In the last years of his life, William turned again to itinerant preaching and met the world’s wealthy and powerful, from King Edward VII to Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. From 1904, and despite failing health, he embarked on a series of annual motor tours of the UK, covering thousands of miles and speaking at hundreds of meetings. It was a punishing challenge for a septuagenarian, but he was in his element. Unfortunately, the founder’s latter years were also marred by differences within the Booth family that ended with his children Ballington, Kate and Herbert, all leading lights in overseas operations, quitting the Army.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in British Heritage magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

William Booth, worn-out and blind, was Promoted to Glory on August 20, 1912. Some 150,000 mourners passed his bier, and tributes flowed in from the great and the good. He may have upset people with his strident, unconventional style, but his practical Christianity inspired countless more. Certainly today many of his visions for social and missionary work have continued to come true.

The Salvation Army is the fifth largest charity in the UK. As of 2005, its outreach has been expanded to include 109 countries, in 175 languages. The Salvation Army’s membership consists of 3,500 officers, 60,000 employees, 113,000 soldiers, 430,000 adherents and more than 3.5 million volunteers. Its Web site is www.salvationarmy.org.

This article was written by Siân Ellis and originally appeared in the January 2007 issue of British Heritage. For more great articles, subscribe to British Heritage magazine today!

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to