General Booth

The founder of the Salvation Army, General William Booth, arrived at Helensburgh Central Station before speaking at the Victoria Hall on October 26 1910, and was welcomed by Provost David S.Maclachlan. Booth, born in 1826, was the son of a Nottingham builder and converted to Christianity aged 15. He became a revivalist preacher, and in 1865 he and his wife Catherine set up a Christian Mission in London's east end to help the poor. It was reorganised along military lines in 1878, and the Salvation Army was born. He died in 1912. Image supplied by Malcolm LeMay.