William Booth Biography
William Booth (1829 – 1912) founded
the Salvation Army – a quasi military
religious organisation dedicated to
offering humanitarian aid and
tackling the material and spiritual
poverty of the Victorian age. William
Booth converted to Methodism as a
young adult and was a fervent
believer in evangelical Christianity.
The Salvation Army spread to
become a global humanitarian
charity seeking to provide material
aid and spiritual salvation.
Short Bio William Booth
William Booth was born in Sneinton,
Nottingham, England in 1829.
Although his family were relatively
prosperous, his father later lost his
money and was declared bankrupt.
William grew up in a situation of
poverty.
Aged only 13, Booth was apprenticed
to a pawnbroker to earn a living.
When Booth was about 15 he heard
about Methodism and the message of
salvation. He became an ardent
convert and embraced the religion
wholeheartedly. He read widely and
was inspired to become a speaker
and missionary seeking to save souls.
Booth believed that those who
rejected Jesus Christ as their saviour
were doomed to eternal hell. He saw
his life mission to save as many
people as possible.
Let the business of the world
take care of itself … My
business is to get the world
saved. “The Risks” in The War
Cry (20 December 1884)
After preaching to the poor and
‘sinners’ in Nottingham, Booth
wanted to leave his pawnbroking job,
which he considered sinful. In 1849,
he left Nottingham to seek
employment in London as a lay
preacher. There were few jobs as a
lay preacher, but Booth took to open
air evangelising and would tour the
poor districts of London seeking to
save souls.
In 1851, Booth joined the reformers
(Methodist Reform Church), and in
1852, he married Catherine
Mumford. However, Booth was again
frustrated at the lack of opportunities
to preach within the Methodist
church so left to be an independent
evangelist.
In 1865, Booth and his wife founded
The Christian Revival Society. This
was an organisation committed to
helping the poorest and most
neglected of the East End of London.
It involved giving food, shelter and
clothes, but also seeking to save
people spiritually. At the time, there
were many similar religious
organisations committed to helping
the poor, and offering aid to try and
educate people into religious
salvation. It was hard work, as the
Christian missionaries often faced
hostility from local people, who
derided their evangelising. Booth
and his wife struggled to raise
sufficient funds to keep the mission
going, but they never gave up and
remain committed to serving the
poor in the heart of the poorest areas
in London.
While women weep, as they do
now,
I’ll fight
While little children go hungry,
as they do now,
I’ll fight
While men go to prison, in and
out, in and out, as they do now,
I’ll fight
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl
upon the streets,
While there remains one dark
soul without the light of God,
I’ll fight-I’ll fight to the very
end!
— William Booth
In 1878, they changed the name of
the Christian Revival Society to the
Salvation Army. Booth’s motivation
was that he didn’t see himself as a
volunteer, but a regular soldier
serving God. The organisation was
based on military principles. Booth
was the ‘General'; they had their own
flag, their own uniform, and
‘military’ songs based on Christian
hymns. Other members were
referred to as officers.
The strict organisation and
missionary zeal of Booth, helped the
Salvation Army grow from humble
beginnings to become a global
organisation with a powerful
presence in countries around the
world. The Salvation Army was soon
present across Europe, the US and
part of the British Empire.
Booth was a tireless worker,
travelling to over 58 countries and
becoming one of the best known
evangelists and charity workers of
the age.
In the 1890s, he published two books
called – In Darkest England and the
Way Out . This set out his vision for
social welfare based on his Christian
evangelical principles. He argued that
the poorest slums of England were
little better than under-developed
Africa (this was at a time when many
felt Britain a superior civilisation to
African countries)
Booth proposed practical solutions to
the endemic poverty and ‘vice’. He
offered educational and training
schemes, seeking to offer prostitutes,
homeless and migrants a chance to
create a better life. He saw his
Christian charity as filling in a gap
left by the state. To Booth the most
important aspect of his work, was not
the material aid, but seeking to ‘save’
souls. However, offering material
aid, was an excellent way to prepare
the poor to see the virtues of the
Christian religion.
Booth asserts:
“I have no intention to depart
in the smallest degree from the
main principles on which I
have acted in the past. My only
hope for the permanent
deliverance of mankind from
misery, either in this world or
the next, is the regeneration or
remaking of the individual by
the power of the Holy Ghost
through Jesus Christ. But in
providing for the relief of
temporal misery I reckon that I
am only making it easy where
it is now difficult, and possible
where it is now all but
impossible, for men and
women to find their way to the
Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Reputation of Salvation Army
After a difficult beginning period
and resentment from those who
feared his evangelical Christianity
and judgement of sinful activities,
The Salvation Army became seen as a
useful humanitarian organisation
doing good in the slums of England.
He received audiences with kings,
emperors and presidents.
William Booth of ‘The General’ as he
became affectionately known as, died
in 1912, aged 83 in Hadley Wood,
London. The organisation he created,
continued to grew and prosper after
his passing.