Our Corps History page has been updated to include a summary of the last six months of 2011. Click here to read. Once again we acknowledge the work done by Peter Wood in drafting this update.

Peter Wood

This week we have updated our history pages to include the first half of 2011. Once again we are indebted to Peter Wood for the basic material input.

Peter Wood

The War Cry of 10 March 1881 announced the procurement of a hall in New Brompton for the purpose of extending the influence of the Chatham Salvation Army corps, then just 8 years old. This was the beginning of the Gillingham corps which has now achieved 130 years of ministry to the people of that part of the Medway Towns.

the present building in Green Street

Julie Millest, Corps Secretary at Gillingham, has sent us a report on the special weekend of celebration just passed. She writes:

Our 130th Corps anniversary/reunion was a great success.

The celebrations commenced on the Saturday afternoon with over 150 joining together to share fellowship, there was also time for both Band and Songster rehearsal for past and present musicians. After a meal together we shared in a festival which included: pieces rehearsed earlier, a ventriloquist act from Chris Millest, a vocal solo from Lisa Davis accompanied by Gillingham Band, a song by a now slightly older ‘youth group’,  songs by the Explorers (Sunday School) and extracts from the Corps History Book and reminiscences.

Messages were read from the General, Territorial Commander and Divisional Commander as well as those from past officers and soldiers who couldn’t be with us.

Sunday Morning worship was led by past officers Majors Francis and Beth Frost and took the form of a celebration party with balloons needing to be burst to reveal the next item on the meeting plan. Following this an Open Air Meeting was held in Gillingham High Street which caused a lot of interest from those out shopping.

The weekend concluded with fellowship over lunch. Many old friendships were rekindled and new friendships made. The Corps was very blessed and it was so good to see that although many people have moved away from Gillingham they are still serving the Lord in so many varied ways.

Julie has also sent scanned copies of  comments published in War Cry between 1881 and 1883. Click here to read of those early day developments. These comments are mostly 130 years old but are still readable and give a real flavour of the enthusiasm of the Victorian era.

GOD BLESS YOU, GILLINGHAM CORPS. MAY YOU CONTINUE FOR MANY YEARS YET!

The following announcement/letter is included on behalf of our friends at the Gillingham Salvation Army Corps.

Gillingham Salvation Army 130th Anniversary/Reunion

Led by Majors Francis and Beth Frost

Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th March 2011

Dear friends

We would like to invite former soldiers and friends to our anniversary / reunion

Saturday (informal)

2:30 Fellowship – All welcome – including time for band and songster rehearsal

5;00 Buffet Tea

7:00 Celebration Festival

Sunday

10:00 Morning Worship, followed by Open Air Meeting

12:30 Lunch – everyone welcome

For further information contact Julie Millest – Gillingham Corps Secretary at adandjamillest@btinternet.com or on 01634 579004

Julie Millest

We have now updated our account of Corps History to include the second half of 2010. Click here to read.

We have learned this week of the ‘Promotion to Glory’ of Major Peter Muller, known to a few older members of the Chatham Corps through his connection with us during the Second World War.

Peter Muller’s story is an interesting one, not to say unique. During the war he was a German POW (Prisoner of War) held here in Chatham, firstly in a camp at Chestnut Avenue, Walderslade and then in another at Southill Barracks, Maidstone Road, just next to the Mediclean laundry, now a housing estate.

He made contact with a ‘War Cry’ seller in Chatham High Street outside what was then Woolworths (opposite the Pentagon Centre entrance), and was invited to come to the ‘Army’ (he was by then a ‘Trustie’). He didn’t come at the first invitation and was invited again. This time he accepted and was so pleased with the welcome he received that he began to come regularly.

He got ‘saved’, became a soldier, and when the war finished stayed in England to become a Salvation Army officer.  He went into ‘The Peacemakers’ session, along with Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen, Rita Broomfield(then Smith) and Dorothy Read’s eldest son, Christopher. After commissioning he served in West Germany looking after Social Homes before retiring to become Territorial  Auditor for the Social Work Homes until his health failed.

Peter was always very proud of what he called his ‘Chatham Heritage’.

(Sorry – we do not have aphotograph)

Former Chatham Bandmaster Bill Andrews was 93 years old last Sunday.

Bill was Bandmaster here from 1947 to 1965 and is largely credited with resuscitating the corps band after the war years. Living now in Exeter he is pictured with Brigadier Mary Lewis who carefully tends him. We send our congratulations and best wishes to Bill and would be pleased to hear from any who remember those long gone days.

Click here to visit our recently updated History page for which we are once again indebted to Peter Wood.

Peter

Not many Salvation Army corps can boast the significant history of Chatham. One that can is the Dunedin City Corps in New Zealand.

on Princes Street

The Army commenced its work in New Zealand in Dunedin in April 1883, almost 10 years after our own corps was opened as a Christian Mission station and hence is the oldest corps in the country. Having occupied several premises in the city during the intervening years the current corps building is again in Princes Street and Murray and Verna have been able to extend greetings to one of the present officers during a recent visit. Those greetings are returned.

The visit was of special interest as their own grand-daughter, Laurelle, has been attending the corps for the last three years whilst studying at the University of Otago and will continue to do so for the next two years. The pictures below show the old building, now an apartment block whilst still bearing the SA’s name, the plaque outside the existing building and the current centre on Princes Street.

We thank Murray for this interesting piece of Salvation Army history.

The holidaymakers, Verna and Murray Smith

More information has been added to our History pages representing the second half of 2009. Click here to read. We are again grateful to Peter Wood for providing the text.

Peter Wood

The story of how the Fry family of Salisbury became the forerunners of Salvation Army banding is well known to many, indeed Bandmaster Carl Woodman has referred to it in his article on Chatham Citadel Band on this website. What may not be so well known is that one member of that family, Fred Fry, son of Charles, lived and worked right here in the Medway Towns for a period of over 35 years.

an early day Salvation Army band

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen, a resident of Rainham, has been researching this subject and writes as follows:

Before retiring in 1934 from 31 years as Senior Clerk to the Gillingham Municipal Offices Frederick W Fry had been a member of the Salisbury brass quartet which in 1878 had sparked off the formation of hundreds of Salvation Army bands around the world, peaking at over a 1000 in UK alone. Initially Methodist the Fry quartet – father and three sons – were invited to provide the SA’s Founder, William Booth, with supporting music for his outdoor evangelistic services in their city. The experiment was a success which led to the group moving to London in 1880. The Frys continued to travel the country helping to form local Salvation Army bands; Fred arranging, editing and printing music for their use. He wrote a number of hymns which are still in the current official song book. A few years later he became private secretary to Booth, touring European countries. Subsequently, and now a married man, he joined forces with William Booth’s son Herbert (another celebrated hymn writer) who was put in charge of the work in Canada..

Returning to England he came to Gillingham – in earlier days he had visited New Brompton – and secured a post with Messrs Bassett and Boucher, solicitors. When Mr F.C. Boucher became Town Clerk of Gillingham, in the year of the incorporation, he went with him as the senior clerk to the municipal offices. He died in June 1939 just before his 80th birthday and is buried in the Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. While at Gillingham and until his last illness he was a staunch member of the Methodist Church. Changes come, religious music is no exception, but reviewing the 130 years since the Salisbury experiment it is evident that brass instruments still have their part to play. The Salvation Army and its bands owe a great debt to the impetus given by Fred Fry and his family in those early days of innovation and development.

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen, OF*.

*Order of the Founder

Lt. Col. Ray Steadman-Allen has been an influential figure in the brass band scene for many years. He became head of The Salvation Army’s Music Editorial Department in 1967, a position which he held until 1980. Following a three and a half year appointment in Australia he became editor of the Army’s music newspaper ‘The Musician’. Since retirement he has continued to compose and travel internationally. He gained his B. Mus. degree at Durham and is a Doctor in Music. With an FTCL (and Phillips Prize) he holds several honorary fellowships, is president of the National College of Music and a Vice President of the Brass Band Conductors’ Association.

Last week Majors Ray and Pat Brown were installed as corps officers at London’s Regent Hall in central London.

Ray & Pat Brown

Ray spent a number of years at Chatham when his parents, James & Alma, were the corps officers in the late 1970s.  He decided to offer for Salvation Army officership and entered the training college from this corps, being commissioned in 1980.  Marrying Pat Milne later that year, Ray had three appointments in Scotland, at Findochty, Stornoway (where he started the Army’s work) and Inverness before spending four years in charge of the Tauranga corps in New Zealand’s North Island.

Returning to the UK Ray and Pat again served in Scotland, at Govan and in Edinburgh, before taking up their first English appointment in Nottingham. During this particular appointment Ray was also deployed on emergency work overseas leaving Pat to cope with things at home.

The couple have now taken up their latest appointment in London where they expect to serve for a number of years.

This week we have updated our history pages to include for the first 6 months of 2009. Click here to read

William Booth

This will be recognized on Saturday 27 June 2009 at Chatham’s Historic Dockyard.

in the Historic Dockyard

The Salvation Army has been offered a stand at this year’s National Armed Forces Day and will use its Divisional Headquarters Emergency Vehicle to sell Tea, and Coffee and light refreshments. In addition there will be a display of photographs and information about The Salvation Army’s work with the ‘Armed Forces’ both in the past and today. Should be a good day; why not join us?

A collection will also be made towards our building fund.

Volunteer helpers are welcome. If you are interested, and willing, please contact us

Our History pages have now been updated with the account of the main corps activities up to the end of 2008. We are again indebted to Peter Wood for the preparation of the data for these pages.

Historian Peter