How was the Sally Army formed

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Q.� A poor family

A.� Yes. These were poverty-stricken times and the Booth family fell into hardship after a mortgage was called in. William, aged 13, was removed from school and apprenticed to a pawnbroker.

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Q.� Pawn No relation to porn

A.� Absolutely not. The pawnbroker was a place where you could borrow money on security. If you didn't pay back, with interest, by a certain date, you would lose the item - perhaps a piece of jewellery or more mundane possession that was less important than food.

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Q.� So how did William get involved in religious matters

A.� His father died within a year and his mother and two sisters moved to a shop on Goosegate selling toys and tape, needles and cotton. At the age of 15 William began to attend Wesley Chapel. He saw the light at 11 o'clock one night in while walking home from a meeting and decided, as he wrote later, that: 'God should have all there was of William Booth.'

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Q.� Next step

A.� With his friend, Will Sansom, son of a lace manufacturer, he began to emulate his hero John Wesley by preaching in the open air. He attracted a following among the poorest people - the 'slummers' - and one Sunday morning in 1846 led them through the main entrance of the Wesley Chapel. They were soon banished to using the back entrance and told to sit out of sight of the congregation. Soon, William was on his way to London, a pawnbroker in weekdays and a preacher for the Methodist New Connection on Sundays. He soon got a job, at �1 a week, as an evangelist, and then was offered a circuit in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

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Q.� Promoted to glory

A.� Indeed�- but more of that expression, later. He married Catherine Mumford in 1855 and his whirlwind evangelical tours continued. The Booths - by this time Catherine was also preaching, to much consternation among conformists - carried no dogma. They sounded the glory of God wherever they went and preached to all religions. With help from philanthropists, the word spread - particularly in the Booths' campaigns against the demon drink.

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Q.� What about the Salvation Army

A.� Booth's support spread and within 10 years of his first sermon at Mile End, east London, he had established 26 flourishing stations throughout the country with his Volunteer Army. Booth changed the name to the Salvation Army in 1878, when his most valued aide, George Railton, objected to being called a volunteer. 'I'm a regular or nothing,' he said. The Sally Army started to publish its own newspaper, War Cry.

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Q.� A military sort of affair

A.� To all intents and purposes. Military terms were used. The Salvation Army�fired volleys against the Devil and prayer was known as 'knee drill'. Followers designed smart uniforms and started calling Booth the General. To this day, Sally Army chapels are called citadels. In Salisbury, Charles Fry suggested he and his sons could accompany songs in the market place. That was the first Salvation Army Band.

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Q.� And were they universally well received

A.� No. The higher churches didn't like them. It was a little too much like social revolution. And the publicans hated 'em - they were taking their trade away. Travelling Salvationists were often pelted by drunks with eggs - supplied by the landlords. But thee were many advances.

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Q.� Such as

A.� Booth's son Bramwell helped expose the shocking traffic in young prostitutes in 1885. In the five-week dock strike of 1889, the Sally Army supplied 195,000 cut-price meals. Booth opened a labour exchange and started to provide rescue homes and help for ex-prisoners. The word also spread to the United States, where Sally Army brigades were formed.

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Q.� And when did Booth die

A.� William Booth was promoted to glory - to use the headline on obituaries in War Cry - on 21 August, 1912. In its eulogy, The New York Times said: 'No man of his time did more for the benefit of his people.'

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Q.� But the work lives on

A.� Yes. Today's Sally Army describes itself as Christianity with its sleeves rolled up. As well as the evangelical mission, the Sally Army provides a social services, working with children, disabled people, ex-prisoners and the homeless. It still runs a soup run among the needy and its acclaimed services for tracing missing relatives.

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By Steve Cunningham