Figure 1.-- Here is Derek's Salvation Army Young People's Band. Derek was active in the late 1950s.

We do not have many individual accounts about the Salvation Army. A few readers have provided us some information about their experiences. So far they have primarily come from Britain. This may suggest that the movement or at least the youth auxilery was especially strong in Britain. Some but not all of the boys were drawn into the SA because their parents were active. Memories about SA bands seem especially strong.

An English Boy

My parents were senior soldiers in the Salvation Army in Luton, and when I was a boy they insisted that I, like my elder brother, should be a uniformed junior soldier. This was in the 1950s and the very early '60s. At that time, the men's uniform, in Britain, was very military in aspect, with a high, stiff-neck collar to the tunic, which had epaulettes; this was made of navy serge - a twilled worsted fabric - as were the matching uniform trousers. A peaked military-style cap was also worn.

Derek and the Salvation Army Band

I was interested to read the memories of someone who, like me, had been brought up in the Salvation Army Young People's(YP) Band system. My uniform was very similar to your contributor's, except that we did not have epaulettes on our jackets. I was a member from 1953 to 1960, in two different areas of the UK. I remember the red guernsey (motto "Blood and Fire") being a bit scratchy, so I often wore an ordinary shirt underneath, which made it feel a bit tight. I wore short trousers until I was about 12, which was the time I went into long trousers at school, and quite liked the uniform. I had the peaked cap, which we were supposed to wear, but this always seemed over-sized to me, and I wore it as little as possible. Instead of a uniform greatcoat, we wore the same navy-blue gabardine raincoat that we wore for school.

Other Accounts

HBC will archive here other other personal accounts that HBU readers may want to submit.