Third, at the Queensland
State Congress, Holloway again took part. The war cry reported,

The Scripture reading, dealing with the parable of the Prodigal Son, was recited by Captain G.
Holloway; then, to the playing of The Penitent’s Plea, the Captain sketched scenes’ in the
prodigal’s life. The presentation was received in deep silence; the message was personal and
powerful.69

58 Holloway drew sketches for Boonah Corps’ Self-Denial fair. “Salvation Army fair”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich,
Friday 30 September 1938), 10.
59 “Talents of youth”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 June 1938), 7.
60 “All worked enthusiastically”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 March 1939), 12.
61 “Not a farmer but a sower of seed”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 20 May 1939), 5.
62 “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 22 July 1939), 10.; ancestry.com.au
63 “Kalbar”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Thursday 2 March 1939), 2.; “Advertising”, The Beaudesert times, (Qld,
Friday 3 March 1939), 4.; “Harvest festival”, The Beaudesert times, (Qld, Friday 10 March 1939), 3.; “Boonah”, The
war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 25 November 1939), 4.
64 “Harvest festival”, The Beaudesert times, (Qld, Friday 10 March 1939), 3.; “Fassifern District”, The Queensland
times, (Ipswich, Monday 3 July 1939), 3.
65 “Advertising”, The Beaudesert times, (Qld, Friday 3 March 1939), 4.
66 “Official gazette”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 16 September 1939), 8.; “Valley”, The war cry, (Melbourne,
Saturday 20 January 1940), 4.
67 “SO. [sic] Queensland”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 4 November 1939), 6.
68 “In the Queensland capital”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 6 April 1940), 7.
69 “The standard is high”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 1 June 1940), 10.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 107

At the same Congress, Holloway produced art on the lighter side. In the youth meeting, the Fortitude
Valley Corps’ young people presented acts that,

… included lifelike portraits under the lightning brush of Captain George Holloway, and an
overalled staff of six young women. The kindly characteristics of General Carpenter were seen,
and as a farewell gesture to Lieut.-Commissioner Dalziel, he was depicted with a good measure
of exactness.70

Holloway did not just appear at large events, but also assisted in other Salvation Army corps
around Brisbane. He painted items for the Caboolture Corps fete, which was to raise funds for Self-
Denial.71 It would have been difficult raising money at this stage as there were many similar events
being held in the attempt to secure funds for Australia’s war effort.

While militaries around the world were engaged in deadly campaigns, in 1941 The Salvation
Army in Brisbane was running a series of “beach campaigns” to save souls. At several Queensland
seaside resorts, such as Sandgate, Wynnum, and Lota, open-airs and other meetings were held. Of
Holloway it was noted, “Captain Holloway, with ready brush, depicted topical events carrying a
spiritual message.”72

Holloway family matters

The family was appointed to Nundah Corps, Qld in February 1941, another inner-city corps, this time
to the north of Brisbane City and close to their earlier appointment at Sandgate Corps.73 This
appointment caused mixed feelings for the family. Soon after their arrival at Nundah Corps The war
cry reported, “Captain and Mrs. Holloway, of Nundah, have been very anxious owing to the serious
illness of their children, for whom prayer is requested.”74 The children were likely Bernard and newly
born (14 February 1941) Ralph Walter Frank Holloway.75 While at the corps the couple were also
promoted to the rank of Adjutant.76

Although the family had had major concerns over their children, The Salvation Army was still
using Holloway for large divisional events. Over Easter 1941, a series of combined meetings were
planned, and it was stated that in one of these Holloway “proclaimed a powerful message in his skilful
sketching of ‘The Seeking Shepherd.’”77 In June, to promote the work of The Salvation Army’s war
work and [to] collect funds, a “Women’s war-work exhibition [was held] in Brisbane City Hall”. The
report of the event stated, “Adjutant Holloway’s artistic efforts were especially striking. One picture
showed a company of children holding a meeting in a London tube railway station.”78 As many of
the paintings and drawings of Holloway were not intended to be kept, very few visual examples
remain. This “war-work exhibition” was however photographed.

70 “Brisbane youth”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 8 June 1940), 4.
71 “Caboolture’s S. D. fete”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 5 October 1940), 3.
72 “Beach campaigns”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 1 February 1941), 6.
73 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 22 February 1941), 4.; “Salvation Army officers’ annual changes”,
The courier-mail, (Brisbane, Tuesday 7 January 1941), 6.
74 “Eastern Territory”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 8 March 1941), 7.
75 “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 19 April 1941), 7.
76 “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 10 May 1941), 7.; “Official gazette”, The war cry,
(Melbourne, Saturday 21 June 1941), 4.; “Salvation Army”, The telegraph, (Brisbane, Saturday 26 April 1941), 18.;
“Church notes”, The courier-mail, (Brisbane, Saturday 26 April 1941), 11.
77 “Easter musical festival”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 26 April 1941), 7.
78 “Red Shield display”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28 June 1941), 7.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 108

“Queensland Red Shield activities in model Red Shield Hut at the Women’s War-Work Exhibition in
the Brisbane City Hall” In the background are examples of Holloway’s work79

As shown, illness had hit the children of the family in March 1941, and again in August it was
announced the family were concerned about “the ill-health of their children. The baby is in hospital,
and Mrs. Holloway has to be in attendance.”80 Sadly, the baby, Ralph Walter Frank Holloway was
promoted to Glory on 4 August 1941, he was not yet 6 months old.81 The family did not have long to
grieve as within four months they were again on the move and had to leave the grave of their lost
child behind.

Final corps work

In February 1942, the Holloway family were appointed to Kempsey Corps, in the mid north coast of
NSW.82 More sadness came to the family while at Kempsey. Their surviving son, Bernard “was badly
burned in a primus stove accident, and had treatment in hospital”. At the time it was reported he made
“satisfactory progress” but evidently not enough.83 On 6 June another son was born, John Garth
Holloway, yet the three-year-old Bernard was unwell and again taken to hospital; a short time later
Bernard was promoted to Glory.84 Holloway was also involved in a car accident that put his car out
of order just as his work was increasing with the war effort.85 Despite the series of sad events,
Holloway continued to work in the corps and started to find ways to assist the growing needs of
military troops in the area.

79 “Red Shield display”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28 June 1941), 4.
80 The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 August 1941), 7.
81 Queensland, births, deaths, and marriages, https://www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au/ accessed 12 February 2021.;
“Family notices”, The courier-mail, (Tuesday 5 August 1941), 10.; “Amazing acts”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday
23 August 1941), 4.; “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 6 September 1941), 5.;
ancestry.com.au
82 “Official gazette”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 7 February 1942), 3.; “2 Churches cancel conferences”, The
courier-mail, (Brisbane, Saturday 10 January 1942), 6.; The Macleay chronicle, (Qld, Wednesday 21 January 1942), 4.
83 The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 21 March 1942), 7.
84 “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 1 August 1942), 5.; “Bernard George Holloway”, The
Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 24 July 1942), 2.; “Return thanks”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Tuesday 4
August 1942), 2.
85 “Without a car”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 24 April 1942), 2.; “Our mail bag”, The Macleay argus,
(Kempsey, Friday 10 July 1942), 4.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 109

Holloway continued to use his artistic gifts. He contributed vocal and sketching items to the
Corps’ Harvest Festival program and other programs run to raise funds for the corps brass band.86 A
report on a concert commenced with the subtitle “Fine Entertainment in Salvation Army Hall” and
outlined the artwork presented by Holloway,

A remarkable feature of the entertainment was the lightning sketch water color [sic] work of Adjt.
G. Holloway. Whilst Mr. H. Williams sang “When I get To The End Of The Road,” the Adjutant
quickly sketched a lovely scene with a road leading into the sunset; …

Holloway accompanied two other items with his artistic skills, then,

Messrs. A. Clissold and H. Williams sang “Come to the Church in the Wildwood,” their vocal
duet being accompanied by Mr. Alwyn Secomb at the organ; and the artistic effect was greatly
enhanced by Adjt. Holloway’s charming sketch of an old English scene with the church nestling
by the woodland in the valley. As the artists were applauded a lady in the audience announced
that she’d like to buy the sketch, which was sold to her for 2/-. Mr. George Tweddle promptly
auctioned the next picture to Mr. Williams for 4/-, whereupon Mr. Williams sold George another
for 2/-.

On the next sheet of paper, Mr. Clissold made a brush sweep which the Adjutant quickly
turned into a clever caricature of Mr. Geo. Tweddle handing out new boots for old, and an auction
of this picture brought in over £1, all the moneys going to the Band funds.

… The Adjutant finished his performance with an excellent sketch entitled “The Prodigal’s
Return,” one of the best pictures of the evening.87

As the focus of the Australian war effort shifted from Europe to Asia in 1942, Australia needed
to prepare itself for potential invasion. Holloway started to help the town move to a war footing. He
began to organise the collection of clothing, “in case of emergency. Should there be raids on
Kempsey, with consequent suffering and loss of personal effects”, they had heard about the
devastation in Europe and wanted to be prepared.88 He also helped prepare the community for any
first aid needs with the organising of A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions) lectures.89 Throughout these times
Holloway was clear that all people were welcome to come to him “[i]f in trouble of any kind.”90

An example of the advertisements for the Kempsey Corps91

86 “Salvation Army”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 6 March 1942), 4.; “Salvation Army”, The Macleay argus,
(Kempsey, Tuesday 19 May 1942), 2.
87 “Concert and play”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Wednesday 20 May 1942), 4.
88 “Clothing for bomb victims”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Wednesday 11 March 1942), 7.
89 “A. R. P. lecture”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 17 April 1942), 4.
90 See for example, “Salvation Army”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Tuesday 19 May 1942), 2.
91 See for example, “Salvation Army”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Tuesday 19 May 1942), 2.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 110

As World War Two continued, The Salvation Army decided to open more work with troops. In
July 1942, Major Ralph Satchell, Assistant Commissioner for Red Shield War Services visited
Kempsey to arrange for the establishment of a Red Shield Club.92 It appears the first club ran from
“Lane’s shop in Clyde Street”.93 Not only did he need to secure funds, he had to find a larger building,
fit it out with games, furniture, and refreshments, secure the volunteers to run it and provide
entertainment and music. By August of 1942, Holloway had opened a two-story Red Shield Club for
troops “at the eastern end of the traffic bridge”.94 It was stated, “Adjutant Holloway, whose artistic
ability is seen to advantage at the front of the building, already has the Red Shield Club in full
operation.”95 His artistic skills were also used for the military soldiers of Kempsey. As men left for
war, they were given a pocket wallet with the inscription, “Above all, be a Christian soldier, and may
God bless you and bring you back safe and well in every way”. These wallets were inscribed by
Holloway, this showed his versatile artistic skills.96 His leadership in organising The Salvation
Army’s war work saw him appointed full time into the Red Shield War Services of The Salvation
Army.

War service with The Salvation Army

In January 1943, Adjutant G. Holloway was appointed to assist at Red Shield Headquarters in
Brisbane, for The Salvation Army’s Military work.97 As much of Holloway’s work would have
needed to be kept out of the media, information on his movements were therefore difficult to locate.

On Tuesday 29 June 1943, Brisbane City Temple hosted an event to raise funds for The
Salvation Army’s war effort, titled “Special Red Shield Night.” It was advertised as a “Programme
of Music and Sketches by Major H. Woodland and Adjutant F. G. Holloway, assisted by City Temple
Band.”98

In October of that year, Holloway was again on the move; he was appointed to take charge of
The Salvation Army’s work in the Sellheim Camp in north Qld, near Charters Towers.99 The Ipswich
newspaper, The Queensland times announced that,

Word has been received from the Red Shield Headquarters …. Of the release of No. 2 Ipswich
mobile civil canteen unit, to be used by Adjutant Geo. Holloway as a military unit to service
troops in a northern area. Word is to hand that the Adjutant and the canteen have arrived safely at
their destination. The canteen will be of great service at the Red Shield post.100

No information could be found on Holloway’s movements throughout 1944 and no notes
appeared about any transfers. However, by January 1945, it appeared that Holloway had been
reassigned to a Military camp near Beaudesert, Qld, a rural town about 70 km south of Brisbane. He
requested volunteers to join the “Red Shield Sewing Club” in the Beaudesert area. This had been a
group of volunteers who visited Military camps each week to sew for the troops.101

92 “Red Shield Club”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 10 July 1942), 5.
93 “Red Shield Club”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 7 August 1942), 5.
94 “Red Shield Club”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 7 August 1942), 5.
95 “Red Shield Clubs”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 19 September 1942), 6.
96 “On service”, The Macleay argus, (Kempsey, Friday 30 October 1942), 2.
97 “Red Shield doings”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 13 February 1943), 4.; “Town topics”, The Macleay argus,
(Kempsey, Wednesday 6 January 1943), 2.
98 “Salvation Army”, The telegraph, (Brisbane, Saturday 26 June 1943), 4.
99 “Personal intelligence”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 October 1943), 5.
100 “Red Shield Huts”, The Queensland times, (Ipswich, Saturday 2 October 1943), 3.
101 “Red Shield Sewing Club”, The Beaudesert times, (Qld, Friday 12 January 1945), 2.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 111

‘Brother’ Holloway

Sources on Holloway again went cold throughout the remainder of 1945; no information appears on
him in The war cry or newspapers until he appeared in a report on the Parramatta Corps late in 1946.
The sources from this point on also failed to give information on his wife or any children, although
some personal memories state there was a daughter with him at Bankstown Corps. Also, none of the
reports in The war cry gave a rank, they only listed, “Brother Holloway”, which appears to show he
had left officership. There are also some conflicting information in sources about his links with The
Salvation Army.

There is no clear indication what employment Holloway had once he left officership; he may
have returned to his earlier signwriting trade as he was soon using his painting talents as an
evangelical tool in The Salvation Army and a War cry item encouraged people to use Holloway’s
artistic talents.102

Holloway appeared in November 1946 at Parramatta Corps, NSW. One Sunday, “[i]n the
afternoon Brother Holloway’s lightning sketches, illustrating various songs, and his narration of The
Prodigal Son, with accompanying sketch, were effective.”103 At this time it appears Holloway was
living at East Bankstown. This suburb was listed in an 1948 issue of The war cry, although no other
information was given about him, except a picture of a poster he had illustrated.104

An example of artwork by George Holloway, 1948105
Although no longer an officer of The Salvation Army, Holloway’s zeal for souls had not
wavered and the use of his talents still led people to God. Although Holloway had left officership, he
had remained a soldier of The Salvation Army and was to continue to use his artistic gifts. There
appeared to be several themes of meetings in which he used his sketches and painted illustrations;
meetings for young people, revivals to awake and grow spiritual awareness, and fund-raising
activities.

102 “‘Not by might, nor by power’”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 3 July 1948), 8.
103 “Eighteen at Parramatta”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 30 November 1946), 6.
104 “‘Not by might, nor by power’”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 3 July 1948), 8.
105 “‘Not by might, nor by power’”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 3 July 1948), 8.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 112

Young people’s meetings

A few reports showed that Holloway could effectively minister to children and young people. In 1948,
at the Belmore Corps’ Young People’s Annual, Holloway “sketched his illustrations of spiritual
truths”.106 In 1950, he participated in the youth weekend at Bankstown Corps with his “lightning
sketches”.107 In 1951, Holloway, with the support of Bandsman Bryon, led the Sunday meeting for
the young people’s anniversary at Willoughby Corps. It was stated, “Brother Holloway, a talented
artist, held the attention of tinies and adults by his lightning sketches with which he illustrated his
lesson.”108

Revival meetings

Holloway’s desire to teach people biblical truths and see them convert to Christianity remained
strong. In 1949, on a Sunday afternoon at Sydney Congress Hall, “Brother George Holloway gave a
spiritual message illustrated by lightning sketches.”109 Then, later in the year at Marrickville Corps,
“[t]wo reconsecrations were made at Marrickville on Sunday night, when Brother Holloway gave the
lesson with brush and paint.”110 In 1951, there were a few events aimed to develop spiritual awareness
of Salvationists and non-Salvationists alike. Firstly, Holloway’s skills were used to introduce how
Salvation Army cadets received their calling to officership,

Brother S. [sic] Holloway enlivened the afternoon Meeting with his lightning sketches, illustrating
how Christ entered the life of the Cadets, as each gave their testimony. Two boys sought Christ.111

Secondly, at Ashfield Corps, “Special Meetings have been conducted by Mrs. Lieut.-Colonel R.
McClure, Lieut.-Colonel Robert Rignold and Brother George Holloway.”112 Thirdly, a report on
Parramatta Corps stated, “Brother George Holloway, the lightning sketch artist, led a profitable
Sunday night Meeting.”113 Fourthly, “artist George Holloway” joined with “well-known Pastor of the
‘Church in the Wildwood’ Session [on] 2CH [radio]” at Sydney Congress Hall in 1954.114

Even while on holidays, Holloway would attend The Salvation Army and assist in meetings. In
1953, he visited Nowra, where he had previously been the corps officer. When visiting the corps, he
“gave an illustrated address”.115

At his local corps he also used his talents to teach the community about Christ. At Bankstown
Corps, Holloway would often do “roadside sketch lessons” at open-air meetings.116

106 “Infectious Christianity”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 17 January 1948), 7.
107 “Young people to the fore”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 5 August 1950), 7.
108 “Youth activity”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 30 June 1951), 7.
109 “Sydney Congress Hall”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 23 April 1949), 6.
110 “Training College newsletter”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 24 September 1949), 6.
111 “Illustrated testimonies”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 9 June 1951), 6.
112 “Ashfield”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 11 August 1951), 6.
113 “Three girls and a man converted”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 25 August 1951), 6.
114 “Advertising”, The Sydney morning herald, (NSW, Saturday 19 June 1954), 21.
115 “Visitors help”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 14 March 1953), 7.
116 “Busy at Bankstown”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 2 July 1955), 4.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 113

An example of a Bible truth lighting sketch drawn by George Holloway titled “Life’s voyage”.
There is evidence that this talk was given at both Waverly Corps and North Sydney Corps in 1932117

117 Autograph book of Captain Edward Merrick, housed in The Salvation Army Australia Museum, Sydney, cited in
“Sketches from an autograph book”, 7 – 9.; Callaghan, “A recent arrival at the museum”, 7 – 8.; “Waverly”, The war
cry, (Sydney, Saturday 6 August 1932), 12.; “Daffodil fair”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 3 September 1932), 13.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 114

Fund raising activities

The Salvation Army had many opportunities for people to attend events to raise finances for corps
and social work. In 1952, “Brother F. G. Holloway conducted the Sunday Meetings”, for the Harvest
Festival at Daceyville Corps, with the Belmore Corps band and songsters assisting.118 In 1953, he
conducted the “Harvest Sunday meetings” at Mortdale Corps and it was said of him that his
“sketching brought gospel truths to life”.119 Later in the year, Holloway did a similar presentation at
Manly Corps, as “Harvest Festival meetings were conducted by Brother George Holloway of
Bankstown, whose illustrative paintings created great interest both at indoor and open-air
meetings.”120

Holloway also painted cars. In 1953, Salvationists throughout Australia raised funds to supply
a motor vehicle for Senior-Captain Gladys Callis in Indonesia. Holloway gave his time and paint free
for the signwriting on the vehicle before it was shipped to Callis.121

The Salvation Army has placed a great deal of importance on the annual collection of the Self-
Denial Appeal; a way of raising funds for the movement’s work. In 1956, a meeting was held at
Sydney Congress Hall to celebrate the amounts of money collected by individuals and Salvation
Army departments. As each total was announced, Holloway and another Salvationist artist, A. Stuart
Peterson drew cartoons,

Under the title, “The eyes have it,” artists A. Stuart Peterson, of Congress Hall, and George
Holloway, of Bankstown, kept the crowd highly interested with their cartoons portraying the totals
raised by the various departments and divisions.122

Personal life and Sydney’s northern beaches

After Holloway left officership there were still times of grief. Holloway’s father, Frederick William
Holloway passed away in 1953; and the remaining son, John Garth Holloway was promoted to Glory
on 5 November 1955 at Hurstville (he had been born in Kempsey on 6 June 1942).123 Tracking
Holloway’s movements, it appears that he lived in the Bankstown area until about 1957/1958 when
his circle of travel changed to centre around Salvation Army corps in the northern beaches of Sydney.
Holloway’s relocation to the northern beaches of Sydney was to some extent a homecoming, as it
was from this area, he went to The Salvation Army Officer Training College in 1930. The move did
not stop his ministry.

Holloway joined the Dee Why Corps and participated in the brass band and other ministries.
One of the first major events Holloway was involved in was a weekend to celebrate the history of the
corps. The weekend “was arranged by local district historian and C.S.M., Chas McDonald, and artist,
Bandsman G. Holloway.”124

118 The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 22 March 1952), 7.
119 “Won by swearing-in”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28 March 1953), 7.
120 “Youth progress”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 April 1953), 7.
121 “Jeep for Indonesia”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 14 February 1953), 5.
122 “Causes rejoicing in Eastern Territory”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 27 October 1956), 4.
123 NSW, birth, deaths, and marriages, https://familyhistory.bdm.nsw.gov.au/lifelink/familyhistory/search/result?22,
retrieved 12 February 2021.; ancestry.com.au; https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/1413622:60528
accessed 19 February 2021.
124 “Past and present”, The musician, (Australia, September 1957), 132.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 115

Dee Why Corps brass band showing Holloway on cornet125

In 1958, Holloway conducted campaigns throughout the former Australia Southern Territory
with other Salvationists from the Sydney area. These campaigns were designed to encourage people
to attend The Salvation Army. Firstly, in March, Holloway travelled to South Australia where the
Adelaide Congress Hall band assisted him with a program.126 Secondly, in June, he travelled with
other Salvationists to Victoria, the advertisement of their visit stated,

Young People’s Sergeant-Major (Dr.) and Mrs. W. Kinder and Brother G. Holloway, all of
Sydney, are to visit Melbourne for the Queen’s birthday holiday weekend. Brother Holloway, a
lightning sketch artist, illustrates band and songster numbers, and the visitors will take part in
festivals at Camberwell (Friday), Malvern (Saturday) and the Melbourne City Temple
(Monday).127

Only the reports of Holloway’s time in Camberwell and Melbourne City Temple could be located,
yet these gave positive feedback of the events.128

Later in the year, Holloway collaborated again with “the well-known radio personality, Mr.
John Davis,” to “illustrate with rapid sketching” Davis’ talk. The presentation was given at The
Salvation Army Petersham Corps, Sydney.129

One weekend in 1959, Holloway, again with YPSM Dr. Kingston Kinder, travelled to the south
coast of NSW to conduct a meeting for the Woonona Salvation Army Corps. It was stated that while
“the doctor [was] giving the address, [it] was skilfully illustrated on the sketch board by Brother
Holloway.”130

To commemorate the life and work of Australian poet Henry Lawson, Holloway travelled to
Grenfell to paint a mural depicting Lawson’s poem, When the Army prays for Watty. The painting
was placed in the window of the grocery store owned by fellow Salvationist Bandmaster Jack Stiff.131

125 “21 years at a seaside corps”, The musician, (Australia, 21 July 1962), 112.
126 “Additional effort”, The musician, (Australia, March 1958), 42.
127 “Paragraphs of interest”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 21 June 1958), 4.
128 See report of the event, “Youthful seekers”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 2 August 1958), 7.; “Extracts from a
Staff Bandsman’s diary”, The musician, (Australia, August 1958), 124.
129 “Seekers a stimulus”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 4 October 1958), 7.
130 “Visit by T.Y.P.S.” The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 July 1959), 6.
131 “Impressions of an artist and a poet”, The musician, (Australia, September 1959), 143.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 116

A mural painted by George Holloway depicting When the Army prays for Watty. It was placed in
Bandmaster Jack Stiff’s grocery store for “Henry Lawson celebrations at Grenfell”132

132 “Impressions of an artist and a poet”, The musician, (Australia, September 1959), 143.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 117

Holloway became very active in the Dee Why Corps. Before the opening of their new hall, the
Dee Why Corps were holding salvation meetings each Sunday night at the local camping ground.
One report on these activities showed the attraction that artistic forms had on children. The war cry
report stated,

One woman has asked for the names of her children to be put on the roll at Ryde where they live.
These young people have been particularly interested by Brother G. Holloway with his sketches,
Bandsman (Dr.) Kinder with the flannelgraph and Mrs. Major H. Hill with puppets.133

As with his time as a Salvation Army officer in Brisbane, Holloway was again used for large
Salvation Army events. A territorial young people’s musical festival was held at Sydney Congress
Hall and included items from young people representing four different divisions. At the event, “[t]he
Deewhy [sic] young people presented the 23rd Psalm while Brother G. Holloway was illustrating with
sketches”.134

On 14 October 1961, the Dee Why Corps opened their new citadel and young people’s hall.135
The painting of the text on the wall behind the platform was done for the opening by Holloway. It is
a clear example of Holloway’s work. The Dee Why Citadel painting is also a good example of the
quality of his work, as only after many years was it needed to be touched up. It was appropriate that
Holloway’s friend, Mrs Beryl Kinder later enhanced the colours of the painting to return it to its
original condition. At this point, the painting in the Dee Why Corps Citadel appears to be the only
remaining example of Holloway’s work on the wall of a Salvation Army building still in existence.
Also, as much of his work was painted for one off events, there appears to be little of his work
available for viewing.

While Holloway attended the Dee Why Corps, he assisted the Newcastle Corps with a float for
the ‘Mattara Festival’ with great effect. The war cry report stated, “Brother George Holloway, of
Dee-why [sic], supplied the luminous paint signs and the Army float secured second place in the
religious entries.”136

In 1962, Holloway helped with another large Salvation Army young people’s event, the
children’s meeting at a Territorial Congress. The report of the event stated,

On Sunday afternoon 200 children attended a young people’s company meeting held in the
basement of the Sydney Town Hall, under the direction of Major T. Higgins and Major J. McCabe
with divisional youth officers assisting. Brother George Holloway assisted with lightning
sketches.137

By the mid-1960s, Holloway had transferred to the Manly Corps. Manly Citadel gives another
example of Holloway’s work in Salvation Army halls. In this citadel is possibly the only example of
his work on a wooden framed board. It is more difficult to identify other paintings done by Holloway
as there are few records of his work. The text identified by Captain Louanne Mitchel at the Manly
Citadel shows a similar style to that of the Dee Why Citadel, however not directly painted on the
wall, but rather on a board and in a frame.

133 “DeeWhy [sic]”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 19 March 1960), 7.
134 “Annual festival”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 24 September 1960), 5.
135 “Imposing set of corps buildings dedicated and opened at Deewhy [sic]”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28
October 1961), 4.
136 “Army float attracts attention in Newcastle procession”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 28 October 1961), 4.
137 “Night of prayer”, The war cry, (Melbourne, The Easter, 1962), 11.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 118

The text believed to be painted by George Holloway, Manly Corps138

There is something of a strange source in the life and ministry of Holloway. Captain Louanne
Mitchel, the current Corps Officer of the Manly Corps stated that the corps history book records that
on 12 April 1966, in the Manly Corps Citadel, the hall from which he left for College 36 years
previously, George Holloway was re-enrolled as a senior soldier of The Salvation Army by Captain
Ron Whitehouse. It was said that he and his wife attended the corps for a number of years.139
However, Holloway was clearly a soldier in Dee Why throughout the 1950s and assisted in
evangelical campaigns. There could be an error in the written statement in the history book or the
meaning may have been that the Holloways transferred into the corps or renewed their covenant at
this time.

During Easter 1966, Holloway presented his lightning sketch at the events held at Dulwich Hill
Temple Corps which “attracted an overflow crowd”. The report continued,

Lightning sketch artist Brother George Holloway painted scenes of the garden, the trial, the
crucifixion and the resurrection, whilst appropriate music was presented by the temple band and
songster brigade and individual singers.

A personality attraction of the night was Bruce Menzies, of TV Channel 9, as narrator, with
script written by Major Nelson Dunster.140

This was the final report located on Holloway’s artistic gifts used in meetings. As technologies
changed, visual images became mass produced and easier to obtain, and fewer varieties of talks were
given in meetings, Holloway disappeared from War cry reports linked to meetings. Four years later,
in 1970, Holloway painted a mural and presented it to the Manly Corps. It appeared to be a painting
of Jesus at the wheel of a vessel during a storm. The final statement on Holloway was that in 1972 he
travelled to Toowoomba. Of interest was that Holloway’s brother William Henry Holloway had died
in Toowoomba at an earlier date, so George Holloway may have gone to visit family. Additionally,
Frank Shaw was listed in the report, showing that Holloway and his old mentor still had contact.141

138 Photograph courtesy of Captain Louanne Mitchel.
139 Information supplied by Captain Louanne Mitchel.
140 “Final Easter news reports”, The musician, (Australia, 28 May 1966), 80.
141 “Shield winners”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 18 November 1972), 5.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 119

It appears that at some time after 1972, Frederick George Holloway moved to New Zealand and
was promoted to Glory from there in 1999. Dorothy, his wife is believed to have died in 2005,
although the location has not been identified.142 Sadly, there has been no tribute to Holloway located.
But it is certain that his brushstrokes reached people; the people that only paint and pictures could.
His tribute lies not in written text, but in the souls of those he reached with the Gospel. It is clear that
Holloway was a talented artist and appeared at the time where the visual image was becoming more
important to portray messages. Referring back to the quotation at the beginning of the paper, William
Booth encouraged Salvationists to consecrate their artistic gifts and this was evident in the life and
art of Holloway.

George Holloway aids in the unveiling of his mural at Manly Citadel, 1970143

142 Ancestry.com.au.
143 “Mural at Manly”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 30 May 1970), 3.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 120

Photograph of Salvation Army officer, Adjutant Harry Munn; known as ‘Mad Munn’1

1 Photograph originally owned by Robert and Phyllida Munn. Courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 121

‘MAD MUNN’ – ARISING AGAIN
A GREAT-GRANDSON RECALLS
THE THEATRICAL EVANGELIST

Richard Munn

Introduction
Harry Munn (1864 – 1904), aka ‘Mad Munn’ was imprinted upon me from early childhood by a
unique combination of revered awe and tongue-in-cheek mischief, “your great grandfather was
known as ‘Mad Munn’ you know, he used to preach from a coffin.”

Adding to the mystique, his notably large and framed Victorian photographic portrait hung
prominently in the living room of the south east London Salvation Army home of my grandmother
Dora, wife of Mad Munn’s son, Harry. He always seemed to be surveying us all as we visited, keeping
a hawkeyed review of our exploits for Army mission.2

Then, with exquisite timing for this imaginative boy, the UK War cry embarked on a weekly
cartoon series in the early 1960s, Alive in his coffin– retelling in picturesque and bite-size episodes
the life story of Adjutant Harry Munn.

Alive in his coffin ‘Mad Munn’ by A.E Horne and Albert Kenyon3

Reference citation of this paper; Richard Munn, “‘Mad Munn’ – Arising again. A great-grandson recalls the
theatrical evangelist”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 121 – 135.
2 See “Photograph of Salvation Army officer, Harry Munn; known as ‘Mad Munn’”.
3 Images are from A.E Horne and Albert Kenyon, Alive in his coffin ‘Mad Munn’, in various issues of The war cry,
(London, 1963). Some strips also appeared in various issues of The war cry, (Melbourne, 1952).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 122

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 123

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 124

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 125

The narrative outlined in The war cry serial was originally described in the same-named booklet
by Albert Kenyon.4 Kenyon’s booklet was part of the Liberty Booklet series of Salvation Army great
hearts such as William and Catherine Booth, Kate Lee, and James Dowdle; first printed and produced
during the 1940s.

4 Albert Kenyon, Alive in his coffin – Harry Munn, Liberty Booklet, (London, UK: Campfield Press, Salvationist
Publishing Supplies, 1948).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 126

Cover of Liberty Booklet, Alive in his coffin5

Alive in his coffin listed with other biographies of
well-known Salvationists in the Liberty Series6

Imagine that?! My very own ancestor featured in a weekly cartoon and had a biography in a
collection featuring the Founder! It just added to the aura.

Finally, for extra flourish and emphasis, on a dark January Sunday evening Salvation Meeting
in 1970, this earnest 14-year-old was enrolled under the army tricolor by the visiting divisional
commander, who promptly informed the gathered uniform-wearing Letchworth Corps, United
Kingdom, that I came from “the greatest evangelist in the history of the Army.” Even I knew that had
to be an exaggeration, that Booth and Railton might have greater credentials in that regard.

But, it was yet another stamp of imprint.

5 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, front cover.
6 Gladys Moon, Conquistador – Eduardo Palaci, Liberty Booklet, (London, UK: Salvationist Publishing and Supplies,
1946), back cover.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 127

As the years have rolled by, and thanks to the wizardry of digital filing and publication, I have
been able to gather together some of the details and narrative of this evidently larger-than-life
personality. In so doing I have been inspired at the flaming, flamboyant evangelistic energy, and
simultaneously convicted at the overflowing heartfelt love and compassion for ‘the lost’ displayed by
Harry Munn.

Childhood and Conversion

Harry Munn was born in 1864 in the hamlet of Hoo, Kent, in the very southeast of England.7 The
religious or Christian commitment of the family of origin is undetermined, though described as
“respectable non-conformist”.8

What seems apparent is that Munn had a flair for the dramatic and was gripped by the visiting
actors of a touring theatre, maybe in the kind of fore-runner magical moment that prepares for future
energies.9

All this converged when The Salvation Army came to town in 1885.10 Munn was saved as a
young person, and we read, sensed the calling of God for officership. His theatrical temperament had
found the perfect channel for full expression.11

Officership

Following a short training experience in Clapton, London, Munn was released like an evangelical
bird to exert his considerable imagination, dare and youthful energies for evangelism.

Soon after commissioning he met fellow officer Lucy Phillips, and they were married, an event
which was somewhat romantically, even imaginatively, recounted by Albert Kenyon.12 What can be
recorded with some confidence is that Lucy also came from an active and pioneering Army family,
with her brother W. Raglan Phillips founding The Salvation Army in Jamaica.13

Munn’s corps appointments included outer Birmingham in England,14 Govan in Scotland,15 and
Belfast in Northern Ireland.16 While at Govan there were a few references to his evangelical skills.
Kenyon wrote,

In fourteen days 130 people had sought God at the Govan Penitent Form; and during the eleven
months the Munns were there no fewer than 5,000 seekers were registered.17

What Kenyon did not write was that Munn helped to rescue Govan Corps. The official history of the
Govan Corps showed that after the corps had been in operation for 18 years divisional headquaters

7 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 1.
8 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 3.
9 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 2.
10 A. Payne, “New ground. Opening of Hoo”, The war cry, (London, 28 February 1885), 4. The work was designated an
outpost in mid-April 1885 and later became a corps. “Hoo”, The war cry, (London, 13 June 1885), 4.; “Hoo”, The war
cry, (London, 26 March 1887), 12.
11 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 2 – 3.
12 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 4.
13 Doreen Hobbs, Jewels of The Caribbean. The history of The Salvation Army in The Caribbean Territory, (London,
UK: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 1986), 2 – 7.
14 Kenyon listed this as “a Midland Village.” Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 3,
15 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 10.
16 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 12.
17 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 10.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 128

proposed to close down the corps even though James Hay, the then field secretary, attempted to resist
this move. The divisional commander (DC), Major Hillery won the campaign and with the territorial
commander’s permission closed the corps. At the closing meeting although The Salvation Army flag
and keys to the hall were handed over to the DC, a local officer took back the flag, declared the corps
not closed and marched off with the flag. Hay then pressed for another officer to be sent.

During the appointment of Captain Munn in 1899 numbers continued to increase. It is recorded
that early on a Sunday morning “Mad Munns” as he was known would kick a tin can about the
cobbled streets and when people complained from their windows he preached the gospel to them
and invited them to the meetings. Old worthies of Govan can recall him preaching at Govan Cross
standing in a coffin to gain the attention of passing people.

Under his leadership a great revival took place and with the advice and support of
Commissioner18 [James] Hay, Munn held great revival meetings in Govan Public Hall on many
occasions. Numbers were increasing and it soon became evident that a new permanent place of
worship should be made available and it would appear that by the end of 1901/1902 the active
local officers had begun plans to put this into effect.19

While some saw the exploits of Munn and evaluated him as “the eccentric Captain Munn”20
others such as Kenyon, gave praise for Munn’s gift. Kenyon’s summation of Munn’s evangelical
style showed something of the man and his gift:

His passion for uplifting and betterment of his fellow men took him into some of the vilest of vile
places. Many a drink-sodden man would find himself suddenly confronted by this tall, lanky
figure, with the mass of long, bushy hair and eyes, which seemed to bore into one’s soul. They
would be compelled to listen whilst Munn spoke of their condition – and of the power of the
Gospel which he preached. Women of the streets were melted to tears, and many of them restored
to better living, as they were entreated by this strange man with the gentle voice to leave their life
of sin and find Salvation.21

What also seems evident is that William Booth’s simple evangelistic maxim, ‘First, get their
attention!’ took root in Munn’s heart and mind. Indeed, it became a life-guiding and indelible
principle. Munn, it seems, became consumed by the idea, as Kenyon also wrote,

He [Munn] would ride a white horse at a canter down the main thoroughfare until he came to the
usual meeting place for the Open-Air Meeting. Then, from his elevation, he would speak to the
crowd upon the certainty of the coming of the ‘pale horse and his rider’ – Death! Alternatively,
riding in a carriage drawn by a pair of fine bay horses, he would improve the occasion by
reminding his hearers of the uncertainty of riches and the necessity of laying up treasure in
Heaven.22

Every strategy and enterprise used by Munn became subsumed by the idea of attracting
attention:

- He kicked cans down the street to arouse the neighboring inhabitants.

18 This rank would have been given to Hay in later years.
19 Anon, 10 decades at Govan. Excerpt from the official history book of The Salvation Army in Govan, (UK: Salvation
Army, n.d.), n.p.
20 David Armistead, The Army of Alba. A history of The Salvation Army in Scotland (1879-2004), (London, UK: The
Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland, 2017, online at
https://issuu.com/salvationarmyuk/docs/the-army-of-alba-history), 95.
21 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 6 – 7.
22 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 7.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 129

- He printed pithy posters and fliers by the hundred and distributed them like a
newspaper seller, starting at 6am, catching the men on their way to work.

- He marched a brass band through a pub.
- He rode a white horse through the open-air preaching hellfire and brimstone.
- He walked the streets conversely in rags and “top hat, gloves and cane.”23

Examples of wording on flyers used my Munn24
These strategies produced results; spectacularly! Either by curiosity or sheer gospel-anointed
magnetism, people came to Christ and joined the corps by their hundreds. And yes, he did; he
preached from a coffin, regularly!
The coffin
Preaching from a coffin became the symbolic embodiment of Munn’s evangelism. Kenyon recorded:

Then came that coffin – the same coffin which Munn had used often before, with tremendous
effect. During his spectacular career, this wooden pulpit had served in different towns and cities
to draw larger and larger crowds, as the fame of this Apostle of judgment spread. They listened
spellbound to his denunciations of sin, and to Munn’s great joy hundreds of them were
converted.25
Victorian music hall annals, themselves replete with larger-than-life characters and novelty, never
had it so good.

23 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 7 – 9.
24 Harry Munn, “The methods of a salvation desperado”, The officer, (October 1927), 300.
25 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 15.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 130

The heart of compassion

So far so good. We have recorded the form. What of the content. The actual gift, rather than the tinsel
and packaging?

I say to you, here is the gifted genius. What we have is not some kind of rechannelled theatrical
performer, but rather, a transformed, ardent evangelist, one utterly consumed by the cause of the
Kingdom. One with the kind of singular energy and focus that grips and drives those who accomplish
much for the gospel – Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, John Wesley and William Booth, and a host
of unrecorded firebrands. Read his own words:

How do I get hold of the crowds? I go down to the places where they are. I see them in their
darkness and drunkenness and immorality – vast crowds of humanity rotting and dying in their
sinful abominations. I hear their oaths and curses, and their filthy conversations one with another,
until sometimes I almost imagine myself in Hell. I see the poverty of their homes and the tears of
their families, until my heart is moved and melted with compassion, and saturated with desire to
lift these poor half-damned souls out of their sin and misery – to save them from the flames of the
bottomless pit; for I see and feel that they are hastening there, and that, too, right over the bleeding
body of the crucified Christ.

I come away and go to my room. I throw myself on my face before God and promise Him
that, live or die by His help and grace, the town shall be shaken, and some at least of the worst
characters of the place shall be brought to the Blood. Then, with my heart overwhelmed with the
thought of the sights I have seen, and with the cries of the perishing in my ears, I wait on God for
an inspiration as to what I am to do. I expect Him to suggest the best plan for me to use in getting
the attention of this people. Sometimes it is to preach in my coffin, or preach in sackcloth; or go
through the streets in rags, or some other extraordinary methods to make people think. Whatever
it is, I settle with my Christ that I will do it.

I take no notice of opposition from whatever source it may come. The fiercest opposition
has generally come from half-hearted, cold-blooded professors in Salvation Army uniform, who
stand by while the outcasts go to Hell rather than to do anything out of the ordinary to save them.
I go on, knowing that the greater the opposition and the louder the Devil roars, the greater will be
the victory. Thus I am able to prove to all opposers and the enemies of the Living Christ that out
of these extraordinary measures much bigger crowds are brought together, and men and women
who otherwise would never step inside an Army Hall are attracted and converted.

I can only get and hold the crowds while I hold the hand of God and He holds me. The
sinners must be made to feel that everything I do is simply a means to an end – the salvation of
their souls; else, I am only a mountebank, a laughing-stock, a fool. They must see that I am as
much in earnest over a congregation of thirty as I am over five hundred. There must be no settling
down on my part. At the end of twelve months, my earnestness and my spiritual and mental force
must not be abated.26

Promotion to Glory

The end came suddenly, even heroically.27 Munn contracted smallpox while visiting the poor in the
Belfast slums, and died on November 3, 1904, aged 40. The news of his death appeared in a number
of local newspapers. One stated,

SAD DEATH OF BELFAST S.A. OFFICER.
The Salvation Army in Belfast has sustained a great loss by the removal through death of Adjutant
Munn, of the Citadel, Dublin Road. The adjutant was a familiar figure in the south end of the city,

26 Munn, “The methods of a salvation desperado”, 299 – 301.
27 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 15.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 131

and was a man of wonderful energy and enthusiasm. He contracted smallpox about a fortnight
ago – it is believed in his visiting duties, so that he died practically a martyr to his devotion. Every
effort was made for him in the Purdysburn Hospital, where he was removed, but the attack was a
virulent one, and, though only in his thirty-fifth year,28 he passed away yesterday afternoon. He
was beloved by the army during his twenty years’ service, most of which was spent in Scotland.
Two years ago he came to Belfast, and in that short time he gained the affections in a very marked
degree of those with whom he came in contact. At the Citadel last evening touching references
were made to the splendid services rendered by the deceased by Colonel Hoggard and others, and
the sympathy of the congregation was evident.

The funeral will take place to-morrow (Tuesday) at two o’clock, and on Sunday next a
memorial service will be held in the Ulster Hall.29
The funeral was attended by hundreds.30 By remarkable coincidence, through word-of-mouth, my
maternal grandfather, John Martin, recalled that as a young officer he attended a gathering led by
General William Booth, where the news of the passing was announced, and referenced by the Founder
himself, as the untimely passing of “the greatest evangelist.”31
Harry Munn is buried in the Protestant Balmoral cemetery in Belfast. A colleague Salvationist
sent me pictures of the granite gravestone, now cracked in two, the result of vandalism from the
sectarian conflicts in that city.

Adjutant Harry Munn gravestone
Balmoral Cemetery, Belfast32

28 The indication that Munn was 35 is incorrect as he was born in 1864, which would have made him 40 at the time of
his promotion to Glory.
29 “Sad death of Belfast S.A. officer”, The Belfast telegraph, (Monday 21 November 1904, 4. Provided by Andrew
Munn.
30 Kenyon, Alive in his coffin, 1.
31 Munn family anecdote.
32 Photograph courtesy of Dorothy Gates.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 132

Munn left behind his wife and 6 children, one of whom was my grandfather, named after his
father, Harry.

Munn family genealogy – recorded by Kevin Munn in 1983, youngest son of Harry33
Lessons Learned

What can we glean from this story, one amongst the many that romantically populate the history of
our Movement from this founding era? The following comes to my mind:

- That the beauty of a person sold out wholeheartedly to the gospel embodies the ‘fullness of
life’ promised by Christ. That such language and metaphor is not fanciful or exaggerated.
Such people may be considered apostolic.

- That as an officer, I too have covenanted to make the salvation of others ‘the first purpose of
my life.’ Such a commitment is simultaneously daunting and inspiring.

- That the shrewdness of a serpent and the innocence of a dove are not mutually incompatible
ideas in the cause of the gospel, indeed, as taught by Christ himself. Such ‘Mad Munn’ novelty
would be admired, maybe even emulated, by a savvy professional promotional enterprise of
today.

- That without a heart of compassion such antics would be clownish, even annoying and
distracting, but saturated with pure divine love they become inspirational. Such love is not of
this world – Isaiah, John the Baptist and Paul all lived for God in remarkable and eccentric
ways.

- That a life well-lived ripples across and down the decades to still influence others for good,
casting inspiration, idealism and courage beyond human capacity. Such authenticity is
contagious and stands the test of time. In the case of Munn, his story has been picked up in
youth magazines and Junior Soldier training.34

- That to accomplish any meaningful venture in life requires total focus, passion and creativity,
and that the source of these attributes can be found in abundance in the good news of the

33 The family genealogy and names of the children, prepared by Kevin Munn, born after the passing of Harry Munn.
34 See for example Artwork by Daria Grysko from Canada and Bermuda Territory: Junior Soldiers’ lessons, Junior
Action – Ready to Serve. Provided by Major Denise Walker, Canada.; David Kelly, “Harry ‘Mad’ Munn”, Peer
Magazine, (June 2019) online https://peermag.org/articles/harry-mad-munn/.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 133

Kingdom of God. Christ Himself quoted the Shema, “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”35
To that end this writer is committed.

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,

A never dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill:

Oh, may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will!36

A cartoon of Adjutant Harry Munn preaching in his coffin.
Artwork from the 2013 Canada and Bermuda Territory Junior Soldier program,

Junior action – Ready to serve.37

35 Mark 12:30.
36 Charles Wesley, “A charge to keep I have”, The song book of The Salvation Army, (London, UK: International
Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 2015), No. 946, 1st and 2nd verse.
37 Artwork by Daria Grysko from Canada and Bermuda Territory: Junior Soldiers’ lessons, Junior Action – Ready to
Serve. Provided by Major Denise Walker, Canada.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 134

It is England in the early 20th century. A funeral marches down the street. You hear a brass band leading

the way with a group from The Salvation Army, flanked by pallbearers carrying a coffin.
An unusual sight for sure, and one that attracts the attention of the crowds as they wonder, “Who

is in that casket?” Suddenly, the lid swings open! The man inside jumps to his feet, and in a voice as

clear and strong as a church bell, commences to preach on the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Who in the

world would fake a funeral procession just for the opportunity to leap out of a casket?
You don’t get the nickname “Mad Munn” unless you earn it. And man, did Harry Munn earn it.

Born in a small village called Hoo outside Rochester, England, Harry garnered a reputation for

mischief at a young age. Armed with a restless spirit and a flare for the dramatic, he would attend the

local theater and dream of one day becoming an actor, holding crowds in rapt attention with hypnotizing

monologue.

So, it is little wonder that he came enthralled with the uniformed Salvationists who spoke to each

other in military lingo and played loud, brass instruments. Stirring his soul, Harry realized that God was

calling him to this life. After completing his training as an officer, he was commissioned with the rank

of Adjutant.
Harry’s sense of the dramatic, his innate creativity and a zeal to share the love of Jesus made him

a successful evangelist. Always on the lookout for what would attract the attention of a crowd, Harry was
willing to try anything—even a fake funeral procession. The casket became his pulpit of choice to the

gathering crowds.

Appointments in The Salvation Army took him all over the United Kingdom, but there was one
place Harry always returned: the mercy seat. “Mad Munn” prayed for souls as often as he preached to

them, knowing that it was the Holy Spirit, not his words, that convicted the hearts of men and women.

He lived out a mission to care for the poor and the lost, not content to merely speak to them from a stage.

When he finally died of smallpox in 1904, he was laid to rest in the same casket that had served as his

pulpit for so many years.

SO WHAT?

“Mad Munn” was desperate to reach people and share the love of Jesus with them. He was creative and
pushed the envelope in impactful and successful ways. We always need new ways of sharing the Good
News. Have you considered new ways of bringing the gospel to people that need it most?

Arti

The article in Peer Magazine, for youth about Harry Munn38

38 Kelly, “Harry ‘Mad’ Munn”.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 135

Military hospital HB 3 bis in the premises of The Salvation Army hostel in Lyon,
71 rue Servient, in 1915.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 136

THE FIRST WORLD WAR:
THE CATALYST FOR THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE FRENCH SALVATION ARMY

Marc Muller, Translator Bramwell Williams

Editorial note

For years, access to Salvationist history from non-English speaking countries has been somewhat
limited. This has hindered the understanding of the international Salvation Army ministry by those
whose only language is English. The following article by Marc Muller of Paris, France, is inspired
by the recent interest in the centenary of the First World War in relation to the ministry of The
Salvation Army during that conflict. For the first time the Australasian journal of Salvation Army
history, includes a bilingual paper, in French and English, for better understanding of this important
narrative.

Muller describes The Salvation Army’s response to the war in France and the effect it had on
both the Army itself and its perception by the French public. He begins his article by situating the
origins of the Army’s ministry in France in a period known as “La Belle Époque”, translated into
English as “The Beautiful Era”, and includes observations about the social, economic, technological,
political and religious forces underway in France at that time.

From this introduction, Muller describes the Army's war effort in France as “a work shaped by
circumstances and opportunities.” He concludes his article with some reflections on the Ministry of
the Salvation Army in France in the years following the end of the war.

France during “La Belle Époque”

“La Belle Époque”1 denotes the decades preceding the First World War under the Third Republic.2
This period, which was marked by social, economic, technological, and political progress, also
witnessed the development of The Salvation Army in France from 1881 onwards. The context
surrounding this work of protestant evangelisation needs to be approached from a sociological and
religious point of view but also from the point of view of international relations.

The French people’s attitude to religion requires a considered examination. “Does France
remain ‘Catholic France’, because those who are baptised form a huge majority? This is how the
Church’s defenders eagerly reasoned, attributing the misfortunes of the time to a plot hatched by a
minority made up of Freemasons, Jews, and Protestants.”3 If society remained marked by the
infiltration of Christianity, the ancient dechristianisation of the countryside was speeded up thanks to
a rural exodus. Meanwhile in the urban working-class world secular assimilation was developing

Reference citation of this paper; Marc Muller, translator Bramwell Williams “‘The First World War: The
catalyst for the activities of the French Salvation Army”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1,
2021, 136 – 147.
1 This historical chrononym is the British equivalent of the end of the Victorian period and the Edwardian period, whilst
the Germans would identify this as Wilhelminism. See, Dominique Kalifa, La véritable histoire de La Belle Époque,
(Paris, France: Fayard, 2017).
2 The Third Republic is the liberal Republican regime, which was supported by wide patriotic consensus and in place in
France from September 1870 until July 1940.
3 Jean-Marie Mayeur, Les débuts de la IIIe République (1871-1898), (Paris, France: Seuil, 1973), Croyances et cultures,
135.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 137

thanks to the spread of republican and anticlerical ideas.4 This gradual secularisation of French society
was a consequence of this dechristianisation.

The situation of the Protestant minority (580,000 members according to the 1872 census)5 was
remarkable. It was grouped mainly in its historic heartlands: the Drôme, Ardèche, Gard, Lozère, Tarn,
Tarn-et-Garonne, Charente and Deux-Sèvres departments, plus the following pockets: the Pays de
Montbéliard (Doubs department), the Paris region (Seine department) and the Seine-Inférieure
department. Other than Nîmes (Gard), Bordeaux (Gironde), Le Havre (Seine-Inférieure) and Paris,
Protestant communities were situated in rural settings or small towns.6 The intellectual influence of
a form of liberal Protestantism, without dogma or mystery and accessible to reason, left its mark on
secular ideas and on the republican spirit.

From 1899 onwards, the political work of the ‘Left Bloc’7 led to the separation of Church and
State. Signed into law on the 9 December 1905, this law and its repercussions brought the clericals
(supported by the Catholic Church) into conflict with the anticlericalism of the ‘Bloc’. It deeply
divided French society regarding its relationship to religion and the expression of faith.

The winding-up of the ‘Left Bloc’ coincided with the development of imperialism, through
which colonial rivalries were emerging. Some polemicists accused the French Protestant missions of
being complicit with the English at the time of the French conquest of Madagascar in 1897. Military
and diplomatic tensions with the United Kingdom relating to the sharing of Africa only subsided in
1904 with the Entente Cordiale.

The French Salvation Army at the start of a world war

France was the first non-English-speaking country and of Latin culture to welcome The Salvation
Army. In February 1881, Catherine (Katie) Booth (1858-1955), Adelaide Cox (1860-1945) and
Florence Soper (1861-1957) arrived in Paris.8 “Rigged out in their strange uniforms and far from
having mastered our language [French], Catherine and her companions are going to throw themselves
into an adventure with invincible faith and indomitable courage.”9

The movement’s rapid growth was founded on the apostolic work of Catherine (Katie) Booth,
who was swiftly nicknamed “the Marshall” (“La Maréchale”). Thus, by January 1899, three years
after the departure of Catherine and her husband Arthur Sidney Clibborn (1855-1939), The Salvation
Army had 43 corps (evangelisation stations) and 4 social institutions in France. The movement was
mainly located in areas where there was a strong Protestant tradition.10 Nevertheless, during the first
decade of the 20th century, the movement’s growth marked time and diminished. By 1910 The
Salvation Army had 96 officers in France and 35 in Belgium, which was assimilated into the territory

4 Workers made up 30% of the population according to the 1911 census. INSEE, Données historiques de la Statistique
Générale de France, 2010.
5 Out of a total of 36,102,000 inhabitants, i.e. 1.61% of the population in 1872. INSEE, Données historiques de la
Statistique Générale de France, 2010.
6 Mayeur, Les débuts de la IIIe République (1871-1898), 141
7 Alliance between the political forces of the Left which was driven by a network of societies of thought which brought
together Freemasonry, the League of the Rights of Man, Liberal thought, secular organisations and centres for adult
education. See, Madeleine Rebérioux, La République radicale ? (1898-1914), (Paris, France: Seuil, 1975), La France du
Bloc et l’ascension du Radicalisme, 42 et al.
8 See, Pierre-Yves Kirschleger, “La guerre est déclarée ! Protestant perspectives on the Salvationist invasion of 1881”,
La diversité évangélique, (Cléon d’Andran : Excelsis, 2003), 53 – 77.
9 Raymond Delcourt, L’Armée du salut, (Paris, France: Presses Universitaires de France, 1988), 21.
10 For example, seventeen corps are situated within the Drôme, Ardèche and Gard departments.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 138

in 1902. By January 1914, the territory was made up as follows: in France, 26 corps and 6 social
institutions; in Belgium, 11 corps and 2 institutions.

During “La Belle Époque”, The Salvation Army’s mission of evangelisation within a secular
society, its Protestant character in the midst of a Catholic culture, as well as its British origin in the
context of strained geopolitical colonial relations between France and the United Kingdom made “it
quite alien to the mass of French people.”11

In August 1914, the declaration of war between Germany and France (3 August) and between
the United Kingdom and Germany (4 August) forced Bramwell Booth, the leader of the international
Salvation Army to take a stance in consequence of the organisation’s international and Christian
nature.12 It should be noted that Germany had more than 150 corps and almost 500 officers, several
of whom were of British nationality.13 At the outbreak of hostilities, Booth published an editorial in
The war cry, which, far from being in any way nationalistic, strove to recall the general principles of
Salvationist work, even with some pacifist overtones:

We are deeply concerned about the war because we believe the peoples of Germany and England
in many respects have cordial relations. The working classes, who constitute the greater part of
the population of both countries, notwithstanding their commercial rivalries and the minor
differences which affect them, have many things in common which make for true friendship. The
British do not think of the Germans, nor the Germans of the British, as they once did. They think
of them as their fellow workers. Many think of them as companions in the struggle for better
conditions of life and for the better and kinder treatment of the poor. Some think of them as their
fellow Christians.14

Then three weeks later, he wrote again:

Once more let me say that I do not look upon this war as being so much a war of peoples or of
certain classes. No doubt, now that the grim slaughter and destruction has begun, large parts of
the various populations will be deeply stirred and angered. But that is an after-effect. The war
itself has been made by the military classes, especially in Germany and Russia.

They, and the people who live by manufacturing weapons and the newspapers in their pay,
have for years been promoting and fostering the horrid doctrines which we now see worked out
in all their ghastly wickedness on the battlefields of Belgium and France […].

Now we must remember this when we think and speak of what is going on […]. Let us
strive to lay the responsibility on the right shoulders and avoid indulging in bitterness and hatred
for whole nations.15

And a few months later:

In the name of the God of love, we must refuse the awful demands which are being made by the
god of war to yield to the rage and hate and lust of revenge which are only too awfully manifest
around us. We must, by the help of God, keep our tender sympathy with the suffering, for it is the
sympathy of Christ. We must cherish and encourage in our hearts pity for the wrongdoers because
it is the pity of Christ. We must let our compassion flow out towards, and our prayers ascend for,
those who oppose and injure us, because that is of the very spirit and command of Jesus Christ.

11 Marc Muller, “L’Action de l’Armée du salut en France durant la Première Guerre mondiale”, Revue d’Histoire du
Protestantisme, 1 (Paris, France: June 2016), 229.
12 See, Shaw Clifton, Crown of glory, crown of thorns: The Salvation Army in wartime, (London, UK: Salvation books,
2015).
13 Frederick Coutts, The history of The Salvation Army: The better fight, (London, UK: Hodder and Stoughton, 1973),
22.
14 Bramwell Booth, The war cry, (London, 29 August 1914), 1.
15 Bramwell Booth, The war cry, (London, 19 September 1914), 1.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 139

And above all, we must go on loving our enemies, because to love is of God, and without love
towards them it is impossible to known Him, or to please Him, or to be His.16

Through the voice of its General, The Salvation Army presented itself as the friend of all and
the enemy of none.17

1914-1917, a work fashioned by circumstances and opportunities

Beyond the writings of Bramwell Booth, the spirit of the time and the realities of war would lead
Salvationists in the warring countries to make a patriotic choice.

Just like their fellow-countrymen, French Protestants declare their conviction that national
defence is an urgent necessity, especially as France, according to them, bears no responsibility
with regard to the triggering of this war and is merely defending itself against an attack which is
totally unjustified. This conviction is confirmed – in their eyes – as soon as hostilities began, by
the violation of Belgian neutrality by the German Empire.18

Although he himself was of Swiss nationality François Fornachon (1863-1929), the leader of
The Salvation Army in France and Belgium, was very much part of this patriotic fervour. In August
1914 in a mimeographed edition of En Avant, the French Salvationist weekly, he expressed the sense
of “Holy Alliance” which he made The Salvation Army adhere to:

In Catholic cathedrals, Protestant temples, Jewish synagogues, and The Salvation Army’s public
halls, everywhere this cry is heard: Long live France! We want France to live, and she will! But
how?

1. By means of those who direct her destiny; France is calling all her sons to the colours
and is sending them to the border. They are all answering the call. The happy troopers hasten to
join their regiments, the intrepid sailors their combat units. All will defend the motherland’s
sacred heritage and will give their blood for her. They are playing their part! Long live the land
of France [...].

2. The whole Church is standing up and shouting: Long live France! All those who make
up God’s Church, soldiers of Jesus Christ, living with his life, feel that alongside each soldier
fighting for the integrity of French soil, there must also be a soldier of Christ fighting for his
country’s moral and religious integrity.19

He concluded by recalling the gospel message and its teachings:

May this ordeal, which God has allowed, lead us, along with the whole of France, to prayer, and
prepare us for decisions that need to be taken! May this ordeal lead us to sincere repentance, and
to the cross which wipes out past transgressions, which revives divine life within our hearts and
helps us walk on the path of holiness and obedience to God’s law. With one heart and soul let us
all repeat: Long live France, the France which fights for right, justice and civilization, and which
is determined to fight against all her enemies both without and within, against sin, drunkenness,
debauchery, unhealthy indulgence, greed, and the love of passing riches and vanities, pride, envy
and evil revenge. Who today wishes to begin to make this great France alive within him? Christ
is calling you!20

16 Bramwell Booth, The war cry, (London, 7 November 1914), 1.
17 Clifton, Crown of glory, crown of thorns, 125.
18 André Encrevé. “Les protestants français et la Première Guerre mondiale”, Revue d’Histoire du Protestantisme, 160,
(Paris: March 2014), 21.
19 François Fornachon, “Vive la France !”, En Avant, (Paris, 15 August 1914), 2 – 3.
20 Fornachon, “Vive la France !”, 3.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 140

In just a few lines François Fornachon assessed future Salvationist commitment:

Our first thought goes to our comrades, officers, and soldiers [of The Salvation Army], who were
called up to the flags, (to serve their country) having left their corps and their families. We are
with them heart and soul, and we bring them before God in prayer.

We then think about our comrades who remain in France and ask them to do everything in
their power to do good around them, and do all they can to be useful in any way possible, by
distributing soup and milk, or working in child care centres, etc.. May God lead every [Salvation
Army] officer, because it is becoming very difficult to remain in touch with one another by means
of letters and telegrams.

The Salvation Army in France will do its duty to relieve all misery. Our social institutions,
our meeting halls, will be open to all suffering misfortune and our comrades will give time,
strength, and heart to do the best they can.21

From this point onwards French Salvationists were enlisted in a “war effort”.

This enlistment would be one that involved both blood and tears. During the first days of the war,
general mobilisation meant that the Salvationists of the territory were recruited indiscriminately.
Amongst the seventeen officers who were called up, the following may be listed: Abric, Chavarot,
Pichon, Thenet, Vincent from France; Vanderkam from Belgium; Jeanmonod, Stahl and Studer from
Switzerland. The families of older officers saw their sons (Babando, Bastide, Blachier, Peyron) or
their brothers (Malbec, Chevalier, for example) join the ranks of the French army. Salvationists,
including officers, were included in fighting units. They were not recognised as ministers of religion
nor as military chaplains. Some of them would fall on the battlefield: The corps officer at Le
Chambon-sur-Lignon (Haute-Loire), Henri Vincent (1889-1916) was killed by the enemy on the 31
March 1916 during the battle of Verdun, whilst two of his comrades, Fleury Bariol (1894-1916) and
Denis Issartial (1892-1916), were killed at the Somme.

Their commitment would be serving the civilian population. Between August and September
1914, the German offensive drove part of the population of Belgium and the north of France before
it. François Fornachon made Salvation Army premises available to the authorities and offered his
help. At a local level Salvationists responded spontaneously. In Paris they gave out soup and sheltered
refugees or accommodated soldiers in transit in the men’s hostel in the rue de Chabrol, which had
been emptied of its occupants by mobilisation. In the provinces the wounded in the army medical
corps were visited. Three social institutions were swiftly refurbished to accommodate displaced
children. On the 8 September 1914, The Salvation Army hostel in Lyon (Rhône) became temporary
hospital HB 3 bis with a capacity of 100 wounded.22 The hospital’s medical management was under
the direction of a Protestant woman, Doctor Lisbeth Thyss-Monod (1877-1963)23 of the Red Cross,
whilst officers organised its practical running. “And like priests and pastors in a war context, the
Salvationists also answered spiritual questions and offered their help and support to men and families
marked by separation, suffering and grief.”24

This commitment would also be undertaken by women. Most men of between 20 and 48 years
of age had been called up, while at the same time the task had grown heavier. Nevertheless, the main

21 François Fornachon. “A nos camarades”, En avant, (Paris, 15 August 1914), 1.
22 Armée du salut, Court exposé du travail de l’Armée du salut en France pendant la Grande Guerre, (Paris, France:
Arme du salut, 1918), 8.
23 “Une femme médecin-chef d’un hôpital militaire”, L’Action féministe, 41, (Levallois: July 1915), 4.
24 Muller, “L’action de l’Armée du salut en France durant la Première Guerre mondiale”, 235.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 141

body of Salvation Army officers was already made up of women.25 So, these women would play an
essential part in maintaining the work and in developing activities for the benefit of soldiers.26 At
Croix, in the north, which had been occupied by the Germans, the corps officers, Jenny Blanc (1867-
1939) and Julie Chevalier (1880-1947), who were isolated and cut off from all contact with Paris,
remained at their post and devoted themselves to supporting the civilian population. In Rheims
(Marne) Françoise Carrel (1861-1941) and Lucie Gaugler (1885-1936) stayed at their post under the
bombing, even after the gradual evacuation of the population. They shared in the support of civilians
and aid to soldiers.27 In Le Havre (Seine-Inférieure) Noémie Schleiden (1879-1958) converted her
meeting hall into a reading and letter-writing room for billeted soldiers. Under the leadership of
Emma Rogivue (1860-1964), a “centre” was created in Nîmes (Gard). Inspired by the canteens of the
British Salvation Army, and equipped in a rudimentary manner, these military reception areas allowed
for relaxation, reading newspapers and books, writing letters, and provided stationery, envelopes, and
postcards. Meetings and recreational evenings were organised and, depending on circumstances, there
was even a canteen. Few religious services were organised: although French Salvationists were
especially attentive to all those for whom faith seemed to be an answer to their daily hell or anxieties.28

But the Salvationists were still not used to such long-term and costly action. Moreover, The
Salvation Army’s traditional activity suffered because of war conditions. During autumn 1914 the
front became stable and the conflict continued in the trenches. The corps in Rheims (Marne) was
within firing range of the German artillery. The Salvation Army territory was cut in two by the battle
line. The thirteen corps and institutions in Belgium along with the corps at Croix (Nord) found
themselves in the zone occupied by the German Imperial Army and were isolated from the rest of the
territory. In February 1915, François Fornachon (of Swiss nationality) travelled through the neutral
territory of the Swiss Confederation to Belgium, via Germany, to visit and comfort the Salvationists
subjected to the occupation. There he met up with a fellow-countryman, Gustave Isely (1879-1954),
who had been tasked by Salvation Army headquarters in Bern (Switzerland) to organise support for
the population, especially “in the countryside and towns which were far from the big centres, where
the need for help was felt most keenly.”29

After having obtained permission to travel, Fornachon, accompanied by Isely, visited The
Salvation Army corps in Belgium, bringing reassurance and subsidies to officers who had remained
there. On this visit, he noted the action of Belgian Salvationists, despite their limited means, vis-à-vis
the civilian populations. So, for example, the grant and supplies from the American Relief Committee
enabled the distribution of free milk for infants, while each Belgian corps offered a distribution of
soup and bread for adults.

In France, The Salvation Army was organizing itself for sustainable and more established
action. During the winter of 1914-1915, Salvation Army social centres welcomed the first discharged
and disabled soldiers and sent clothes and parcels to soldiers on the front. The Ministry of War
appreciated this “Old Linen League” as well as the supply, thanks to American Salvationists, of

25 From the early days of The Salvation Army, the ministry of an officer was undertaken by both men and women.
Women had access to the same duties and responsibilities as men. An officer could only marry another officer, and so
the proportion of single women officers was greater than that of single men.
26 Clifton, Crown of glory, crown of thorns, 161 – 164.
27 In January 1917 17,000 civilian inhabitants remained in the city of Rheims and only around 5,000 in April before the
complete evacuation of the city. Jean-Noël Biraben “La population de Reims et son arrondissement”, Population, 4,
(Paris, October 1961), 724.
28 Muller, “L’Action de l’Armée du salut en France durant la Première Guerre mondiale”, 236 – 237.
29 François Fornachon, “Ce que j’ai vu en Belgique”, En avant, (Paris, 24 April 1915), 1.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 142

around one hundred crates containing 173,410 items of medical dressing equipment.30 From 1916
onwards, the Salvationist war work multiplied its establishments, such as in Valence (Drôme),
Grenoble (Isère), Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), and Mazamet (Tarn). Popular kitchens were opened
in Paris and, every evening, a hundred “poilus”31 on leave, in transit through the Gare de l'Est, were
able to spend the night in the nearby Salvation Army institution. Civilian refugees were helped by the
Paris women’s hostel, in rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi. Salvationist action for the benefit of civilians and
military, however, remained localized in line with its pre-war urban settlements. It was its action
through the organisation of “Foyers du soldat” (“Soldiers’ Homes”) that would facilitate its
unexpected growth.32

1917-1920, The “Foyers du soldat” (“Soldiers’ Homes”)33

In France, the patriotic and philanthropic impetus in support of soldiers was characterised by the
creation of numerous civilian charities for military personnel. The law of 30 May 1916 relating to
war charities ensured the transition towards the structuring and development of The Salvation Army’s
activities. In November 1917, the state asked the Franco-American Union (F.A.U.) - Y.M.C.A. to
coordinate the opening of 1,300 new homes and to federate the activities of the Soldiers’ Homes with
all other war charities, such as The Salvation Army.34 The public health and teetotalist objective of
the F.A.U. homes was to preserve both morale and morals, which suited Salvationist principles. Thus,
from 1917 to 1923, The Salvation Army would become involved in the creation and management of
Soldiers’ Homes on the front, and soldiers’ hostels at the rear.

On the 5 May 1917, after ten years in command, François Fornachon was replaced by Albin
Peyron (1870-1944). A Salvationist since 1884, Peyron was the first Frenchman to be promoted to
the head of the territory. Father of three sons who had been called up, he could not fail to express a
keen interest in the work organized by the British Salvation Army on behalf of the soldiers fighting
on the European fronts. No more, likewise, than he “could not allow this foreign charity to care on its
own for French soldiers fighting on the battle fronts.”35 On the 9 August 1917, Peyron presented
General Philippe Pétain (1856-1951), Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, with a request for
authorization to open Soldiers’ Homes on the front:

I am honoured, in accordance with ministerial circular 567 / D of 31st January 1916, to ask you
for authorization for The Salvation Army to set up some “Foyers du soldat” on the front.

We will strictly abide by the instructions of this circular which forbids giving these homes
a denominational character.

We are informed that Marshal French must have written to you to let you know what
services The Salvation Army had rendered on the British front. We would be happy to be able to
help our soldiers as much as possible on the French front too.36

While awaiting official accreditations, Albin Peyron and his wife, Blanche, would document
the work of The Salvation Army among the troops of the dominions of the British Empire in Le Havre

30 “Ce que fait l’Armée du salut pour les blesses”, En avant, (Paris, 15 May 1915), 1.
31 Nickname of the French infantry man, the equivalent of the English “Tommy” or Australian “Digger”.
32 Muller, “L’Action de l’Armée du salut en France durant la Première Guerre mondiale”, 237.
33 This chapter takes up the main points published in Muller, “L’Action de l’Armée du salut en France durant la
Première Guerre mondiale”, 239 – 244.
34 Service Historique de la Défense (S.H.D.), 16 N 271. Account of the meeting of representatives of the war charities
which took place on Tuesday 27 November 1917 at the Ministry of War.
35 Marc Forissier, Un soldat du Christ dans l’Armée du salut : Albin Peyron, (Tarbes, France: Ed. d’Albret, 1958), 152.
36 S.H.D., 16 N 267, item no.9. Authorisation request for The Salvation Army’s “Soldiers’ Homes”, 9 August 1917.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 143

(Seine-Inferieure). For eight days, they learnt about the functioning of an Australian Imperial Force
camp, along with the Salvationist chaplain Robert Henry (1871-1959), “a tall handsome man in khaki,
who possessed the gentleness of the Holy Spirit in his eyes and the manners of the perfect
gentleman.”37

Peyron spent his first Christmas as The Salvation Army’s leader with the “poilus” in the
operations zone. On the 25 December 1917, with the approval of the military staff, he organized a
meeting in the cellars of the Krug company in Rheims (Marne). The next day he wrote:

… The bombing was incessant; nature seemed to be shedding tears over the tortured city... This
Christmas day the snow covered her with a fine unsullied shroud, the Christmas tree flickered
under the vaults of a champagne cellar ... There were a hundred people there, mainly soldiers...38

Under the federation of the Franco-American Union and under military authority, Salvation
Army “Foyers du soldat” moved into the army zone just behind the front. On the 29 December 1917,
General Joseph Micheler (1861-1931), commanding the Fifth Army, assigned to The Salvation Army
its first five localities in the Marne, in the region of Rheims, for the setting-up of Foyers at Ville-en-
Selve, Villers-aux-Nœuds, Ormes, Poilly and Germaine.39 At the beginning of 1918, the billets at
Aigny, Mareuil-sur-Ay, Epernay, Avenay and Cadran (commune of Sermier) would follow. Similarly
two Foyers were established in the 7th French Army zone: in 1917 in Boron (Territoire de Belfort)
and in 1918 in Audincourt (Doubs).

The Salvationist, Aimé Boisson (1869-1944) was appointed Regional Director of The Salvation
Army’s “Foyers du soldat”. He led all the Foyers “boldly and with plenty of drive”40 and, in
collaboration with the military authorities, obtained permission to remain in the Armed Forces Zone
and advance at the same time as the troops. The “Foyers du soldat” became mobile:

In a few hours, a large tent is set up in the corner of a field, the tables and folding benches
are taken out of the van, and the “Poilus” can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and sign the
pre-printed card that would take eagerly awaited news to their families.41

This was not without risk: in June 1918, many homes had to be evacuated when faced with the
German counteroffensive. Boisson gave of himself, “didn’t we see him at work, during those terrible
days of June 1918, bandaging the wounded, lifting up the disabled, doing his work as a Good
Samaritan and French Salvationist?”42

The use of libraries and correspondence rooms in the “Foyers du soldat” was of interest to The
Salvation Army who, like the Army General Staff, saw the positive effects of reading on the troops.
This resulted in the creation of libraries for conscripts, the triple purpose of which was: “to entertain,
instruct and uplift.”43 Funds for the work were authorised by the military authority. General Petain
reported to the Minister of War the commanding generals’ conclusions regarding the influence of
reading on the troops’ morale and gave guidelines for censorship and propaganda relating to printed

37 Raoul Gout, Une victorieuse, Blanche Peyron, (Paris, France: Altis, 1955), 46.
38 Armée du salut, Court exposé du travail de l’Armée du salut…, 11.
39 S.H.D., 16 N 267, Letter no.246. 5th Army, Staff, Bureau 1, no.4092/L on 29 December 1917.
40 Gilbert Abadie, Aimé Boisson, (Paris, Frace: Altis, 1955), 46.
41 Armée du salut, Court exposé du travail de l’Armée du salut…, 11.
42 Gout, Une victorieuse, Blanche Peyron, 387.
43 Ministry of War, Instruction sur l’organisation et le fonctionnement des bibliothèques de troupe : catalogue général,
Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1908, 7.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 144

media.44 So, for example, the military charities office of the Ministry of War, recognizing The
Salvation Army’s interest in “combating the scourge of alcoholism”, recommended to him the
diffusion of “works of anti-alcoholic propaganda appearing on the list of authorised books, which it
would most useful to place in ‘Foyer du soldat’ libraries.”45 Shortly before, Albin Peyron had asked
the same office to place the book Broken Earthenware by Harold Begbie (1871-1929)46 in the “Foyer”
libraries. This book presented the conversion testimonies of Christians from working-class
backgrounds in England. But the Ministry of War responded in the negative because its rule was “to
observe the most absolute religious neutrality, and only permit publications devoid of any
denominational character in the “Foyers du soldat”.47 Nevertheless, personal contact between
Salvationists and soldiers sparked some conversions, even though they were rare. Fernand David
(1895-1938), for example, an illiterate gunner, learned to read using the Salvationist manager’s Bible
in the Marseille “Foyer du soldat”. Later, he survived the torpedoing of the troop transport ship taking
him to the Dardanelles. Although a religious novice, at the end of the war David became a Salvation
Army officer.48

By 1918 there were about twenty “Foyers du soldat” managed by the French Salvation Army.
Every day each one was attended by 300 to 400 men.

The Salvation Army’s Soldiers’ Club in Paris at 5 boulevard de Strasbourg, in 1919.

After having suffered German air strikes since January 1918, from March to August 1918 Paris
and its suburbs were bombed by long-range enemy artillery. The Parisian population was alarmed by
this sudden threat. Albin and Blanche Peyron (1867-1933) undertook new work on behalf of the
capital’s children. Registered with the Municipal Child Protection Commission, The Salvation Army
opened three homes in the provinces that would accommodate 82 evacuated children from Paris: Bron
(Rhône), Chambon-sur-Lignon (Haute-Loire) and Roquecourbe (Tarn).49

44 S.H.D., 16, N 271, unnumbered item, Letter no.26.204 from the North and North-east General Headquarters, 23
August 1917.
45 Salvation Army Archives (S.A.A.), unlisted. Ministry of War, Military Charities, 4th Office, no.6594/C on 2 August
1918.
46 S.A.A., unlisted, Territorial Headquarters on 24 May 1918.
47 S.A.A., unlisted, Ministry of War, Military Charities, Bureau no.4, no.4782/C on 10 June 1918.
48 Charles Péan, A Dieu-vat, (Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1973), 67.
49 Armée du salut, Court exposé du travail de l’Armée du salut…, 11 – 12.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 145

The armistice took effect on the 11 November 1918, and the Great War ended. Returning to his
predecessor’s jingoistic eloquence in 1914, Albin Peyron wrote:

This long nightmare is thus finished; force has yielded to right. France is liberated, Belgium,
Alsace-Lorraine will be tomorrow. Glory to God in heaven, honour to our great France, to the
allied peoples, peace to men of good will!50

Soldiers no longer had to fight, but they did remain mobilised. In December 1918, the twenty-
fourth Salvationist “Foyer” was opened in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) in an Alsace that had become
French. Authorisation to set up a “Foyer” in the German Palatinate occupied by French forces was
also granted.51 At the rear, in the garrison and transit towns for those on leave, The Salvation Army
led a new action by organising more permanent hostels. In February 1919, a building was rented at 5
boulevard de Strasbourg in Paris to accommodate the “Soldier’s Club”. The ground floor hosted a
canteen and a rest and correspondence room, while on the upper floors, rooms were arranged to allow
soldiers on leave or liberated soldiers to stay overnight. In April 1920, in Bouy (Marne) in the Châlons
military camp, a final home opened its doors. In eight months, it welcomed 65,000 soldiers.52 Once
peace had returned, The Salvation Army’s war work slackened off until 1923, when its last home
closed in Paris. Many French fighters had passed through the “Foyers du soldat” and “had so learned
to know and appreciate these people from The Salvation Army who were so willingly made fun of in
France before the war.”53

This program had satisfied hundreds of thousands of users as well as the military command.
Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929), commander in chief of the Allied Forces, expressed to Albin
Peyron, and to the entire Salvation Army, “his deep gratitude for what you have done for our
soldiers.”54 The outstanding service rendered by Salvationists was rewarded by various honours. In
1920, Françoise Carrel and Lucie Gaugler were admitted into the first promotion of the Order of the
Founder for their commitment on behalf of the population of the martyred city of Rheims (Marne).
In 1921, Gustave Isely became a Knight of the Order of the Crown by decision of King Albert I of
Belgium, for the services he rendered to the Kingdom during the war. In France, Albin Peyron was
named a Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour in February 1927. His nomination file
states, for services rendered, that “during the war [A. Peyron] established many instances of relief
work in the army zone: homes or hostels for soldiers, mobile hostels, centres for those on leave,
settlements for Parisian children during the bombardment.”55

World War One also impacted the organisational structure of The Salvation Army. The de facto
separation between France and Belgium throughout the war allowed the kingdom to become a
Salvation Army territory that was independent of Paris. Also, with the reintegration of Alsace into
the national territory, The Salvation Army gained the five institutions created by German
Salvationists before the war.56

Finally, the full impact of the war on French Salvationists is not known. For lack of statistical
evidence or a dedicated memorial, the human toll paid by Salvationists is unknown. Nonetheless, on
reading En avant, the names of nearly seventy mobilized Salvationists, seventeen of whom were

50 Forissier, Un soldat du Christ dans l’Armée du salut : Albin Peyron, 153.
51 S.A.A., unlisted. Ministry of War, Military Charities, 4th Bureau no.12082/C on 19 December 1918.
52 “Petite revue salutiste”, En avant, (Paris, 29 January 1921), 3
53 Abadie, Aimé Boisson, 46.
54 Forissier, Un soldat du Christ dans l’Armée du salut : Albin Peyron, 153.
55 Archives Nationales (A.N.), 19800035/1408/62773. File of Albin Peyron.
56 Two corps and two social centres in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) and Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), one corps in Colmar (Haut-
Rhin).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 146

killed, may be noted throughout the conflict. For The Salvation Army, the material balance sheet
seems less: although destroyed by the bombardments, the Rheims (Marne) corps was rebuilt in 1922
thanks to the gift of 32,000 francs collected by The Salvation Army’s brass band at Regent Hall in
London (United Kingdom).

On to new battles

For many, the belligerent impetus of 1914 was turned into a struggle for the reform of society. During
the 1921 general assembly of the “Foyers du soldat” of the F.A.U., Léon Robelin (1866-1938), the
president of the Union des Grandes Associations Françaises, requested that “the efforts of all French
people might unite to destroy this octopus which is ruining our race: alcoholism, tuberculosis and the
slums.”57 Echoing Fornachon’s “Vive la France!” editorial of August 1914, The Salvation Army
adopted this program, “adding to it the struggle against sin in all its forms.”58

The trauma of the First World War gave birth to a strong pacifist movement, which was a
counterpoint to the “Holy Alliance” of 1914. In 1921, The Salvation Army joined this movement and,
through the person of Albin Peyron, joined the universal union “To suppress this crime: war.” It was
a legal, apolitical effort, founded and promoted by the lawyer and veteran Henri Demont (1877-1959)
to abolish war forever. Based on the law of nations, it was completely in line with the League of
Nations created in 1920.

At the same time, with the burial in 1921 of an unknown French soldier from the Great War,
the Arc de Triomphe in Paris became a symbol of the human sacrifice of this conflict. In collective
French Salvationist memory, the memory of the war faded and was replaced by the development of
social and evangelistic work in the 1920s and 1930s. Occasionally, a Salvation Army group would
take part in the Unknown Soldier’s Remembrance program. Albin Peyron accompanied the Chalk
Farm Salvation Army Band (United Kingdom) in September 1927 and Southsea Band (United
Kingdom) in April 1929. In June 1948, the Portsmouth (United Kingdom) Band laid a wreath on the
grave, followed in March 1959 by the Ipswich Band (United Kingdom). Salvation Army international
leaders, such as General Kitching (November 1962) and General Wickberg (November 1973), also
presided over these solemn occasions. In November 2016, as part of the commemorations of the
centenary of the First World War, The Salvation Army reconnected with the ceremony of rekindling
the flame of the Unknown Soldier. As a member of the Protestant Federation of France, and as part
of the Protestant chaplaincy in the army, The Salvation Army’s Territorial Band accompanied this
patriotic demonstration.

The contacts and relationships established with state authorities and public opinion in the final
years of the First World War allowed The Salvation Army to present itself as an effective partner in
its philanthropic actions. This reputation favoured the creation of institutions that would mark the
1920s both in Paris59 and in the provinces.60 By choosing to ensure “works of war” for French
soldiers, the organization of Anglo-Saxon origin was now recognized, integrated and adopted in
society. These projects allowed The Salvation Army in France to develop its evangelical and social
activity in the years to come.

57 Victor Seydel, “Fête militaire au foyer du soldat à Paris”, En avant, (Paris, 29 January 1921), 3.
58 Seydel, “Fête militaire au foyer du soldat à Paris”, 3.
59 Creation of three evangelistic corps, including the Central Hall in 1921; and of three social centres: the Palais du
people, in 1925; the Palais de la Femme, in 1926; and the Louise-Catherine barge, in 1930.
60 Creation of seventeen evangelistic corps; and of five social institutions: the Foyer Familial in Marseille (Bouches-du-
Rhône), in 1920; the Bonne hôtellerie in Lille (Nord), in 1921; the Bonne hôtellerie in Metz (Moselle), in 1923; the
Soleil d’automne in Tonneins (Lot-et-Garonne), in 1928; and the mission in support of convicts in French Guyana, in
1928.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 147

Hôpital militaire HB 3 bis dans les locaux de l’hôtellerie salutiste de Lyon
au 71 rue Servient, en 1915

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 148

LA PREMIÈRE GUERRE MONDIALE :
CATALYSEUR DE L’ACTION

DE L’ARMÉE DU SALUT EN FRANCE

Marc Muller

Note éditoriale

Depuis des années, l'accès à l’histoire salutiste provenant de pays non-anglophones a été quelque peu
limitée. Cela a gêné la compréhension du ministère mondial de l’Armée du salut par ceux dont la
seule langue est l'anglais. L’article suivant de Marc Muller à Paris, France, s’inspire de l’intérêt,
récemment observé, suscité par le centenaire de la Première Guerre Mondiale par rapport au ministère
de l’Armée du salut durant le conflit. Pour une première fois dans l’Australasian journal of Salvation
Army history, ce récit est publié en français et en anglais.

Muller décrit la réponse de l’Armée du salut en France devant cette guerre et l’effet qu’elle a
eu à la fois sur l’Armée elle-même et sur sa perception par le public français. Il commence son article
en situant les origines du ministère de l'Armée en France dans une période connue sous le nom de
« Belle Époque » ainsi que les forces sociales, économiques, technologiques, politiques et religieuses
en cours en France à ce moment.

À partir de cette introduction, Muller décrit l’effort de guerre de l’Armée en France comme
« un travail façonné par les circonstances et les opportunités ». Il conclut son article par
quelques réflexions sur le ministère de l’Armée du salut en France dans les années qui ont suivi la fin
de la guerre.

La France de la « Belle Époque »

La « Belle Époque »1 identifie les décennies précédant la Première Guerre mondiale pendant la IIIe
République. 2 Cette période, marquée par les progrès sociaux, économiques, technologiques et
politiques, voit l’évolution de l’Armée du salut en France depuis 1881. Le contexte dans lequel
s’inscrit cette œuvre d’évangélisation protestante nécessite d’être abordé tant du point de vue
sociologique et religieux que de celui des relations internationales.

L’attitude des Français à l’égard de la religion réclame un examen nuancé. « La France
demeure-t-elle la "France catholique", "fille aînée de l’Église", parce que les baptisés sont l’immense
majorité ? Ainsi raisonne volontiers les défenseurs de l’Église qui imputent les malheurs du temps au
complot d’une minorité de francs-maçons, de juifs, de protestants ».3 Si la société reste marquée par
l’imprégnation du christianisme, une déchristianisation ancienne des campagnes s’accélère par
l’exode rural. Tandis que, dans le monde ouvrier urbain, l’acculturation laïque se développe avec les

Citation de référence de ce document ; Marc Muller, “La première Guerre Mondiale : Catalyseur de l’action de
l’ Armée du Salut en France”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 148 – 159.
1 Ce chrononyme rétrospectif correspond pour les Britanniques à la fin de l’époque victorienne et à l’époque
édouardienne tandis que les Allemands l’identifient au wilhelminisme. Sur le sujet, lire Dominique Kalifa. La véritable
histoire de la Belle Époque, (Paris, France: Fayard, 2017).
2 La Troisième République est le régime républicain et libéral, avec un large consensus patriotique, en vigueur en
France de septembre 1870 à juillet 1940.
3 Jean-Marie Mayeur. Les débuts de la IIIe République (1871-1898), (Paris, France: Seuil, 1973), Croyances et cultures,
135.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 149

idées républicaines et anticléricales.4 Cette laïcisation progressive de la société française est une
conséquence de cette déchristianisation.

La place de la minorité protestante (580 000 membres au recensement de 1872) 5 est
remarquable. Elle se repart surtout dans ses bastions historiques : les départements de la Drôme,
d’Ardèche, du Gard, de la Lozère, du Tarn, du Tarn-et-Garonne, de la Charente et des Deux-Sèvres,
auxquels s’ajoutent des îlots : le pays de Montbéliard (département du Doubs), la région parisienne
(département de la Seine) et le département de Seine-Inférieure. Hormis, Nîmes (Gard), Bordeaux
(Gironde), Le Havre (Seine-Inférieure) et Paris, les communautés protestantes sont implantées en
milieu rural ou dans de petites villes.6 Le rayonnement intellectuel d’un protestantisme libéral, sans
dogme ni mystère, accessible à la raison, marque de son empreinte l’idée laïque et l’esprit républicain.

À partir de 1899, l’œuvre politique du Bloc des gauches7 amène à la loi de séparation des
Églises et de l’État. Promulgué le 9 décembre 1905, cette loi et ses effets, opposent les cléricaux
(soutenu par l’Église catholique) avec les anticléricaux du Bloc. Elle divise profondément la société
française dans son rapport à la religion et à l’expression de la foi.

La liquidation du Bloc des gauches coïncide avec le développement de l’impérialisme au travers
duquel se profilent des concurrences coloniales. Quelques polémistes accusent les missions
protestantes françaises de se montrer complices des Anglais lors de la conquête française de
Madagascar en 1897. Les tensions militaires et diplomatiques concernant le partage de l’Afrique avec
le Royaume-Uni ne s’apaisent qu’avec l’Entente cordiale en 1904.

L’Armée du salut en France à l’entrée d’une guerre mondiale

La France est le premier pays non anglophone, de culture latine, à accueillir l’Armée du salut. En
février 1881, Catherine (Katie) Booth (1858-1955), Adélaïde Cox (1860-1945), et Florence Soper
(1861-1957), gagnent Paris.8 « Affublées de leur étrange uniforme, possédant le mal notre langue
[française], Catherine et ses compagnes vont se lancer dans l’aventure avec une foi invincible et un
indomptable courage. »9

L’essor du mouvement est fondé par l’action apostolique de Catherine (Katie) Booth,
rapidement surnommée « la Maréchale ». Ainsi, en janvier 1899, trois ans après le départ de
Catherine et de son mari Arthur Sidney Clibborn (1855-1939), l’Armée du salut compte en France,
43 postes d’évangélisation et 4 institutions sociales. Le mouvement est essentiellement implanté dans
les territoires à forte tradition protestante.10 Néanmoins, pendant la première décennie du XXe siècle,
la croissance de l’œuvre marque le pas et régresse. En 1910, l’Armée du salut compte 96 officiers en
France et 35 en Belgique - intégré au territoire en 1902. En janvier 1914, le territoire salutiste se

4 Les ouvriers forment 30 % de la population au recensement de 1911. INSEE. Données historiques de la Statistique
générale de France, 2010.
5 Sur un total de 36 102 000 d’habitants, soit 1,61% de la population en 1872. INSEE. Données historiques de la
Statistique générale de France, 2010.
6 Mayeur. Les débuts de la IIIe République (1871-1898), 141.
7 Alliance de forces politiques de gauche animée par un réseau de sociétés de pensées regroupant la franc-maçonnerie,
la Ligue des droits de l’Homme, la Libre pensée, les organisations laïques, les universités populaires. Sur le sujet, lire
Madeleine Rebérioux. La République radicale ? (1898-1914), (Paris, France : Seuil, 1975), La France du Bloc et
l’ascension du Radicalisme, 42 et al.
8 Sur le sujet, lire Pierre-Yves Kirschleger. « La guerre est déclarée ! regards protestants sur l’invasion salutiste de
1881 », La diversité évangélique, (Cléon d’Andran, France : Excelsis, 2003), 53 – 77.
9 Raymond Delcourt. L’Armée du salut, (Paris, France : Presses universitaire de France, 1988), 21.
10 Par exemple, dix-sept postes d’évangélisation sont situés dans les départements de la Drôme, d’Ardèche, et du Gard.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 150