AJSAHistoryVol6Iss1 March 2021

NEW ZEALAND SALVATION ARMY WOMEN OFFICERS
WHO SERVED OVERSEAS,
1907 – 1960

Raewyn Hendy

The Mission Field demands various classes of workers – each using different instrumentalities.
Preachers, translators, teachers, native pastors, printers, catechists and handicraftsmen – all are
needed. But beside these are another class, not one whit less important, namely Female
Missionaries.2

Missionary service dramatically expanded the sphere of action available to Christian women.
Protestant evangelical women were a significant part of the missionary enterprise as not only did they
contribute large amounts towards fundraising for missionary work but by the 1890s the number of
female missionaries serving overseas was almost equal to the number of men.3 Over the period from
1900 to 1960 the nature of missionary work changed a great deal, moving from an emphasis on a
knowledgeable and superior foreign missionary to missionaries who were prepared to work with
indigenous peoples and adopt a much greater degree of cross-race collegiality.4 This article will not
attempt a postcolonial critique of missionary endeavours of the period but solely focus on the roles
and responsibilities given to New Zealand women Salvation Army officers who served overseas
compared to those who remained at home in New Zealand.5

Although missionary work often gave women opportunities not available to them in their home
countries, much missionary work did not always challenge established ideas about gender roles, with
many women missionaries primarily working in traditionally female roles such as nursing.
Importantly women missionaries were seen as having a special role in ministering to, and in the
evangelising of, other women. In 1917 Mrs Lieutenant-Colonel Minnie Carpenter of The Salvation
Army noted;

Reference citation of this paper; Raewyn Hendy, “New Zealand Salvation Army women officers who served
overseas, 1907 – 1960”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 50 – 60.
2 E.R. Pitman, Lady missionaries in many lands, (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1929), 5.
3 Susan Thorne, “Missionary-Imperial Feminism” in Mary Taylor Huber and Nancy C. Lutkehaus eds., Gendered
missions: Women and men in missionary discourse and practices, (Ann Arbor, USA: The University of Michigan Press,
1999), 41.; Peter Williams, “‘The missing link’: The recruitment of women missionaries in some evangelical English
missionary societies in the Nineteenth Century” in Fiona Bowie, Deborah Kirkwood and Shirley Ardener eds., Women
and missions: Past and present: Anthropological and historical perceptions, (Providence, USA: Berg, 1993), 43.;
Pitman, Lady missionaries, 8 – 9.
4 Ruth Compton Brouwer, Modern women modernizing men: The changing missions of three professional women in
Asia and Africa, 1902-69, (Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press, 2002), 11 – 33.
5 It is important to note as Mary Taylor Huber and Nancy C. Lutkehaus wrote in Gendered missions that “Religious
causes enabled many women to go overseas, and women missionaries helped provide many subject women with access
to education and opportunities they would not have otherwise enjoyed. Yet neither of these liberating enlightening
moves was without deep shadows both for the women missionaries and the indigenous people they lived among.” Mary
Taylor Huber and Nancy C. Lutkehaus eds., Gendered missions: Women and men in missionary discourse and
practices, (Ann Arbor, USA: The University of Michigan Press, 1999), 7 – 8. See also Thorne, “Missionary-Imperial
Feminism”, 39 – 65. Rhonda Semple’s chapter “Professionalising their faith: Women, religion and the cultures of
mission and empire”, in Sue Morgan and Jacqueline DeVries eds., Women, gender and religious cultures in Britain,
1800-1940, (London, UK: Routledge, 2010) , 117 – 137, had a discussion on missionary women and the imperial
project and Tony Ballantyne’s “Religion, difference and the limits of British imperial history”, Victorian Studies, 427 –
455 looked at six recent books on the subject of the relationship between missionary activity and Empire. Elizabeth
Prevost’s article “Assessing women, gender and empire in Britain’s Nineteenth Century Protestant Missionary
Movement”, History compass, 7, 3, (2009), 765 – 799 also outlined current research in this area.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 51

The only safe way of taking the West to the Chinese woman is to take it through Christ. Christian
women, with hearts full of great love and patience, must take the Gospel to the Chinese women
in their homes and teach them how to live.6

This is also noted in an article in The Sydney morning herald describing the work of a New Zealand
woman missionary officer.

Speaking of the missionary work, Major Battersby said the native methods were very crude, yet
they resented help from a white male doctor. However, they did not object so strongly to a white
woman, and a great deal of work has been done by women in this direction.7

An article in The war cry in 1945 noted that around twenty-five New Zealand officers were
working on the mission field and this number seems to have been relatively constant from 1920-
1960.8 For this study I selected twenty-three Salvation Army women officers who served overseas
from 1907 to 1960 and examined their career paths. Sixteen were unmarried when they served
overseas and seven were married. The Salvation Army missionary narrative in New Zealand before
1960 is dominated by two male medical missionaries, Dr Bramwell Cook9 and Dr Kingsley
Mortimer,10 with their activities featuring extensively in The war cry and in other Salvation Army
publications, but these men were joined by other male officers and also large numbers of female
officers who played prominent roles in the work of The Salvation Army in India, other parts of Asia
and Africa.

The roles undertaken by New Zealand women officers overseas

While somewhat less visible and less frequently reported on than their male contemporaries, the
activities of the women who served overseas are reported in The war cry and it is apparent that they
often undertook significant positions of responsibility on the mission field. Most of them undertook
roles in nursing and teaching but some also did administrative and corps work. Significantly many of
these women Salvation Army officers who served overseas were given roles and responsibilities on
the mission field that they would not have been given at home in New Zealand.

Examples of women officers who achieve significant responsibilities overseas include
Evangeline (Eva) Radcliffe who was appointed a divisional commander in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in
1939.11 In Japan Annie Smyth12 dealt with Japanese and Western businessmen, soliciting funds for
the work of The Salvation Army in Japan, organising safe houses for foreign seamen and escorting
large parties of men from British and American warships around Tokyo.13 Agnes Morgan14 took

6 Minnie Lindsay Carpenter, “The awakening of China: The women of the flowery land”, The war cry, (Wellington, 22
December 1917), 14.
7 “Medical work: Salvation Army field in Africa: Interesting visitor”, The Sydney morning herald, (Sydney, 16 March
1936), 4.
8 “Scanning the mission field: Why New Zealanders should be thrilled with pride to share in the annual self-denial
effort”, The war cry, (Wellington, 15 September 1945), 5.
9 Dr Bramwell Cook retired with the rank of Lieut.-Commissioner.
10 Dr Kingsley Mortimer resigned from Salvation Army officership and went on to become Associate Professor of
Anatomy, Auckland University Medical School, 1969-1975.
11 It would be another 15 years before a woman officer was appointed to be a divisional commander in New Zealand,
with the appointment of Edna Grice, in 1954. Eva Radcliffe retired with the rank of Major.
12 Annie Smyth retired with the rank of Brigadier.
13 Barbara Sampson, Women of spirit: Life-Stories of New Zealand Salvation Army women from the last 100 years,
(Wellington, New Zealand: The Salvation Army, 1993), 42 – 43.; Cyril R. Bradwell, Fight the good fight: The story of
The Salvation Army in New Zealand 1883-1983, (Wellington, New Zealand: Reed, 1982), 161, 108 – 109.
14 Agnes Morgan retired with the rank of Major.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 52

charge of the Peking Central Corps in China in 1947.15 Jean Gould was appointed Literary Officer
for Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan in 1960.16 This appointment involved the development of
educational and literary programmes in many languages.17 In the field of education, Ivy Cresswell
served in East Africa as a teacher with 70 schools under her direction.18 Lavinia Benson19 also worked
in Salvation Army educational institutions in Africa from 1945 onwards, and by 1964 was responsible
for 164 schools, 800 teachers and 32,000 pupils.20 In nursing, one of New Zealand’s earliest Salvation
Army missionaries was Alice Law,21 who in 1907 served as the first matron of The Salvation Army
hospital at Anand, India.22 Many New Zealand women officers who went on to hold significant
positions in the organisation internationally in the years after 1960 gained their experience in overseas
postings.23 Like many married women officers in The Salvation Army in New Zealand, officer wives
who served overseas faced the dilemma of trying to combine some kind of public ministry with their
family and domestic duties, or devoting their time solely to domestic and family life, thus enabling
their husbands to focus on their professional responsibilities. Mrs Eva Argyle24 and Mrs Dorothy
Cook,25 both of whose husbands served at the Emery Hospital in India, clearly show these two
perspectives. An article in The war cry in 1941 noted that Mrs Eva Argyle was “handicapped
somewhat for public work on account of her two little daughters [but she] takes the opportunity to
visit the sick and sorrowing…whilst the Major is at home at midday”.26 In the obituary of Mrs
Dorothy Cook it was recorded that when she was asked what her ministry was would reply, “To be
beside my husband, Bram, to make possible his life’s work”.27

The cover of a Salvation Army biography of Frederick Booth-Tucker
written by Jean Gould28

15 Bradwell, Fight the good fight, 162.
16 Jean Gould retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
17 Bradwell, Fight the good fight, 165.
18 “Street appeal”, Evening post, (Wellington, 11 October 1945), 8. Ivy Cresswell retired with the rank of Brigadier.
19 Lavinia Benson retired with the rank of Brigadier.
20 “New editor appointed”, The war cry, (Wellington, 27 February 1971), 2.
21 Alice Law (later Carter) retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
22 Bradwell, Fight the good fight, 161.
23 For example, Vera Williamson went on to become chief secretary for the South East Indian Territory in 1977, and
Moira Wright would become the first New Zealand woman officer to command a Salvation Army territory when she
was appointed to command Singapore/Malaysia in 1987.
24 Eva Argyle retired with the rank of Brigadier.
25 Dorothy Cook retired with the rank of Lieut.-Commissioner.
26 “N.Z. missionary officers write of their doings and their happiness in their work”, The war cry, (Wellington, 12 April
1941), 10.
27 “A courageous and gracious woman who heeded God’s call”, The war cry, (Wellington, 30 May 1992), 7.
28 Image courtesy of Garth R. Hentzschel.

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Motivation for service on the mission field

Evangelism

Evangelism was the primary motivation of Salvation Army officers who served on the mission field.
Ensign Nellie O. Newton, when serving in China in 1918 wrote, “[o]h the privileges of being here
and striving to win these dear souls for God!”.29 Annie Smyth would greet people in the street in
Japanese with the question “[a]re you saved?”30 Throughout the period under discussion, the salvation
of souls remained the primary motivation, but over time as well as preaching the need for conversion,
The Salvation Army along with many other missionary organisations, began to focus on a more
indirect form of evangelism through the provision of education facilities and health services for local
people. The priorities of The Salvation Army are clearly shown in this comment by Ivy Williams,
who when serving as a nurse and Women’s Social Secretary in South Africa, described the William
Eadie Hospital, as “a hospital with clinic [which] provides for so many who stand in need of the
gospel message, as well as medical care”.31 As evangelism became less politically and culturally
acceptable in many of the host nations, The Salvation Army turned to providing social services with
a less obvious evangelistic motive.

A calling from God to overseas service

Virtually all women missionaries felt they had been called to the work. Unlike appointments in New
Zealand, Salvation Army officers were able to decide whether or not they would accept an
appointment to the mission field. Often at quite a young age many women missionaries note that they
experienced a sense that God required them to serve as missionaries, sometimes writing that even the
specific country had been made known to them. For example, Vera Williamson32 wrote in her
memoir, “[s]ure that God must have a plan for my life, in childish simplicity I knelt at a box in my
room and asked him to tell me what it was. I got up knowing I should go to India”.33 Bessie Forsyth,34
who spent twenty-six years in Ceylon, felt called to missionary service at age ten and Moira Wright35
felt a “clear call from God to go to China” also at a young age.36

Maud Carmichael (nee Sowton)37 noted that “[o]ne night she was especially led to pray for
China and the conviction came to her that she ought to volunteer for service there herself” and
Dorothy Elphick38 recorded that “the destination came as a clear unmistakable call to service in Papua
New Guinea, one day as [I] stood at the kitchen sink”.39 In a frank interview on her missionary service,
Jean Gould noted “I came for the Lord’s sake!” and wrote that she had never felt a flair for missionary
work, nor had she wanted to see the world, but she had received a cable from International

29 Nellie O. Newton, “New Zealander’s Christmas in China”, The war cry, (Wellington, 6 April 1918), 6.
30 Sampson, Women of spirit, 44.
31 “New Zealand officer supervises hospitals”, The war cry, (Wellington, 14 January 1967), 7.
32 Vera Williamson retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
33 Vera Williamson, The inside story, (self-published manuscript, 2003), 10.
34 Bessie Forsyth retired with the rank of Major.
35 Moira Wright retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
36 “Servants of God…Enter thy Master’s joy”, The war cry, (Wellington, 4 February 1984), 9.; “Doors were opened”,
The war cry, (Wellington, 1 February 1958), 9.
37 Maud Carmichael (later Sowton) retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
38 Dorothy Elphick retired with the rank of Major.
39 “Chinese soldiers were puzzled”, The war cry, (Wellington, 8 February 1930), 9.; Sampson, Women of spirit, 177.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 54

Headquarters asking if she would be willing to go, and because she had been asked and felt called by
God, she went.40 Some women officers went after being made aware of a particular need. For
example, in 1917, The war cry noted that the General had cabled the commissioner to ask for four
women officers, to be part of a party “for the pioneer work of The Salvation Army amongst the four
hundred millions of Chinese” and “The Commissioner has agreed to accept…Adjutant
Newton…Captain Andrews…Captain Wilkinson…and Captain Smith”.41 After World War Two Kia-
Ora Tyler42 volunteered to go to Indonesia after hearing that long serving missionaries there needed
a rest.43

Captain Moira Wright
when matron of The Salvation Army’s Home

in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia44

Opportunities for travel and adventure

Many women officers found missionary service provided them with opportunities for travel and
adventure, which as New Zealand women of limited means, they would be unlikely to have. For
example, in the course of her missionary career, Agatha Battersby45 lived in Japan, Korea, Southern
Rhodesia, South Africa and Kenya. Memoirs written by these women, their letters to friends and
family in New Zealand, and articles they sent home to be published in The war cry are full of accounts
of their travels and adventures. There was also the challenge of learning new languages, new physical
challenges and adjusting to different cultures. The autobiographical accounts written by these women
are full of stories of their adventures living as independent women in a foreign country. The
experiences available to them were far greater than they would have had if they had remained as
officers in New Zealand. Many of them identified with the culture in which they had chosen to serve.
Annie Smyth on being asked by The war cry editor how she felt about returning to New Zealand in
1939, commented that, she felt “as though my roots have been plucked out of my adopted soil!” and
went on to explain that having lived half a lifetime in Japan, living and speaking as the people lived

40 Jean Gould papers held at the New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
41 “Concerning China”, The war cry, (Wellington, 27 January 1917), 5.; Bradwell, Fight the good fight, 162.
42 Kia-Ora Tyler retired with the rank of Brigadier.
43 Kia-Ora Tyler, “A good Samaritan”, The war cry, (Wellington, 23 April 1966), 5.
44 “One in our aim”, The officer, 20, 3 (March 1969), 183-184, 184.
45 Agatha Battersby (later Thurley) retired with the rank of Brigadier.

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and spoke and learning to love them, it was a difficult matter to break away.46 Sampson wrote that
Smyth “studied the Bible in Japanese and was an avid reader of Japanese literature. She absorbed the
culture, adapting herself to Japanese life and thought, identifying fully with the people”.47

Professional development

The great majority of women officers who served on the mission field had professional skills,
primarily in nursing and teaching, and service overseas offered increased professional opportunities
and challenges. Jean Gould, who had trained as a kindergarten teacher in New Zealand, noted in her
memoir that as literary officer her main duty had been

To encourage Indian officers to write creative work of substance and quality in their own
languages [and that she had] no formal training…[and] was inadequately prepared. Humanly
speaking as I said, “I was without degrees and training that might have been thought essential for
such a varied programme of work as came my way in those unforgettable 23 years [emphasis as
in original].48

Opportunities for nurse-officers in New Zealand were largely limited to maternity hospitals, but
overseas missionary hospitals provided a wider range of services and therefore more professional
opportunities. Vera Williamson for example found this when appointed to serve in India, she wrote
that

With only basic qualifications and limited nursing I fully expected, when appointed to the hospital
[Catherine Booth Hospital, Nagercoil, South India] to work as a staff nurse. Within a few months
I found myself Superintendent of Nurses and sole tutor to a lower grade School of Nursing.49

The Salvation Army in New Zealand offered no opportunities for those with teaching qualifications
to work as teachers in a school environment but there were significant opportunities, particularly in
Africa, at Salvation Army educational institutions. This is shown for example in the cases of Ivy
Cresswell and Lavinia Benson, whose significant roles have previously been mentioned.

Prestige and respect

Missionary service gave women officers a sense that they were respected, both within The Salvation
Army and in their communities back in New Zealand. Service overseas gave them recognition and
prestige, with accounts of their activities published in The war cry and occasionally in secular
newspapers, and they were in demand as speakers when on furlough back in New Zealand. Many
women who served overseas were older, unmarried, more experienced officers. For Salvation Army
women officers there was a limited pool of potential marriage partners in New Zealand and service
overseas may have been seen as offering a more interesting and fulfilling life than that of a single
officer in New Zealand. Some however looked on missionary service as their life’s calling and chose
the single life in order to achieve it. Annie Smyth, for example, turned down a marriage proposal

46 “Brigadier Annie Smyth returns”, The war cry, (Wellington, 7 October 1939), 4. Annie Smyth returned reluctantly to
New Zealand following the outbreak of World War Two having intended to retire in Japan. She was subsequently
appointed to the Wairoa Corps and along with her sister was brutally murdered there in 1942.
47 Sampson, Women of spirit, 44.
48 Gould papers.
49 Williamson, The inside story, 33 – 34.

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because she was determined to serve as a missionary in Japan.50 In her notebook, Jean Gould made
some notes for a talk which was to be entitled “Single, yet undismayed!”51 Vera Williamson wrote
that “when I answered God’s call to missionary service, I accepted the single life as my lot”.52

Problems associated with overseas service

Service on the mission field was often arduous, exhausting, stressful and damaging to the health of
those that undertook it, with high levels of stress associated with adjusting to a different physical
environment and culture, coping with rapid changes, dealing with the local population, relationships
with colleagues, criticism from home, maintenance of family life for those with children and
maintaining family and friendship connections with those at home.53 These problems are clear to see
in the writings of the women officers who served on the mission field. Vera Williamson highlighted
the problem of cultural adjustment in her memoirs. She wrote

The zealous young missionary is consumed with a desire to DO THINGS. She beats her fists
against a brick wall of indifference, and her fists get calloused. Perhaps calloused knees would
have accomplished more. Or maybe the wall isn’t a wall of indifference at all, only a wall of
different thinking. Perhaps it could be taken down brick by brick with patient hands [emphasis as
in original].54

There were difficulties in maintaining family and marital relationships on the mission field,
with husbands often absent and children having to be sent away to school. For example, an article on
Major and Mrs Argyle noted that “Mrs Argyle is preparing to take Eunice away to school [and that]
this is one of the major sacrifices made by Missionary Comrades”.55 An article on Mrs Askew noted
that “The Adjutant’s distant work will take him from home six months of the year”.56

Several of the missionary officers whose careers I have looked at suffered physical health
problems as a result of their time overseas. Male officers, for example, Ivan Argyle, also suffered
ongoing health issues but my research shows that it was overwhelmingly female officers who suffered
health issues as a likely result of their service overseas. Some examples include, Dorothy Cook who
suffered ongoing health issues after overseas missionary service, Kia-Ora Tyler who was forced
because of ill-health to return from overseas, and Mina Fordyce’s service in Malaysia was also cut
short because of health issues.57 The Salvation Army recognised that service on the mission field
involved a greater likelihood of health issues and allowed officers who had served more than twenty
years in the tropics to retire five years earlier. Jean Gould wrote in her memoirs that she had been a
corps officer in a particularly difficult corps in New Zealand where there had been a sign above the
Mercy Seat which read “Endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ” noting that she took this
memory with her to the mission field.58 An officer friend had also given her a word of Scripture, “I

50 Sampson, Women of spirit, 42.
51 Gould papers.
52 Williamson, The inside story, 65.
53 Bowie, Kirkwood and Ardener, Women and missions, 8.
54 Williamson, The inside story, 32.
55 “N.Z. missionary officers”, The war cry, (Wellington, 12 April 1941), 10.
56 “Personal pars”, The war cry, (Wellington, 11 November 1940), 8.
57 ‘Argyle’, “Caught in the spotlight”, The war cry, (Wellington, 21 July 1945), 10.; H. Bramwell Cook, White
Gujaratis, Bramwell and Dorothy Cook, (Christchurch, New Zealand: H. Bramwell Cook, 2007), 194.; Tyler, “A good
Samaritan”, The war cry, (Wellington, 23 April 1966), 5.; Mina Fordyce, “Doors were opened”, The war cry,
(Wellington, 1 February 1958), 9.
58 Gould papers.

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will be to you a little sanctuary among the heathen” and she remarked that for her the sanctuary was
a mosquito net and the heathen were the mosquitos and other flying insects.59

Service on the mission field did not mean that officers were immune to personality conflicts
with other officers or to problems with the leadership of The Salvation Army as is illustrated by Jean
Gould’s comments when she described her reaction to being given a difficult task by a field secretary
in India, noting that,“[a]t times like this I could see the T.C. [Territorial Commander] frowning at me,
daring me to burst into tears. So I didn’t”.60 The difficulties of life on the mission field are
encapsulated in a letter from Dr A. Bramwell Cook at Emery Hospital in India to Vera Williamson,
in which he welcomed her to India and wrote

I have been saddened to see many beautiful nurses come out full of hope and ambition who, in a
short time have become disappointed, soured or heart-broken by the hardness of the road or
misunderstandings of various sorts. May I ask you not to lose your experience? ... Be determined
to let nothing dim your call…61

There is some evidence to suggest that The Salvation Army was unsure what to do with women
officers when they returned from missionary service. This is perhaps exemplified by Ivy Cresswell’s
career after she returned from missionary service in Africa. During her time in Africa, as well as
serving as a teacher, she had for many years been editor of the East African edition of The war cry, a
position that necessitated fluency in several languages.62 Following her return to New Zealand she
was appointed to the position of editor of The young soldier, the children’s section of The war cry,
where under the pen name of Cousin Tui she responded to letters from young Salvationists. She held
this position for 24 years. The career card of the male officer who held the position of editor of The
war cry for some of those 24 years indicates that his previous career had been as a grocer’s assistant.
Appointments for returning male officers seem to have been less of a problem as they continued to
progress in their careers following missionary service. This progression is illustrated by the careers
of Dr A. Bramwell Cook following his return from India, went on to become chief secretary for New
Zealand and then territorial commander for Australia Eastern Territory, and Tom McKenzie63 who
after his return from service in Africa held various appointments before becoming divisional
commander of the Southern and then the Canterbury/Westland divisions.

Characteristics of women officers who served overseas

The women officers who undertook service on the mission field were often second-generation
Salvationists or women who were better educated, often with tertiary or professional qualifications.
Annie Smyth had won a scholarship to Wellington Girls’ College in 1899 and graduated with a B.A.
from Victoria College of the University of New Zealand.64 Gwenyth Norman,65 Ivy Cresswell,
Lavinia Benson and Laura Dutton66 were also university graduates. Mavis Mortimer had a medical

59 Gould papers.
60 Gould papers.
61 Vera Williamson papers held at the New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.
62 At this time, the East Africa Territory was comprised of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
63 Tom McKenzie retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
64 Sampson, Women of spirit, 41 – 42.; Beryl Hughes and Shelia Ahern, Redbrick and bluestockings: Women at
Victoria, 1889-1993, (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1993), 21.
65 Gwenyth Norman retired with the rank of Brigadier.
66 Laura Dutton retired with the rank of Brigadier.

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degree and Lillian Abel,67 Alice Law and Vera Williamson were all qualified nurses. The Salvation
Army in New Zealand was not always happy to lose high calibre officers to overseas territories. Laura
Dutton had her application for overseas service declined on the grounds that she was needed in New
Zealand. Laura, however, took the opportunity of speaking with Mrs General Carpenter when she
was visiting New Zealand in 1946, and within a few months she was on her way to Africa.68 Male
officers with tertiary or professional qualifications could progress through the ranks and use their
abilities in New Zealand as staff officers or administrators or in other senior roles as well as take up
opportunities on the mission field. For women officers with tertiary or professional qualifications the
opportunities open to them were more limited and service overseas presented an attractive option
which enabled them to fulfil both their professional and evangelical ambitions.

The language used to describe women who served overseas is very revealing. In obituaries and
other War cry articles on women who served in New Zealand there is often an emphasis on their
caring, nurturing and sacrificial service. For example, Ellen Smith was described as “highly respected
for her devoted service [and] the desire to serve was evident to the end”69 and Merle Kennerly “lived
for others” and undertook “selfless service.”70 Women officers who served overseas are described
differently and there is a definite sense that they were highly regarded by the organisation. Robson
has suggested that,

… women who succeed in the Church are often described as extraordinary women which implies
that they are unusual, not the ordinary run of women…not normative…the exception to the rule
[emphasis as in original].71

The language used to describe women missionary officers supports Robson’s suggestion and shows
that The Salvation Army regarded these women as exceptional and different from the norm. Articles
and obituaries highlight their abilities and intelligence. Some examples are included in the Table
below.

Name of women officer Description(s) given about the women officer
who served overseas
Evangeline Radcliffe “a heroine”
“gave impression of austerity”72
Jean Gould
“an individualist with a fine mind, a strong will and resolute
Lavinia Benson principles”73

“a capable administrator and a great mind”
“she abhorred woolly thinking”
“expressed her convictions fearlessly and pungently”
“a force to be reckoned with”
“tenacity of purpose and professional and spiritual integrity”74

67 Lillian Abel retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
68 Sampson, Women of spirit, 162.
69 The war cry, (Wellington, 19 September 1970), 2. Ellen Smith retired with the rank of Brigadier.
70 The war cry, (Wellington, 3 October 1970). Merle Kennerly retired with the rank of Major.
71 Jill Robson, “Ministry or profession: Clergy double-talk” in Monica Furlong ed., Mirror to the Church: Reflections
on sexism, (London: SPCK, 1988), 117.
72 The war cry, (Wellington, 17 June 1972), 12.
73 The war cry, (Wellington, 9 March 1991), 10.
74 The war cry, (Wellington, 2 December 1972), 11.; The war cry, (Wellington, 13 January 1973), 16.

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Name of women officer Description(s) given about the women officer
who served overseas

Ivy Cresswell “a person of knowledge and steadfastness” 75

Agatha Battersby “a formidable but dedicated lady of remarkable versatility”76

Moira Wright “skilled administrator and collaborator”
“set high standards for herself and could be fierce”77

Arrina Bridge (nee Packer)78 “she had a mind of her own”
“a faith of action” 79

Table One: Examples of language used to describe women officers who served overseas

Conclusion

On the mission field during this period there appears to be a greater sense of gender equality, with
not only complementary roles for women, but also egalitarian roles, due to the unique professional
skills that many women officers could offer. Both genders had unique skills which they could
contribute. All officers, regardless of gender, were dependent on each other. There was a pressing
need to get the job done, and great spiritual and physical needs to attend to. There is evidence to
suggest that married women officers on the mission field sometimes struggled to find a role for
themselves.80 The mission field allowed pragmatic decision making, possibly less adherence to
regulations, and a chance for women officers to gain experience, which enabled them to take up
leadership positions. Service on the mission field was clearly based on merit and ability with a
person’s skill set more important than their gender. Women officers were able to achieve positions
of responsibility, prestige, and power on the mission field which their male colleagues were able to
achieve by service in New Zealand. Service overseas enabled many women officers to achieve greater
levels of seniority, as well as increased opportunities and status, compared to that achieved by their
female colleagues who remained in New Zealand.

75 The war cry, (Wellington, 19 January 1974), 14.
76 Cyril R. Bradwell, Touched with splendour, (Wellington, New Zealand: Flag Publications, 2003), 124.
77 The war cry, (Wellington, 21 April 2012), 18.
78 Arrina Bridge retired with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel.
79 The war cry, (Wellington, 11 June 1977), 10.
80 See for example, Cook, White Gujaratis, 117 – 118.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 60

MEET THE AUTHOR

Publications about The Salvation Army and by Salvationists are often referenced, cited, critiqued and
evaluated without the reviewer knowing anything about the author. In an attempt to introduce the
authors of Salvation Army works to their readership The Australasian journal of Salvation Army
history will, from time to time, ask authors to contribute to this section of the journal, “Meet the
Author”. This paper introduces readers to a New Zealand Salvation Army officer, educator, author
and historian, who has written a number of items on Salvation Army history.

Kingsley Sampson1

I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1944 and was one year old on VE Day. My parents were
Salvationists. My mother was an officer maternity nurse who left the work to marry my father. Molly
had been born to a single mother in a Salvation Army maternity home and that was where her
connection with The Salvation Army began. My father was a returned serviceman who had been a
medic in the Middle East as part of the 2nd NZ Expeditionary Force (2NZEF). His parents were
Salvationists and he had been an officer for a few years before the war. My parents attended the
Linwood Corps in Christchurch and I still have the Bible that was given to me by family friends on
the occasion of my dedication in June 1944. My parent’s marriage did not last and when I was eleven,
my mother remarried.

During my childhood, we lived in Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill. I went to primary
schools in Dunedin, Invercargill and rural Southland and secondary school (Southland Boys’ High)
in Invercargill. My secondary schooling was facilitated by my step-father Bill McGowan’s
willingness to pay my boarding school fees so I could take an academic course in the city. Initially
this was for three years but was then extended for a further year. This was after Lance Blaikie, my
high school careers’ master, made a private appeal to my parents to allow me a fourth year at high
school so I could study for university entrance.

In my mid-teens I responded, albeit reluctantly at first, to a call to officership given as was the
custom in those days in the afternoon meeting of the annual youth councils. It was not something I
wanted to do but it has proved to be a very fulfilling vocation. In preparation for officer training and
also the prospect of missionary service, I felt led to undertake teacher training which I did at Dunedin
Teachers’ College (1962 – 63). At the same time, I began part-time university studies as teacher
training at that time in New Zealand was only a two-year certificate course and not a degree course.
My desire to go as far as I could with my studies was influenced by the words of our then chief
secretary Colonel (later Commissioner) Dr Bram Cook. He advised prospective candidates to prepare
themselves for officership in the best way they could and then present themselves to the Army for
service.

Over the next few years (1964 – 1970) I completed a BA majoring in history and then a MA
also in history at the University of Otago. I did this by teaching for a couple of years, saving my
money and then going back to university for a year’s study, then returning to teaching for a couple of
years before returning to university and so on. It was during this time that Barbara and I married in
1968. In all, I taught for a total of six years in primary, intermediate (middle) and secondary schools
before Barbara and I with one child, our son Michael entered the officer training college in Wellington

1 Reference citation of this paper; Kingsley Sampson, “Meet the author”, The Australasian journal of Salvation
Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 61 – 67.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 61

Photograph of Major Kingsley Sampson2

2 Photograph courtesy of Philip Sampson.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 62

as members of the ‘Followers of Christ’ session. I also began studying for a diploma of education
with Massey University in 1971 and completed this in 1976.

During my schooling, university and early teaching years, I was associated with Invercargill,
Dunedin South, Dunedin North and Gore Corps. I completed higher grade corps cadets and for several
years, sang in the songsters and played in the band (cornet and baritone). I played guitar in corps
pop/rhythm/beat groups in the 1960s at Dunedin South (The Heralds) and Invercargill (His
Ambassadors) and was a YPSM for a total of four years at Dunedin North and Gore. For this role,
further training with Child Evangelism Fellowship helped me apply what I had learned in teacher
training to Sunday school work in a corps.

We had one year in training college (1973) and were then appointed as cadet-lieutenants to
Island Bay, a small suburban corps in Wellington for one year (1974). Our daughter Joanne was born
during this year.

We were commissioned in January 1975 and appointed to Chikankata Secondary School in
Zambia for what we thought would be a lifetime of missionary service. I taught history, civics and
English among other things at the school and for two-three years, had responsibility for the corps
attached to the school. I also participated in an initiative called Chikankata Bible School. These were
short Bible courses run in the school holidays for corps leaders and local officers. They were an
attempt to give some Bible teaching to Zambian Salvationists who, due to the scarcity of officers had
been placed in positions of responsibility but with little or no bible and leadership training.

Coming to grips with a new environment and culture was daunting. At times, even though I
was 30 years old, I felt like a baby who knew nothing, especially when various customs were the
complete opposite of what I was familiar with in New Zealand. Today we would call this culture
shock and it highlighted to me the need for cultural orientation and language learning before
missionaries take up an appointment in a country not of their birth. Fortunately Lieutenant David
Wells, a staff member at Chikankata had realised this lack and had prepared some helpful orientation
material for new arrivals.

While we were at Chikankata, the term of service for missionary officers in southern Africa
was reduced from five to four years but we served less than three and a half years – from February
1975 to June 1978. Our early return to New Zealand was precipitated by two things: Barbara needed
repeat surgery for melanoma and our daughter needed heart surgery. We hoped we could return to
Chikankata and overseas service after the surgeries and a period of recuperation but that proved
impossible. Instead we settled back into life in New Zealand where we have remained ever since,
apart from some short overseas trips. We still look back with gratitude to our Zambia days and the
colleagues we worked with have remained life-long friends. We remain especially grateful for the
medical care given by the Chikankata hospital doctors, Captains Paul du Plessis and Graham Calvert.

Back in New Zealand, I served on territorial headquarters (THQ) from late 1978 until the end
of 1983. My first appointment was as an assistant in the youth and candidates’ department (1978 –
1981) and then as secretary for education (1982 – 1983). During these years I had responsibility for
candidates’ lesson and post-commissioning studies, refresher courses for officers and other assigned
duties. These years at THQ helped me come to grips with Salvation Army administration procedures,
something which proved valuable in subsequent appointments. Barbara had no official appointment
during this time and concentrated on her health and our children. She also began writing.3 We attended

3 For more, see Barbara Sampson, “Meet the author. Words”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 5, 2,
(September, 2020), 69 – 72.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 63

Island Bay Corps again, this time as officer soldiers. I eventually took up the role of corps sergeant-
major.

In 1984 we were appointed to New Lynn Corps in west Auckland. The corps had begun in the
neighbouring suburb of Avondale in 1928 and after a period of growth in the 1960s and 1970s, had
relocated to New Lynn in 1976. The corps had a full roster of musical and YP sections and a large
home league. I found it a very challenging appointment, especially trying to manage the various
competing groups in the corps and hold them to an agreed purpose and direction. I also discovered
how much of a corps officer’s time is taken up with administration. Among initiatives during our time
were the employment of an office secretary and a corps youth worker plus the introduction of a
computer for corps administration. These were right at the beginning of such developments, things
which are now standard and taken for granted. During these years the increasing complexity of corps
finance and secretarial tasks convinced me that the time would come when these would no longer be
done on a voluntary basis by a corps treasurer and a corps secretary.

I had been captivated by the concept of church growth since my days in Zambia. New Lynn
had already planted a new corps further west at Massey (now Westgate) in 1982 and I wondered
where else the Army might be planted in west Auckland. We did some initial planning for this in our
final year (1988) and after we were transferred, two new corps were planted, one at Henderson (called
Waitakere Central Corps, aka the Faith Factory) in 1991 and one at Glen Eden in 1993. Waitakere
continues strongly but Glen Eden closed in 2020.

Our next appointment was Sydenham Corps in Christchurch. This was another corps with
strong musical and other sections but facing leadership challenges due to a number of children of the
regiment becoming nominal rather than active Salvationists. This meant that there were fewer
younger, energetic Salvationists to replace older soldiers in leadership positions, some of whom had
held their roles for many years.

After two years at Sydenham (1989-1990), we were appointed to the officer training college in
Upper Hutt. This ‘new’ college in a campus style had been opened in 1983 as the territory’s centenary
project. My role as education officer brought together all the pre-college training I had done and all I
had experienced in the first 16 years of my officership. I remained at the college until I retired, serving
first as education officer (1991-2001) and then as academic registrar and education consultant (2002-
2007). I also completed a Bachelor of Divinity from Melbourne College of Divinity during these
years.

As well as the administration involved in the education officer’s role such as timetabling,
teaching resources, library oversight and assessment of cadets, I had a full teaching load in a variety
of subjects. In addition, for six years, I taught in an in-service officer training course in preaching
introduced to New Zealand by Major Barry Pobjie and Captain Peter Farthing. I also taught two
preaching courses for the Singapore and Malaysia Command in 1994 and 1995 and along with
Barbara did teaching on holiness and preaching in the Southern Africa Territory in 1997. Being back
in Africa made it possible for us to return to Zambia for a week. It was a delight to visit former places
and to see how The Salvation Army in Zambia was progressing since our departure nearly 20 years
earlier.

The New Zealand officer training college went through a number of developmental phases
during my time on staff. The creation of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) by the
government in 1989 meant we had to have both the college and our courses officially accredited if
we were to continue training overseas cadets. The later development of the Tertiary Education
Commission (TEC) also impacted on the college. As a private training establishment (PTE), we had

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 64

regular audits of our programmes and for some years, cadets who qualified were paid a student
allowance by the government.

In 1999, the college entered into an agreement with the Bible College of New Zealand (BCNZ;
now Laidlaw College). This enabled us to align our college courses with those taught by BCNZ and
for cadets to receive credit towards BCNZ diplomas and degrees. My hope was that college studies
would give cadets up to half of a BCNZ qualification and that once commissioned, officers would
continue and complete undergraduate degrees such as the Bachelor of Theology or the Bachelor of
Ministry.

At the end of 2002, the college was renamed Booth College of Mission and was comprised of
three schools: the School for Officer Training, the School for Bible and Mission (SBM) and the Centre
for Leadership Development (CLD). The SBM offered bible, theology and ministry courses for
people who did not have officership in mind. In practice, these students joined in the courses taken
by cadets. The CLD grew out of the territorial education department which was relocated to the
college and offered a variety of in-service courses for officers and employees.

The growth in the college programme and government requirements was such that by 2002, the
role of education officer was too much for one person. The role was subdivided and as academic
registrar and education consultant, I took responsibility for educational administrative, compliance
and accrediting tasks and remained, along with some teaching in this role until mid-2007. I then
undertook some light duties until I retired at the start of 2008 and settled in Christchurch.

During my years on the college staff, I was also involved with the Christian Theological and
Ministries Education Society, a grouping of Christian PTEs offering theological and ministry
education and with the Ecumenical Institute of Distance Theological Studies, a venture by five
churches offering distance theological education throughout New Zealand. I served as a board
member and on occasions as chair of both organisations. The college also had links with the
Wellington Theological Consortium, a regional theological group and the New Zealand Association
of Theological Schools.4

Cover of Many voices in mission, Kingsley Sampson
contributed an article to this book

4 For more, see Kingsley Sampson, “A new training era” in Many voices in mission: 25 years of The Salvation Army in
New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga 1983 – 2008, (Wellington, NZ: Flag Publications, 2008), 77 – 79.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 65

I had always been interested in history from my high school days and had read Salvation Army
history over the years. As well, the territory’s pre-eminent historian, Rtd CSM Cyril Bradwell was
both a friend of my parents in their youth and an inspiration to me through his research and
scholarship. But it was not until I retired that I was able to focus more on this topic. While I wrote a
lot during my officership, it was more likely to be things like sermons, teaching notes, discussion
papers, lesson plans and what seemed like endless and complex audit and compliance reports.

At first, I joined the team working on the Hallelujah! project for which I wrote the occasional
article and helped with sub-editing.5 It was through this project that I was able to meet other Salvation
Army historians from Australia. Then I was involved in establishing the Christchurch Salvation Army
History Group which has met quarterly over the past seven years. As well as invited speakers and
talks on topics of interest by members, we have held three field trips. The first was to Salvation Army
sites of historical interest in central Christchurch, the second was to a local cemetery to visit Salvation
Army graves of interest and the third was a day’s bus trip covering towns adjacent to Christchurch
where corps and outposts once operated. For each of these, a booklet giving brief details was
produced. Finally I have been a member of the editorial team producing the Australasian journal of
Salvation Army history (AJSAH) and have written the occasional article for this publication.

Some covers of Hallelujah magazine. Kingsley Sampson contributed articles to issues
and helped with sub-editing

A big project in the last four to five years has been working along with others on Under two
flags, a book about the New Zealand Salvation Army’s response to the First World War.6 I contributed
several chapters and edited the book. As part of the research for this book, I was able to visit sites of
interest to New Zealand Salvationists on the Western Front in 2017 and 2019 with Ron Inglis of
Campsie Corps, Sydney, Australia. With Inglis’ help, we were able to visit the grave of nearly every
New Zealand Salvationist killed on the Western Front and to leave a small memorial plaque.
Photographs taken on these trips were included in an unpublished 400-page companion to Under two
flags entitled For God, King and Country: A supplement to under two flags containing pictorial and

5 Hallelujah! was a joint effort between three Salvation Army territories – Australia Eastern, Australian Southern and
New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. A total of twelve full-colour booklets were published between 2007 and 2010, each with
a theme featuring some aspect of Salvation Army history and current ministry.
6 Kingsley Sampson (ed), Under two flags: The New Zealand Salvation Army’s response to the First World War,
(Wellington, NZ: Flag Publications, 2019).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 66

additional information for NZ First World War soldiers with Salvation Army connections.7 The text
for this supplement was largely the work of Major Dr Harold Hill.

Cover of Under two flags, Kingsley Sampson
was contributing editor of the book

With the completion of Under two flags, my recent research has been focused on producing a
60th anniversary history of the Hornby Community Ministries of The Salvation Army here in
Christchurch and researching the story of The Salvation Army Students’ Fellowship in New Zealand.
The SASF story is being published in AJSAH8 and I hope the Hornby story will eventually become a
small book. After that I have family research that needs to be completed and written up and maybe a
Second World War sequel to Under two flags.

I do not see myself as an author as such. Compared to other Salvation Army historians, my
output has not been great. Rather I see myself as someone with an interest in Salvation Army history
who enjoys research and then writing up my discoveries, some of which I hope might be of use to
future historians. What I have done since retiring has been for both personal interest and with the aim
of safeguarding the Army’s story. My hope is that I have played a small part in keeping that story
alive for future generations.

7 Harold Hill & Kingsley Sampson, For God, King and Country: A supplement to under two flags, (Unpublished
manuscript, 2019).
8 Kingsley Sampson, “‘To meet a need in the life of Salvationists Students’: The story of The Salvation Army Students’
Fellowship in New Zealand. Part one: From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s”, The Australasian journal of Salvation
Army history, 5, 2, (September 2020), 129 – 149.; Kingsley Sampson, “‘To meet a need in the life of Salvationists
Students’: The story of The Salvation Army Students’ Fellowship in New Zealand. Part two: From holiday treks to
attempted reactivation”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, (March 2021), 6 – 20.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 67

Image of Professor Emeritus R. David Rightmire1

1 Photograph courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 68

MEET THE AUTHOR

Publications about The Salvation Army and by Salvationists are often referenced, cited, critiqued and
evaluated without the reviewer knowing anything about the author. In an attempt to introduce the
authors of Salvation Army works to their readership The Australasian journal of Salvation Army
history will, from time to time, ask authors to contribute to this section of the journal, “Meet the
Author”. This paper introduces an internationally recognised Salvation Army historian and
theologian.

R. David Rightmire2

As a fifth-generation Salvationist, my research and writing interests over the years have included
Salvation Army history and theology. This began in earnest when pursuing doctoral studies in
Theological Studies at Marquette University, writing my Ph.D. on the Army’s sacramental theology
in relation to its holiness commitments. This was a topic of great interest to me as well as to my
academic interlocutors at a Jesuit university! Early in my teaching career at Asbury University, I was
invited by Dr. Don Dayton to revise my dissertation and publish the same as part of the Studies in
Evangelicalism series with Scarecrow Press in 1990, with the revised title Sacraments and the
Salvation Army: Pneumatological foundations.

Cover of Rightmire’s
Sacraments and the Salvation Army
My research and writing took a turn toward the history of missions in subsequent years, as I
examined the early history of the Army’s work in Japan. Having grown up in the Land of the Rising
Sun, where my parents served as Salvation Army officers for many years, this project was an
opportunity to combine my interest in Japanese church history and an investigation into the life and
influence of Commissioner Yamamuro, whose cultural adaptation of the Wesleyan-holiness message
helped the Army make a significant impact on Japanese society in the early 20th century. This research
resulted in the publication of Salvationist Samurai: Gunpei Yamamuro and the rise of the Salvation
Army in Japan as part of the Pietist and Wesleyan Studies series by Scarecrow Press in 1997.

2 Reference citation of this paper; R. David Rightmire, “Meet the author”, The Australasian journal of Salvation
Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 68 – 73.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 69

Cover of Rightmire’s
Salvationist Samurai
My interest in holiness theology, as it relates to both the Wesleyan revival and the 19th century
holiness movement, led me to pursue a study of the life and thought of the early Army’s leading
holiness teacher, Commissioner Brengle. After a period of in-depth research and writing on this
‘sanctified saint,’ my work, Sanctified Sanity: The Life and Teaching of Samuel Logan Brengle (Crest,
2003) appeared. Several years later I was able to revise this book and expand it by two chapters,
resulting in a 2nd edition, published by the Francis Asbury Society in 2013.

Three different covers of Rightmire’s Sanctified Sanity
(Left) Crest, 2003; (Centre) Crest, 2009; (Right) Francis Asbury Society, 2013
Given the increased interest among Salvationists to better understand the Army’s sacramental
position in recent years, I decided to write a revision of my earlier work (1990), since almost thirty
years had passed since conducting my original research. The result was a greatly expanded study,
including interaction with a broader range of Army literature and analysis of the movement’s
sacramental self-perception from its inception to time of publication. This work was published by
Crest Publications in 2016 and is entitled: The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army: A study
of holiness foundations.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 70

Cover of Rightmire’s
The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army

Through the years, in addition to writing the Army-related books mentioned above, I have also
written articles and book reviews for scholarly journals related to Salvation Army history and
theology. A listing of these follows:

Books by Rightmire

Sacraments and The Salvation Army: Pneumatological foundations, Studies in Evangelicalism, no.
10, (Metuchen, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1990).

Salvationist Samurai: Gunpei Yamamuro and the rise of the The Salvation Army in Japan, Pietist and
Wesleyan Studies, no. 8, (Lanham, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1997).

Sanctified sanity: The life and teaching of Samuel Logan Brengle, (USA: Crest Publications, 2003);
Revised and expanded edition, (Alexandria, USA: Francis Asbury Society, 2013).

The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army: A study of holiness foundations, (Alexandria, USA:
Crest Publications, 2016).

Scholarly articles and chapters in books by Rightmire

“Samuel Brengle and the development of Salvation Army pneumatology”, Wesleyan theological
journal 27: 1 and 2, (Spring-Fall 1992), 104 – 131.

“Samuel Logan Brengle and the development of pneumatology in the Salvation Army”, Word and
deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 1, 1, (Fall 1998), 29 – 48.

“Brengle on evangelism and the holy life”, Word and deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology
and ministry 6, 1, (November 2003), 5 – 34.

“Cultural adaptation of Wesleyan-Holiness mission in Japan: A case study of Yamamuro Gunpei and
the Salvation Army”, Japanese religions 29, 1-2, (January 2004), 65 – 83.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 71

“Brengle and the future of the Salvation Army: Organizational assessment and conditions for
success”, Word and deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 7, 2, (May 2005),
61 – 75.

Cover of Word and deed,
Volume 1, Number 1

“Holiness and the ethical dimensions of Brengle’s eschatology”, Word and deed: A journal of
Salvation Army theology and ministry 10, 1, (November 2007), 23 – 38.

“Holiness in relation to salvation: Pneumatological dimensions of Wesleyan soteriology”, Word and
deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 11, 2, (May 2009), 19 – 32.

“Holiness and Wesley’s ‘way of salvation’”, Word and deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology
and ministry 13, 1, (November 2010), 39 – 53.

“Subordination of ecclesiology and sacramental theology to pneumatology in the nineteenth-century
Holiness Movement”, Wesleyan theological journal 47, 2, (Fall 2012), 27 – 35.

“Holiness and the Salvation Army: Nineteenth century holiness movement roots”, Word and deed: A
journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 15, 1, (November 2012), 53 – 69.

“Holiness as ‘Christian perfection’: Further thoughts on entire sanctification”, Word and deed: A
journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 16, 1, (November 2013), 5 – 22.

“Transitions in Salvation Army holiness theology: A historical assessment”, 73 – 88, In Denis
Metrustery (ed.), Saved, sanctified, and serving: Perspectives on Salvation Army theology and
practice, (London, UK: Paternoster Press, 2016).

Encyclopedia articles by Rightmire
“Jacobus Arminius”, “Franciscus Gomarus”, and “William Booth”, Biographical dictionary of

Christian theologians, (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000).
“Salvation Army”, Dictionary of Asian Christianity, (Grand Rapids, USA: Eerdmans, 2001).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 72

“Samuel Brengle”, and “Gunpei Yamamuro”, Historical dictionary of the holiness movement,
(Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2001).

“Salvation Army worship”, The new Westminster dictionary of liturgy and worship, (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2002).

“Sacraments”, and “Yamamuro, Gunpei”, Historical dictionary of the Salvation Army, (Lanham,
MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006); Revised and updated in 2nd Edition, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and
Littlefield, 2017).

Book reviews by Rightmire
Glenn K. Horridge, The Salvation Army: Origins and early days 1865 – 1900, in Fides et Historia

28, 3, (Fall 1996), 121 – 123.

Norman H. Murdoch, Origins of the Salvation Army, in Wesleyan theological journal 32, 2, (Fall
1997), 219 – 220.

Glenn K. Horridge, The Salvation Army: Origins and early days 1865 – 1900, in Wesleyan
theological journal, 35, 2, (Fall 2000), 254.

Diane Winston, Red hot and righteous: The urban religion of the Salvation Army, in Wesleyan
theological journal 36, 2, (Fall 2001), 267 – 69.

Roger J. Green, The life and ministry of William Booth: Founder of The Salvation Army, in Wesleyan
theological journal 41, 2, (Fall 2006), 258 – 261.

Andrew Eason and Roger Green (editors), Boundless salvation: The shorter writings of William
Booth, in Wesleyan theological journal 48, 1, (Spring 2013), 173 – 175.

David Taylor, Like a mighty army? The Salvation Army, The church and the churches, in Wesleyan
theological journal 51, 1, (Spring 2016), 247 – 250.

Harold Hill, Saved to save and saved to serve: Perspectives on Salvation Army history, in Wesleyan
theological journal 54, 1, (Spring 2019), 170 – 173.

David Taylor, Like a mighty army? The Salvation Army, The church and the churches, in Word and
deed: A journal of Salvation Army theology and ministry 21, 2, (June 2019), 65 – 68.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 73

֍ NEW BOOK ֍

THIRTEEN
ASTONISHING

YEARS

that shaped
The Salvation Army

1878 – 1890

By
General John Larsson (R)

When in 1878 William Booth adopted the name The Salvation Army for the
movement he had created, an 'irresistible spiritual offensive swept over cities,
towns and villages in every direction and set the whole country ablaze'. It was
an ecclesiastical big bang of spectacular proportions and its effects soon
spread to the far corners of the globe.

The next thirteen years, which climaxed with the introduction of large-scale
social work in 1890, proved astonishing by any measure. In a series of
fascinating vignettes, the author tells the story of those years and introduces
key personalities through whom the Lord worked.

Larsson comments: 'Virtually all that the Army presently is was forged in those
first few years, and just as all Christians draw inspiration from the story of the
Early Church in the Book of Acts, so the Salvationists of today can in addition
be inspired by the amazing story of the Early Army.'

Purchase online

Book from SP&S @ https://www.sps-shop.com/thirteen-astonishing-years---
john-larsson-20771-p.asp

Kindle book: Amazon @ https://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Astonishing-
Years-Shaped-Salvation-
ebook/dp/B082YF4878/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Thirteen+Astonishing+Years+
-+John+Larsson&qid=1582871977&sr=8-1

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 74

Cuppa Tea, Digger? Salvos Serving in World War Two

Released to commemorate the 75th anniversary
of the end of WWII.

A quality, hard-cover book of approximately A4 size, based on archival interviews with
men and women of the Red Shield War Services, and those who were its beneficiaries,
and contains more than 200 photographs. This fascinating tribute has been compiled

by Lindsay Cox, Manager of The Salvation Army Museum, with a foreword by
General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO MC (Retd).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 75

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 76

WWW.SUSSEX-ACADEMIC.COM

The Mob and The Mayor

Persecution of the Salvation Army at the Victorian seaside

STEPHEN HUGGINS

The Salvation Army is well known for its work with the poor and disadvantaged. There is, however,
much more to the story of the Salvation Army than their highly commendable good works. They have
been so closely identified with a programme of social action that their wider history has been
marginalized. This history includes a period of astonishing levels of opposition and religious persecution
which the Army faced in its early years. Many Salvationists were badly injured in violent street riots
against them while at the same time facing imprisonment as the force of the law was brought to bear on
their evangelism.

Among all those places in Britain where the Salvation Army was persecuted, that in the south-
coast town of Eastbourne during the 1880s and 1890s stands out as worthy of attention. The Sussex
seaside resort played a hugely important part in the wider anti-Salvation Army narrative as it was in
Eastbourne that opposition was among the most violent and protracted. Significantly and surprisingly,
the vehemence and savagery was supported by the local Council and Mayor. The narrative of The Mob
and The Mayor is chronological and entirely evidence based. It includes: Eyewitness accounts;
newspaper reports; Parliamentary papers; Eastbourne Council & Watch Committee Meetings Minutes;
and Salvation Army documents.

Britain was at times at war with itself as the country came to terms with urban poverty resulting
from the Industrial Revolution. The persecution of the Salvation Army at the Victorian seaside sheds a
wider light on the struggles to promote social betterment for all.

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Stephen Huggins has a keen
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The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 77

The first volume of a
new biography on

Catherine Booth

by

David Malcolm Bennett

Author of more than 20 books
including two biographies on
William Booth, transcriptions of the
Booths’ writings, and a review of
Catherine’s work on female ministry

Catherine Booth: From Timidity to Boldness 1829- 1865 tells the story
of Catherine Booth’s dramatic early life, and how a timid young
woman rose from a home damaged by alcohol to become a dynamic
and popular preacher, campaigner for the rights of women and,
with her husband, founder of The Salvation Army. It makes
significant and revealing use of the letters that the Booths wrote to
each other, the letters she wrote to her parents, and her diary and
reminiscences. The book allows Catherine to speak for herself and
what she says is frequently dynamic and, at different times,
insightful, deeply spiritual, and, occasionally, controversial.

Purchase online from

Morning Star Publishing morningstarpublishing.net.au

Koorong www.koorong.com

Amazon www.amazon.com

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 78

Come and join us

The Australasian
Journal of

Salvation Army History

is now
on

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 79

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 80

You are invited to

Salvation Army History Symposium

2022

Maroochydore Corps,
Sunshine Coast,

Queensland, Australia

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 81

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The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 82

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Top image from The field officer, (January 1908).
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 83

BOOK REVIEW
THE SALVATION ARMY AT THE MOVIES

Reviewed by
Kingsley Sampson

Rob Kinnon-Brettle. The Salvation Army at the Movies, (Manchester, UK: Kinnon Publishing,
2020), 180 pp., ISBN. 978 1 8382228 0 2.1

Cover of
The Salvation Army at the movies
The story of The Salvation Army’s Limelight Department in Australia at the turn of the twentieth
century has been well told over the years, especially given the fact that the Limelight Brigade is
regarded world-wide as a pioneer in the motion picture industry. What has not been so well told is
the way in which The Salvation Army has appeared in motion pictures over the last 120 years.
This lack has now been put right in Rob Kinnon-Brettle’s newly-published book The Salvation
Army at the movies. The book provided a catalogue of over 500 movie and television films in which
The Salvation Army appeared or was mentioned, either as in a documentary featuring some aspect of
the Army’s work or by providing the story line or characters in a fictional movie or by way of a brief
cameo or even a fleeting reference. The criteria for inclusion are not spelled out but film, television
and video productions are featured.
The first two-thirds of the book lists films with a Salvation Army mention produced between
1897 and 2017. These are listed by years and grouped into decades. Of note is that there are only five
or six years since 1900 where no film was produced that had some mention of The Salvation Army.
In this catalogue, each film is named and then followed by a generally short synopsis. The final third
of the book contained an alphabetical list of films, a list of actors who have donned Salvation Army
uniform or some variant, names of Salvationists or Salvation Army bands who have appeared in films
and a topical index.
In reading through this book, the following things will catch the reader’s attention:
1. The fact that so many movies with a Salvation Army theme or character or reference
have been produced over the last 120+ years.

Reference citation of this review: Kingsley Sampson, “Book review, The Salvation Army at the movies”, The
Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 84 – 85.
1 At the time of publication of the AJSAH, the book was available from Kinnon Publishing via email:
[email protected]

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 84

2. How the early Salvation Army in particular provided such a rich vein of stories about
sin and redemption for commercial movie producers. They got the Army’s ethos right,
even if simply used for dramatic effect or commercial appeal.

3. The prolific production of documentaries by The Salvation Army in Sweden in the
1920s and 1930s.

4. The production of several films produced about the Army’s work in India.
5. The changing role of the Army as portrayed in movies – from searching for the down-

and-out to pointing people to a better way of life to raging against the demon drink to
Christmas carolling. In some respects this parallels the changing public face of the
Army over the years.
It is hard to cover everything in a book of this nature and there will be gaps. The author
recognised this and, in his foreword, invites people to supply him with details of films which may
have been overlooked. These could be a full-length movie, a scene featuring the Army or something
as simple as a Salvation Army band playing carols in a background soundtrack.
For a start, two New Zealand television films “A Place to Go” (1974) and “Missing” (1975),
and a late 1970s film about the Army’s Chikankata mission station in Zambia could be added. People
with an eye for detail will notice things that escaped the proof-readers. For example, wreakage for
wreckage (pages 42 and 133) and seen for scene (page 34) but such errors do not spoil the value of
the book.
As this book was essentially a cataloguing of movies in which the Salvation Army is mentioned,
there is further scope for someone to undertake an analytical study of the way in which the Salvation
Army has been portrayed in movies, the themes that have been featured and the changing emphases
over the decades. This book would provide a very valuable resource for such a study.
Overall, I was impressed with the book and by all the research which has gone into assembling
this extensive coverage of the topic. I commend this publication to all who have an interest both in
the way the Army has used films itself and in the way in which others have portrayed it.

Image from the DVD cover of Guys and dolls,
one of the movies listed in The Salvation Army at the movies
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 85

BOOK REVIEW
UNDER TWO FLAGS

Reviewed by
Garth R. Hentzschel

Kingsley Sampson, (ed.) with Harold Hill, Phil Lascelles, and Garry Mellsop, Under two flags.
The New Zealand Salvation Army’s response to the First World War, (Wellington, New Zealand:
Flag Publications, The Salvation Army, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory, & The
Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, 2018), 388 pp., ISBN. 978 0 473 45725 9.1

Cover of
Under two flags

The collective approach and depth of research could see Under two flags become a template for future
publications of regional Salvation Army history. The book was a collection of chapters, each written
by different authors who investigated a topic connecting The Salvation Army in New Zealand with
the context of World War One. The chapters were generally ordered to lead the reader from the march
to war, through the Army’s ministry to the troops and the home front, concluding with the war’s
lasting impact on The Salvation Army.

The authors are well known for their work in Salvation Army or war history. The contributors
included: Major Dr. Harold Hill, author of several history books on The Salvation Army and
contributor to Salvation Army theological and historical journals; Major Garry Mellsop, former
Territorial Archivist at the New Zealand Heritage Centre & Archives and currently serving on the
management committee for the Centre; Phill Lascelles, an award-winning professional historian who
worked with Auckland War Memorial Museum, Pou Maunahara Memorial Discovery Centre, and
the Australian War Memorial, and; Major Kingsley Sampson, with qualifications in teaching and
history as well as publishing experience in Salvation Army history.

Part one of Under two flags set the scene for the international conflict, introduced Salvationists
who were to take part in the war, and investigated the early battles of World War One. The first
chapters in this part not only noted the Salvationists who enlisted but also gave some evaluation of
sources from which information was derived. There was a clear discussion on the difficulties

Reference citation of this review: Garth R. Hentzschel, “Book review, Under two flags”, The Australasian journal
of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 86 – 88.
1 At the time of publication of the AJSAH, the book was available from Salvationist Resources New Zealand at
https://shop.sarmy.net.nz/product?openform&pid=SBUS-BAKVBE.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 86

Salvationists faced in the process of attesting faith in the signing up process. Statistical and other
information was outlined including the age, marital status, occupation, and town of origin of
Salvationists who enlisted. The chapter, “Salvation Army Officers in the Ranks”, investigated
Salvation Army officers who resigned their commissions with The Salvation Army to enlist in the
military. From the statistical and introductory chapters, the first part then moved to the training and
first battles of the conflict. The “Opening Salvos of the War” followed the enlisted Salvationists into
training in New Zealand, their first engagement in Samoa, training in Egypt, and the first days at
Gallipoli. From the battle at Gallipoli, “The Western Front” introduced Salvationists’ personal
experience in now notorious European battlefields including the Somme, Ypres and the Hindenburg
Line. The research to identify enlisted Salvationists is of great importance to family and
organisational history. The number and detail of service personnel is testament to the hours of
investigation needed to extrapolate the information from various sources.

Part two of the book included chapters on the work The Salvation Army conducted during the
international conflict. First readers were introduced to Salvation Army ‘Red Shield Huts’, institutes,
soldier’s clubs and other practical support given to the military. A great strength of the book is that it
did not neglect The Salvation Army’s ministry to the ‘Home Front’. The chapter, “Fallen Soldiers’
Orphans Have Preference” outlined how Salvation Army leadership aimed to support the children of
fallen soldiers and discussed six different homes. Of note are the chapters on Salvation Army sections
including the Home League and Salvation Army Brass Bands. The book outlined the Home Leagues’
work with comforts for troops while the discussion on Brass Bands showed how Salvationist
bandsmen engaged with the military when they enlisted. Although the New Zealand Territory did not
supply ambulances on their own account, the story was told about how New Zealanders raised funds
for Salvation Army ambulances and the work carried on by this unit. Other fundraising activities of
The Salvation Army were given a separate chapter; including the ‘Red Jersey Appeal’, ‘Harvest
Festival’ and ‘Self-Denial’, which showed the increased levels of trust the general public and military
personnel had for the work of The Salvation Army. The chapter, “Comrades in Arms” investigated
how The Salvation Army through its publication, The war cry, represented Germany. The chapter did
not include information on the other Central Powers, this could have been because The Salvation
Army was not operating in the Austria-Hungarian Empire, Bulgaria or the Ottoman Empire and
therefore were not discussed in the publication.

Chapter 13, “The Salvation Army and the 1918 Influenza Epidemic” and a section in chapter
seven, “Post-War Support” seem somewhat out of place. Chapter 13 investigated Salvation Army
properties that were opened as Emergency Hospitals, as well as Salvationists who succumbed to the
epidemic. Not strictly part of World War One, the epidemic is often included as an epilogue to the
war or forgotten all together, although the war most likely attributed to the dramatic impact of the
influenza. It is of importance that such a chapter was included, however it may have been better
positioned in ‘Part four’ of the book that dealt with the aftermath and impact of the war. Similarly,
the section in chapter seven, while linked to other parts of the chapter, could easily have been
relocated to Part four.

Part three covered The Salvation Army chaplains who served with the military forces. The part
commenced with an introductory chapter followed by chapters on Alfred Greene, Edward Garner,
Charles Walls, John Bladin, Walter Winton, and Samuel Green. Again, these chapters showed a depth
of research. These chapters also followed the changing roles and ministries of the individuals after
the war.

The final section of Under two flags, Part four looked at the aftermath and impact of the war.
However, some of these elements also appeared in earlier chapters of the book, for example although

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 87

this section carried information on Salvation Army brass bands, this topic was also included earlier.
There were also snippets of information throughout the entire book that covered the lives of
Salvationists who served in the military and survived the war. Despite information on the aftermath
of the war appearing throughout the book, the chapter in this final section clearly outlined the impact
the war had on The Salvation Army in New Zealand, some elements the author showed continued to
impact the Army to contemporary times.

Discerning readers may identify there was a change in text style throughout the book. Part one
used bold text to highlight names of Salvationists, this style was later removed without reason. As
much research was carried out to identify each individual, the practice of listing the names in bold
type was justifiable in its use and could have been continued throughout.

Under two flags also included historical photographs, drawings, letters and maps to support the
text. These inclusions added to the pleasing layout of the book. There were several appendices that
included information on enlisted Salvationists, information about the authors, Salvation Army officer
ranks, a glossary of terms, and maps of New Zealand and theatres of war where New Zealanders
served in World War One. The inclusion of many of the appendix assisted the reader to develop
background and contextual understanding.

A number of chapters had earlier been introduced to the public through The war cry, The officer
or put through a peer review process by submission to The Australasian journal of Salvation Army
history, The volunteers: The journal of the New Zealand military history society as well as book
chapters. Each chapter was also extensively referenced with endnotes. There was a full and complete
bibliography with a list of resources including books and websites. The book is also indexed for easy
access to information.

Under two flags would be of great value to anyone interested in Salvation Army defence
services, military history, New Zealand social history or the impact of war on religious groups. It is
professionally researched and written and is a welcome addition to the growing study of Salvation
Army history.

One of the images used in Under two flags
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 88

BOOK REVIEW
USING HISTORY TO INFORM FUTURE PRACTICE

Reviewed by
Garth R. Hentzschel

Julie A. Slous, Preaching a disturbing gospel (Toronto, Canada: The Salvation Army Canada
and Bermuda, 2012), 184 pp. ISBN 978 0 88857 500 51

Cover of Julie A. Slous’ book,
Preaching a disturbing gospel

How can history inform best practice in contempory society or help the individual to improve their
skills? Should such a question even be asked? There is some enjoyment in history for history’s sake,
but there is increasing pressure for history to be relevant to organisational and societal needs by
changing the future behaviour of citizens. I recently went to a conference where staff from the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa spoke on their evaluation of the museum’s displays.
They stressed that displays should not only be evaluated on their educational or informative level, but
now on its ability to transform the viewer or to change their actions on events linked to the display.
Preaching a disturbing gospel is within this mindset. The author researched history to help inform
those who ‘preach’ in Salvation Army meetings and to do so in line with best practice.

Julie A. Slous investigated the messages (sermons) of Catherine and William Booth to identify
the structure and the elements of the published talks. From these messages, Slous developed
guidelines for best practice and used these to evaluate modern sermons preached by Salvation Army
officers. To test the guidelines, Slous used them to structure several sermons, which were included in
the book. Such examples showed that Slous’ theory had a practical application even when used in the
contemporary context.

Slous’ methodology was inquiry based. The formation of questions drove the research forward.
The methodological strength was that it did not use worldviews or ideologies external or opposed to
The Salvation Army. The research identified several distinct elements of Salvation Army messages
during the early Army. The elements were: a “philosophy of aggression”, confronting sin and doing

Reference citation of this paper: Garth R. Hentzschel, “Book review, Using history to inform future practice”,
The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 89 – 91.
1 At the time of publication of the AJSAH, the book was available online or instore at The Salvation Army Trade North,
Canada and Bermuda https://store.salvationarmy.ca/shop/preaching-a-disturbing-gospel/ and amazon
https://www.amazon.com.au/Preaching-Disturbing-Gospel-Julie-Slous/dp/0888575009

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 89

God’s will; “avoidance of Churchliness”, not using the terms of sermon or preaching; avoiding the
“formal, liturgical or academic”; “fuelled by missional focus” which captured attention; a push for
conversion of the individual and to have them think about eternal matters; “a unique ecumenical
calling”, preaching in theatres, prisons and open-air; a focus on the poor; and a “deep burden for
people”.2

Slous’ findings came from the investigation of the primary sources rather than using other
theories or worldviews to evaluate and criticise Army methods. Preaching a disturbing gospel
therefore avoided the unhelpful extreme criticism that attempts to reform The Salvation Army based
on theories or models that have no links, and sometime are counterintuitive to the movement’s
methods and ministry. Slous also clearly identified the context of the Booths and the world of their
hearers. She was also able to articulate the current cultural worldview, Postmodernism. However,
unlike many authors Slous did not just state “but these are different times”; she clearly outlined the
areas of similarities and the differences while giving meaning to this comparison.

The new theoretical framework developed by Slous was applied to a representation of
contemporary sermons preached within The Salvation Army. The framework found all current
sermons void of some elements which made Salvation Army messages distinct. It was found the more
recent the officer was trained, the more elements were missing. Although a reason for this was not
given, it could be due to other models and theories of ministry not supportive of Army practices
influencing Salvation Army training facilities. This is an area that could lead to further study.

Using the new framework developed from the research, four sample messages were included.
Slous blended the historical elements with the understanding of Postmodernism to show how the past
can inform the present and lead to a better future.

There were constant reminders in Preaching a disturbing gospel that the mission of the Booths
was to the poor, the missing element of Christian ministry in the Victorian era. Slous argued that
although the poor are still important, the current missing elements of Christianity is much wider as
all socioeconomic groups show high levels of nonattendance at church and are being influenced by
worldviews other than Christianity. For this reason, Slous argued that some changes may be needed
to the framework when developing messages to those not in the lower classes. However, there is some
misconception here; Catherine especially often spoke to the West End population, a very different
social class than that of the East End. Slous did point out that Catherine preached at the Midnight
Movement for ‘fallen women’, however most of Catherine’s published messages were from the West
End.3 Therefore when a message of the Booths is to be analysed, the context of where it was used
should be deeply understood.

There were also missing specific links between the body of the text and the appendices. For
example, Appendix B, “First-time Seekers in The Salvation Army” was not listed or analysed in the
main text. Linking these statistics to the text could have given a stronger argument to the discussions
in the study and added to reasons why the use of the historical theoretical framework should be
introduced in message development in The Salvation Army. Also, it would have been interesting to
see how Salvation Army resources such as Outlines of addresses4 would stand when compared to
Slous’ theoretical framework for Salvation Army homiletics.

2 Julie A. Slous, Preaching a disturbing gospel (Toronto, Canada: The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda, 2012),
Slous, Preaching a Disturbing Gospel, 27-42.
3 See for example the discussion in Slous, Preaching a disturbing gospel, 15.
4 Outlines of addresses for the use of officers of The Salvation Army, (London, UK: The Salvation Army Book
Department, 1914).; Outlines of addresses for the use of Salvation Army officers, Volume II, (London, UK: Salvationist

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 90

The book is unique in the field of Salvation Army homiletics in that it used as its central
worldview Army messages rather than non-Army sources. Non-Army sources were only used to
support or extend discussion of the structure of messages and to analyse cultural and historical
context. Preaching a disturbing gospel should become a leading work in what is hoped will be both
a specific Salvation Army subset of homiletics and also a way to frame historical inquiry to inform
best practice for Salvationists.

The book somewhat mirrored Slous’ own life’s marriage between the theory and practice of
homiletics. Not only had she received a PhD and instructed Salvationists in the area of homiletics,
but for 15 years she held corps appointments and in addition to this was a presenter at Salvation Army
conferences.

In the era of officers plagiarising sermons from the internet, copying methods from churches
with different foci, and the Army declining in power and converts in many territories, Preaching a
disturbing gospel is timely research. It should be a text of required reading in all officer training and
for anyone who will talk on the platform of Salvation Army halls. In the area of preaching, the
readership should not stop here. If The Salvation Army and its officers are serious about
accountability and transparency then every Salvationists should be armed with such a book to
question and evaluate the homiletics displayed. Historians interested in the preaching of Catherine
and William Booth as well as the history and development of elements of Army revivalism would
also find the commencing chapters of the book beneficial. The book is also a clear example of the
new approach to history, not only to entertain or inform, but to transform, to search for best practice
and develop skills for present and future enhancement.

SALVATION ARMY HISTORY SNAPSHOT

“He has “Glory be to “I gave my
pardoned the God, I’m saved heart to God last
sins of a poor old night, and begs
washerwoman inside and you to pray for
like me!” me!”5
outside too!”

Publishing and Supplies, 1940).; Outlines of addresses for the use of The Salvation Army officers, Volume III, (London,
UK: Salvationist Publishing and Supplies, 1957).
5 “Three Army sermons”, The war cry, (London, 18 March 1899), 12.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 91

BOOK REVIEW
CATHERINE BOOTH – FROM TIMIDLY TO BOLDNESS

Reviewed by
David Woodbury

David Malcolm Bennett, Catherine Booth: From timidity to boldness 1829 – 1865, (Sydney,
Australia: Morning Star Publishing, 2020), 308 pp. ISBN 978 0 64753 072 61

Cover of David Malcolm Bennett’s book,
Catherine Booth

The problem with writing about William and Catherine Booth is the simple fact that much has already
been written, and a great deal of information is currently available, some factual, some legendary and
some folklore.

The latest offering on the life and influence of Catherine Booth comes from a writer who has
devoted much of his life to researching and writing on the Booths and the early Salvation Army. It is
the first of a two-volume biography which explores the life of Catherine Booth, a highly complex yet
remarkable woman. While much of the narrative is known through the works of other writers, Bennett
breaks new ground, particularly in researching Catherine’s family of origin, the Mumfords.

There are some strong emerging themes; such as the methods the Booths began to employ in
reaching the lost; street parades before the service, the altar call. Notable, also is Catherine’s
conviction on female ministry and the development of the Booth’s team ministry. Bennett notes the
use of the term; the prosecution of our mission, in one of Catherine’s letters. He goes on to
write: “Though Catherine was not yet preaching she was still sharing in the efforts … To win men
and women to the Kingdom of God”.2

By 1861, William and Catherine Booth were in shared ministry with Catherine commenting: “I
am just in my element in the work. I only regret that I did not commence years ago”.3 She was to
comment later: “I am wonderfully delivered from all fear after I get my mouth open”. It may well be

Reference citation of this paper: David Woodbury, “Book review, Catherine Booth – From timidity to boldness”,
The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 92 – 93.
1 At the time of publication of the AJSAH, the book was available online or instore at the following locations; the
publisher https://morningstarpublishing.net.au/product/catherine-booth-2/; Koorong
https://www.koorong.com/product/catherine-booth-from-timidity-to-boldness-1829-1865_9780647530726
2 David Malcolm Bennett, Catherine Booth: From timidity to boldness 1829 – 1865, (Sydney, Australia: Morning Star
Publishing, 2020), 139.
3 Bennett, Catherine Booth, 200.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 92

this realisation of a team ministry impacted the Army in its insistence that married candidates
for officership must both receive the call to full-time ministry.

Bennett also explores Catherine’s venture into one to one ministry, no doubt a great leap of
faith for one so timid and frail. It seems to coincide with her first public preaching at Gateshead. On
her way to hear another preacher she “chanced to look up at the thick rows of small windows
… where numbers of women were sitting, peering through at the passers-by, or listlessly gossiping
with each other”.4 Overcoming her timid nature, Catherine engaged them in conversation and a
notable home ministry followed.

In this book Catherine comes across as a warts and all real person, complete with
idiosyncrasies. Timid? Well perhaps by nature, but fearless and focused, often obsessed with her own
health and death, judgmental, tactless and outspoken, yet compassionate, Catherine Mumford was a
highly complex and multifaceted personality who was to emerge as perhaps one of the most
outstanding women in Victorian England. It may well be that her early death deprived her of the
recognition she so rightly deserved.

It is a story that once again proves that God will use those who are totally committed to Him.
A must read for those interested in the birth and development of The Salvation Army.

4 Bennett, Catherine Booth, 174.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 93

Winning certificate from the Los Angeles Film Awards for
Legacy by Hayley Jean Reeves

Images of Commissioners Charles and May Duncan (left and right) the main characters of Legacy
and screenwriter, Hayley Jean Reeves (centre)1

1 Images courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 94

SALVATION ARMY HISTORY NEWS
TURNING THE PAGES OF HISTORY

FOR THE SILVER SCREEN

Hayley Jean Reeves

I became interested in my family’s connection with The Salvation Army. This interest became a
hobby and I began to research my great grandparents, Commissioners Charles and May Duncan. I
followed their appointments throughout Australia, South America and the United Kingdom. After
collecting information from the public domain, then exhausting this avenue, I contacted Salvation
Army historians. Museum directors from The Salvation Army collections in Melbourne, Sydney
(Australia), London (United Kingdom), Wellington (New Zealand) and placed in South America
were all consulted to collect information on the Duncan family. The material collected gave a deep
insight into the life and ministry of the Duncan family.

I produced a book for the family that contained the story of my great grandparents and this
impacted me so much, I wrote a screenplay. The screenplay is titled Legacy. Legacy has received
special mention in several international competitions and in October 2019, the screenplay was
announced as one of the finalists in the Los Angeles Film Awards, USA. Legacy went on to win
“Best First Time Screenwriter (Feature)”.

“There is always a narrative that leads to a specific occurrence. Strategic historical threads of
people and events influence outcomes to a greater or lesser degree and eventually link together
to create a patchwork which bring forth the occurrence.”2

I have experienced this in its true sense and in reverse, that is narratives have led to a specific
occurrence, and specific occurrences that have led to the narrative.

This narrative was the stories I stumbled upon about my great grandparents, Commissioners
Charles and May Duncan, which led to the occurrence being the screenplay, Legacy. These stories
told of their service, people they influenced, and their profound effect on hundreds of thousands of
lives worldwide.

Conversely, the occurrences were the synchronicities during the process of research and
writing the screenplay which led to the narrative, Legacy. The synchronicities refer to “accidently”
stumbling upon valuable material at the very time that I needed it.

When Garth Hentzschel first asked me if I would write a paper for this journal on my
methodology of how I turned the history of my great grandparents into a screenplay, I was stumped.
I could not pinpoint it at all. It just happened.

After much reflection, I realised it wasn’t just one thing. It was the multitude of
synchronicities that occurred, contributing to the project. I was just the vector which allowed it to be
materialised.

An example of this was one scene in Legacy set in the 1940s of a wedding that my great
grandfather was officiating. As he was such a renowned speaker, I had great hesitation in writing
his dialogue throughout the screenplay but especially for this particular scene. Furthermore, my

Reference citation of this paper: Hayley Jean Reeves, “Salvation Army history news: Turning the pages of
history for the silver screen”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 94 – 96.
2 Garth R. Hentzschel, “The development of The Australian journal Of Salvation Army history”, Booth’s Drum, The
newsletter of the SA Historical and Philatelic Association – Recording, researching and preserving Salvation Army
heritage worldwide newsletter 19, (Winter 2018).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 95

enormous reluctance in writing the scene was compounded by my unfamiliarity with Salvation
Army wedding procedures. I mentioned this to a cousin of mine and it “just so happens” that days
before she had remembered that she was in possession of Commissioner Charles Duncan’s actual
ceremonies book with his hand written notes in the back which he referred to when conducting
weddings. She sent photos of this to me and, as such, I commenced writing the scene with ease.

Another synchronicity was that a different cousin was friends with Hentzschel who obviously
is the editor of this journal and has a vast knowledge of Salvation Army history. Any questions I
had, I would put to Hentzschel and he would always have the answers.

So many other synchronicities occurred.
When I commenced researching into Commissioners Charles and May Duncan’s involvement
in The Salvation Army and the history of the movement as a whole, it wasn’t even on my radar to
write a screenplay let alone envisage that it would go on to receive accolades or that I present it to
film producers for their consideration for production.
However, that is exactly what has happened and, to date is still happening. It’s all due to
specific occurrences that collectively enabled the narrative, the project to be born and mature.
Legacy had and continues to have a life of its own. Watch this space.

The LAFA trophy won by Hayley Jean Reeves3

3 Image courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 96

A SALVATIONIST ARTIST
GEORGE HOLLOWAY

Garth R. Hentzschel

As an infant, I attended the Dee Why Corps of The Salvation Army on the northern beaches of
Sydney, New South Wales. I remember standing on the platform during Primary demonstrations1 and
looking at the front wall to see a mural towering above me. The cloud formation depicted a cross,
which appeared to have arisen above a creek bed. The creek was typical of any that one would see
throughout Australia. The main words were in the three-dimensional form which seemed to lift off
the surface of the wall; “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.” The words, the image
and the name of the artist, George Holloway, have always remained in my mind; but who was
Holloway?

A painting by George Holloway in The Salvation Army Dee Why Citadel2
While much of The Salvation Army’s culture transplants itself into any country in which it
ministers, there are some unique elements across regions. In many Army halls throughout Australia
that were in use during the mid-twentieth century, there was painted on the wall above the platform
a verse of scripture on a background of different scenes. Two of the major artists who painted these
texts where Salvationists Frank Shaw and Frederick George Holloway. While much has been written
on Salvationists who contributed their gifts to God through the Army in the areas of preaching, social
work, and the performing arts, especially music; little has been investigated to uncover the lives and
ministry of painters and other visual artists. Yet such gifts are also important to God and The Salvation
Army.

Reference citation of this paper; Garth R. Hentzschel, “‘A Salvationist artist: George Holloway”, The
Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 97 – 120.
1 Primary was a Sunday School for young children and each year at the Young Peoples’ Anniversary would hold a
Sunday afternoon demonstration, or songs and activities to show parents what had been done over the previous year.
Awards in the shape of books were also presented to children who had attended.
2 Photograph courtesy Captain Marrianne Schryver.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 97

Cadet George Holloway3

3 Cadet George Holloway’s image from Dedicating and commission services of the “Blazer” session of cadets,
(Sydney, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, 1931).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 98

In a letter written to soldiers of The Salvation Army, General William Booth wrote,

Suppose a man is by nature an artist. He can sketch: he can make pictures full of life and
naturalness and beauty. What is he to do with it? Neglect it? By no means. Draw and engrave and
paint in order to make a fame or a fortune? Certainly not. Well, what is he to do? Consecrate his
gift. This is an age of pictures. Men have not only been amused but taught by them in all ages of
the world. … Let us have them for the Kingdom of God. Put the blessedness of Salvation, the
cursedness of sin, the glory of Heaven and the dreadfulness of Hell in living forms and shapes
before men. Let us have “Salvation Graphics” in every land to equal or excel anything that the
world can produce…4

Creating ‘Salvation Graphics’ was what Shaw and Holloway attempted to do. The life and ministry
of Shaw is being investigated, as his ministry has not previously been recorded.5 Similarly, Holloway
has largely been neglected by historians and only listed in relation to his Red Shield War Service.6

As with many Salvationists, Holloway’s personal life and ministry has been difficult to trace,
apart from his time as an officer. The information that has come to light reveals that Holloway used
his artistic talents to “Put the blessedness of Salvation, the cursedness of sin, the glory of Heaven and
the dreadfulness of Hell in living forms and shapes before men”.7 Holloway also used his talents to
bring people’s attention and finances to The Salvation Army.

Early life

After much effort to locate personal information, it is believed that Frederick George Holloway was
born to Eliza (Lillian) Hephzibah (nee Thorn)(1874 – 1918) and Frederick William Holloway (1873
– 1953) at Christchurch, England on 28 November 1908.8 Searches online failed to show anything on
the early life of Holloway. A difficulty was that there were several people identified in newspapers
with the name of “George Holloway” and “Frederick George Holloway”. These names linked to

topics ranging from school examination results, divorce proceedings, and carrying a gun without a
licence; none of these could be found to relate to the person under investigation. Although
contemporary Salvation Army publications list Holloway as “Frederick”,9 newspapers and The war
cry of the time, and people who remembered him would more often use “George”.10

4 William Booth, “The General’s letter”, The war cry, (London, Saturday 21 March 1885), 1.
5 Garth R. Hentzschel and Glenda Hentzschel, working title, “The mark of quality on every job:” The life and work of a
Salvationist artist, Frank Herbert Shaw.
6 Cox and Hull listed “Frederick Holloway” in a list of Red Shield War Services Representatives during World War
Two, however nothing else was included in their publications on Holloway. Some information on Holloway was also
included in Under the tricolour, although the item by Callaghan held a few minor errors. Lindsay Cox, Cuppa tea,
Digger? Salvos serving in World War Two, (Victoria, Australia: Salvo Publishing, The Salvation Army, 2020), 221.;
Walter Hull, Salvos with the forces, Red Shield Services during World War Two, (Hawthorn, Australia: The Salvation
Army, 1995), 294. There were also illustrations by Holloway in Under the tricolour, “Sketches from an autograph
book”, Under the tricolour, 37, (April-June 2009), 7 – 9.; Don Callaghan, “A recent arrival at the museum”, Under the
tricolour, 80, (September 2020), 7 – 8.
7 Booth, “The General’s letter”, 1.
8 Information received with assistance from Major Kingsley Sampson and ancestry.com.au. Queensland births, deaths
and marriages note the mother as Lillian Thorne and farther William Henry Frederick.
https://www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au/ accessed 19 February 2021.
9 Sometimes Holloway’s first name, Frederick was used, see for example “Official gazette”, The war cry, (Melbourne,
Saturday 21 June 1941), 4.; Walter Hull, Salvos with the forces. Red Shield Services during World War 2, (Mount
Albert, Australia: The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory, 1995), 294. However more often he was known as
George Holloway.
10 See for example. “Salvation Army”, The Armidale express and New England general advertiser, (NSW, Friday 26
May 1933), 8.; “Final Easter news reports”, The musician, (Australia, 28 May 1966), 80.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 99

A story from the Shaw family stated that Holloway arrived in Australia with his brother Bill
and did his apprenticeship with Salvationist sign writer, Frank Shaw. It has not been established when
this took place, or if his time with Shaw attracted Holloway to The Salvation Army.11 It has however
been found that his brother, William Henry Holloway, born in 1912 did come to Australia and passed
away in Toowoomba, Queensland on 29 January 1963.12

Training as a Salvation Army officer

George Holloway entered The Salvation Army’s Training Garrison, Sydney, in the 1930 “Blazer”
session.13 The war cry and the commissioning booklet noted that Holloway went to training from the
Manly Corps,14 situated in a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney.

The first record of Holloway’s practical training was with other cadets at the Goulburn Corps
for “the Easter Campaign”. Goulburn is a regional city about 90 km from Canberra. Here Holloway
participated in indoor meetings, visitation, music festivals, and open-air meetings. These meetings
were the first indication of Holloway’s artistic skills as he created a “black-board sketch” at both
indoor and out-door meetings.15

Other reports on Holloway’s training had him at inner Sydney corps, including Rockdale and
Sydney Congress Hall, where he participated in several meetings. While this paper will focus on
Holloway’s visual arts, it needs to be stated that he also had other artistic gifts, for example, at
Congress Hall Holloway sang “a solo of his own composition”. It appears that the words and music
have been lost to history and this was the only time he composed a song.16 His artwork was also
described at this time as “the chief attraction” which consisted of “a black-board lesson by the Cadet,
who illustrated his talk on the Pearl of Greatest Prize with rapidly changing pictures.”17

Holloway was intelligent, as at commissioning it was announced that he received some of the
highest marks in the examinations. His training had shown the importance of consecrating his artistic
gifts to the service of God. It was obvious to him, as observed by another officer, “if we wish our
contemporaries to heed the message let us remember that they need to see as well as hear if their
attention is to be captured.”18

Early Salvation Army officership

Holloway was commissioned with the rank of Probationary Lieutenant and appointed to Haberfield
Corps as assistant officer.19 The corps was situated in the inner West of Sydney. His arrival and talents
were soon reported in The war cry,

The attendances at meetings, both indoor and out are on the upgrade at Haberfield, and there is a
spirit of unity amongst our small but loyal band of Soldiers. The Friday open-air meeting is a
blessing and the Lieutenant’s blackboard sketches attract an interested audience.20

11 Interview between Major Fred Shaw and Major Glenda and Kevin Hentzschel, (Monday 17 February 2020).
12 Ancestry.com.au.
13 “The ‘Blazer’ session takes the field”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 24 January 1931), 9.
14 “The field”, The war cry, (Melbourne, Saturday 6 July 1935), 12.; Dedicating and commission services of the
“Blazer” session of cadets, (Sydney, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, 1931).
15 “Goulburn’s Easter battles”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 10 May 1930), 10.
16 Holloway would later return to the corps to run the testimony section of a meeting, to read from the scriptures, and to
give a talk. “Congress Hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 3 November 1930), 4.; “Congress Hall”, The war cry,
(Sydney, Saturday 15 November 1930), 4.; “Congress Hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 13 December 1930), 4.;
“Congress Hall”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 24 January 1931), 13.
17 “Rockdale”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 18 October 1930), 4.
18 D.E.G., “Louder than words”, The officer, 31, 5, (May 1980), 228-229, 229.
19 “The ‘Blazer’ session takes the field”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 24 January 1931), 9.
20 “Haberfield”, The war cry, (Sydney, Saturday 4 April 1931), 13.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 1, 2021. Page 100