British Household Troops Band Visits Canada



The Household Troops Band



In the early summer of 1885 in England there was a "Great Kent March" by Salvation Army Officer-cadets. They were known as "Life Guards" and the march was headed by a band of 25 brass instrumentalists, each wearing a white pith military helmet( the normal military headgear of the day), a red Guernsey, blue trousers and gaiters and carrying a knapsack and water bottle.

Later it was suggested that a permanent band might be established. A War Cry advertisement called for volunteers: " If you're young, if you're saved, if you're physically fit, if you can play a brass instrument... „are prepared to leave home and family for six months active service for God and the Army. ...then be at Clapton Congress Hall on 12th March 1887." The Household Troops Band was formed with Staff- Captain Harry Appleby as bandmaster.

No salary was offered and no guarantee was given apart from food and clothing. On June 1st, 1887 the pioneer 25 members of the Household Troops Band left Clapton Congress Hall to march into Salvation Army history. Their first tour lasted 8 months.

The next year, in October, the band left for Canada as the first British Salvation Army band to cross the Atlantic. This visit was an outstanding success as from October 1888 to February 1889 they campaigned daily in towns throughout Eastern Canada from as far west as Windsor, Ontario and as far east as Halifax, Nova Scotia, before leaving St. Stephen, NB to tour the United States.

General Arnold Brown in his book "The History Of The Salvation Army In Canada wrote: " ...it was the impact of the English Household Troops Band which, more than any other event in this period, aroused the musical consciousness of Salvationists in Canada."

Shortly after the Band returned to England, Territorial Headquarters at the direction of the then Territorial Commander, Commissioner T.B. Coombs initiated the formation of a Canadian 'Household Troops' band, which was comprised mostly of teenage boys, some of whom were sons of Salvation Army officers stationed at Territorial Headquarters.

Corps Bands now began to show up at many centres and flourish. The May 4, 1889. issue of The War Cry commenced a column devoted entirely to the interests of Bandsmen. It was obvious that Salvation Army banding was here to stay. An early print of the Riverside (Toronto V) Band - incidentally the first Band in Canada to introduce female members into its ranks - shows the corps' two girl officers with a group that included four comet players, three tenor horn players, and other instrumentalists playing baritones, euphonium, trombone, and circular bass.

The Girl Who Invaded America. The Odyssey of Eliza Shirley by Ken Elliot

Your Editor has had the pleasure of knowing Ken for many years and he has already established himself as a tenacious historian of the Salvation Army, with a keen eye for detail and a determination to follow a story wherever it may lead. When Ken asked me to read and edit the manuscript for this book, I was astonished by the story and realised that it needed to be brought to as wide an audience as possible.

Ken was born in Coventry and is a fourth-generation Salvationist. Eliza Shirley also hailed from Coventry. She left England in 1879 with her mother Annie and travelled to America, settling in the then rather rough Philadelphia.

Although without the official sanction of Headquarters, the family began to prepare an abandoned factory for meetings. Few people attended at first and the civic authorities were certainly opposed to their efforts. However, the family's integrity and hardwork won through and Ken's book follows Eliza through her many triumphs and tribulations. Indeed, this book is illuminating in so many ways. It certainly shows the intensity of the family, their belief in William Booth and the Salvation Army, the way in which the Army used their services and the cost to those early day saints.  

Seven months after Eliza landed, George Scott Railton and the 'Hallelujah Lassies' arrived in New York. As they came with the authority of William Booth, they are officially credited with starting the Army in the USA. However, it was clearly the Shirleys who brought the work to America and this book makes that clear.

Ken writes in the increasingly popular 'factional' genre — a mixture of the facts and fictional narrative between the characters. This style makes the book incredibly readable and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all our readers. It is a great success for Ken and indirectly, the SAHPA.

One of the reasons for the existence of the SAHPA is to promote historical work and we have in past years reprinted sometimes substantial booklets. This book was to be the SAHPA's first major publishing venture. Shortly before going to press, we were asked by the Salvation Army in America to allow them to publish the work. This we were glad to do, especially as the Army has significantly more outlets than we were able to reach. We have thus allowed them the copyright to the book.

Various of our members have written pieces or books and we are currently looking at an excellent family history going back to the earliest days of the Army. If you have anything to write, short or long, please do get in touch.

Charlotte Horridge

Many members will know that my mother was Promoted to Glory earlier this year, shortly before her 90th birthday. She loved the Army and its rich heritage, and was a tireless worker to further the Kingdom. Charlotte was born in Ilfracombe, North Devon and as a youngster, although being bought up in the local orphanage, attended the local Corps. Ilfracombe had a flourishing band and one of mother’s earliest Salvation Army memories was in the Hall on a Sunday evening, mid-way through the band playing a march, hearing the maroons going off summoning the lifeboat crew. Several members of the Band put down their instruments and ran out of the Hall to the lifeboat station to man the lifeboat. This happened on a number of occasions. She also remembered standing on ‘Preacher’s Rock’, which is just on one side of the beach, giving her testimony, as well as ‘singing to the fishes’ as the Young People called it. There was a favourite tourist walk between the harbour and a central beach which involved paths around a large hill (called Capstone). There were benches and shelters along the way and many people also sat on the grass looking out towards Wales. The Salvation Army held open airs along there but sometimes few people were in evidence, hence, ‘singing to the fishes’.

An active member of the Corps, Charlotte moved to Exeter aged 15, first as a domestic servant and then employed at the University. She soldiered at Exeter Corps. When World War Two was declared in 1939, she became a Candidate Helper with the Salvation Army’s Red Shield and served on military bases at St. Austell, Falmouth, Halton and Andover. It was at RAF Halton that she learnt to drive the mobile canteens so beloved of ground and air-crew although upon leaving Halton, she never drove again. During the latter stages of the war Charlotte returned to Ilfracombe where she was Sunbeam Leader in the still thriving Corps. She then entered the William Booth Memorial Training College as a cadet in the 1945/46 ‘Challenger’s’ Session. From there she was commissioned with appointments in the East Anglia Division. Her Corps included Sudbury, Linton and West Wycombe, Braintree, Mashbury and Norton. Even in those days life was hard for Salvationist officers in the front line. As second in charge in her early officership, mother would cycle miles between Corps to hold meetings, lodging in very basic accommodation when the Army had no quarters and sometimes going hungry because the Corps did not have enough money left after paying its dues to Headquarters and its bills. She remembered being grateful for the occasional fish and chip suppers left on the doorstep by fiends. It is perhaps hard to think today that this self-sacrificing vocational sense of duty was barely fifty years ago but such dedication reflected how the Army was built and thrived.

During the mid-1950’s she resigned her commission owing to ill-health and moved to Cambridge where she worked for Marks and Spencer. While on holiday in Ilfracombe she met Kenneth who was an engineer for the Cementation Company. He specialized in water engineering/damns. Ken had also been brought up in an orphanage (in Rochdale). They married on 2nd April 1955 at the Salvation Army’s Corps in Cambridge. In 1959 their son Glenn was born. They remained in Cambridge although the family attended the Histon Corps which was easier to get to. Charlotte devoted her time to the home and to voluntary work. Ken worked away as a civil engineer but later joined the Post Office. Upon Ken’s retirement they fulfilled their long-cherished dream to return to Ilfracombe.

They worshiped at Ilfracombe Corps and in March 1992 Charlotte (then 71) was commissioned as a member of the Band in which she played the tenor horn. She took on various roles within the Corps and in voluntary work throughout the town. Sadly Ken died 12 years ago but is fondly remembered for his many activities in the Town. Charlotte had, and has passed on to Glenn, a deep interest in all aspects of the history of the Army with the result that part of her home was given up as a museum. Large numbers of visitors have been blessed whilst viewing the treasures of yesteryear and Charlotte was always ready to tell the Army’s story to those she met. In 1989 she produced a book giving a fascinating account of the Army’s history through pictures from her collection.

Although increasingly feeling her age and after a couple of hospital stays, mother fulfilled her wish of staying in her own home. She died on her own bed whilst have a lay down after lunch. As General Eva Burrows, one of our many visitors, wrote upon hearing the news of mother’s passing: “She has lived a full and glorious life of service to her Master and Lord, and it was her time to go to her heavenly reward.” A service of thanksgiving for Charlotte’s life was arranged, much thanks to my wife Christine, at the Salvation Army Hall in Ilfracombe and started with one of her favourite poems, Tennyson’s Crossing the Bar:

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers.

Cartridge Stamps

In addition to the many postage stamps which concern The Salvation Army, there is a great host of items which have been issued by or on behalf of the SA, and Which are connected in some way with the post. It is hoped that each issue of this Newsletter will bring to readers some of these cinderellas, often very rare, but always of interest. We commence with the Young People's Cartridge Stamps.

Over seventy years ago, the Young People's Work (more often known as "Juniors" or "Sunday School") section of the S.A. issued a series of labels depipting various aspects of the life of General William Booth, the Founder of The Salvation Army, and showing some of the Army's work in many lands. These "stamps" were given to children Who attended each week, and paid a "cartridge" (personal.offering) of at least a halfpenny a week. A small book was supplied to each attender, and a stamp issued each month. The book contained little descriptive material, and included spaces in which to stick stamps. So far as can be established, there were 36 different stamps, each with a descriptive caption, and it is believed that the scheme- started in January 1919. None of these stamps were nuebered, and they bore a very strong resemblance to the Turkish postage pictorials of 1914. All the issues so far seen by the writer are on medium wove paper, a little toned, and without watermark. The perforations vary between 13 and 13. Fifteen different. have been noted; a list is not given here, as members are sure to possess some of these, and a complete list should not be too difficult to compile. Members are requested to report details of those specimens Which they possess, so that the knowledge may be more widely disseminated.

In 1922, a new book.was issued. Books examined bear commencing dates of January 1923 and 1924, but they could have been issued late; it is very likely that not all Corps took up the system at its inception.

Whereas the first book had comparatively plain covers, those of the new book were beautifully coloured, in a design which was much in advance of its time. The covers are of stiff card, edged in pale blue, with a dark blue cloth spine. The design on the front is lithographed in multicolour showing the Army Flag and tasselled ropes, with a vignette showing Jesus and children. The book is entitled "THE SALVATION ARMY" in three lines within a scroll, and "YOUNG PEOPLE'S CARTRIDGE STAMP ALBUM" in three lines on a salver-shaped scroll. At the foot, on a further scroll, is "The Fear of GOD is the beginning of wisdom".

Inside the front cover are details of the issuance of the book; it is described as (No.1), but is the 2nd edition! Perhaps it was intended to continue the series at a later dated. Inside the back cover, in two lines' is "Made and Printed in Great Britain by The Cempfield Press, St. Albans." This is the Army's own printing establishment.

There are 12 pages within, with much detailed descriptive matter, being a history of General Booth and the S.A. to 1913, together with spaces for 36 stamps.

The stamps are numbered, but without captions. The design measurei 23x35mm; 15 designs are horizontal, 21 vertical. The paper.is similar to the previous issue, soft white wove, with cream gum arabic on reverse. Perforations all seem to be 13, but these should be very carefully checked. It has not yet been noted who designed or printed the stamps, nor the size or format of the sheets.

The designs all have black vignettes, except for no.8, which is yellow, red and blue an a pale yellow wash (these are the colours of the Army flag). All are numbered in black, except for no. 8 (red), 15 (colourless with a'black outline), and 30 (colourless on a black background).