Salvation Army London Citadel Community Church - London, Ontario - Salvation Army Locations on Waymarking.com

This is a portion of the history from the website:

1882-1892
Joe Ludgate arrived in Canada in January 1882 and on the third Sunday in May, Addie, Ludgate and a few singers met in Victoria Park where a drunkard was saved. The Army then used the Westminster Skating Rink for their meetings. At the request of the City the open airs were held in Market Square instead of Victoria Park. In August that year the Army sent Captain Shirley (nicknamed "Shouting Annie") to London from New York with the corps being officially opened by Staff Captain Wass.
The Skating Rink proved too difficult to heat and so an abandoned Presbyterian Church was purchased on King Street. Unfortunately this building was destroyed by fire and for a while the City Council permitted the Army to use City Hall for its meetings.
Not all relations between the City and the Army were as friendly. Captain Addie was arrested for beating a drum in public. At his trial he said these words in his defense, "The Salvation Army is not a law-breaking organization. It is made up of law-abiding citizens. Many of its members in the past have appeared in this court again and again, but where the law failed to reform them, God, through the Salvation Army, has succeeded. Drunkards are now sober, thieves are now honest, those who were swearing are praying, those who were bad are good."
His sentence was either a five dollar fine or ten days in jail. Unable to pay the fine he opted for the jail term, but it was never served. When he was transferred to California, Captain Addie went to the police station to serve his sentence before leaving London, but the judge said they would come after him if they wanted him, shook his hand and wished him luck. Another officer in London was not as fortunate as Addie. On June 11, 1884, Captain Isabella Nunn marched alone on King Street beating a drum. She was arrested and served ten days in jail. William Booth sent representatives to London to appeal the sentence. The law against drum beating went to the Supreme Court and was altered to allow the open-air work full freedom.
On November 1, 1884 the first issue of the Canadian War Cry was published with a circulation of 18,850. In this first issue was an advertisement from London which read, "Barracks wanted. Many of our soldiers and friends could help us very much if they would keep a sharp look-out for buildings likely to suit, such as old churches, theatres, music halls, skating rinks or warehouse."
In 1886 there was great excitement in London with the visit of General William Booth, then age 78. He was in London for 2 days and while here, spoke at the Grand Opera House at the corner of King and Richmond, where the Royal Bank Building is today. Many years later a London citizen who was at the Opera House that night wrote, "I do not at this date remember what he said, but I shall never forget the impression which he gave of deep earnestness, transparent godliness and boundless love for his fellow men."
The City of London was continuing to grow just as the Army was, and in 1882 London's first long distance telephone line came into operation, running from London to St. Thomas, In July 1883 there was a great flood which inundated a large part of London West, causing heavy property damage and some loss of life. The rain came down in torrents for 8 hours and the lightning which accompanied the storm destroyed the Imperial Oil Refinery in London East, putting to the test the skills of the newly formed London East Fire Department. In 1885 the village of London East amalgamated with the City of London.
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1892-1902
London Citadel was growing all the time and many of the features of the corps which we know today had their start in this decade. The League of Mercy began in 1892 and two unusual bands, the Lassies Brass Band and the Timbrel Band got their starts.
In 1894 the Army purchased a building from the YMCA at 394 Clarence Street to house the London Citadel Corps as well as the Divisional Headquarters. The Army had previously used this building's auditorium for special occasions and when the building was put up for sale the Army decided to purchase it.
Extensive renovations were made including filling the swimming pool with cinders and putting flooring over the top. The seats for the congregation rose in a steep grade from the front of the platform, so that the congregation looked down upon the leader of the meeting.
The City of London was continuing to expand. The Sisters of St. Joseph moved from a ten bed facility to the newly built hospital on Grosvenor Street in 1892. In 1895 the London Street Railway sold its horses and converted the trams to electricity, while the Police department continued to improve its service to the community, purchasing a bicycle in 1898 so that they could apprehend cyclists who were speeding or riding on the sidewalks.
London West officially became part of the City in 1897. On January 3, 1898 disaster struck at the election celebration of Mayor John Wilson. A crowd of people were gathered in the 2nd floor auditorium of the city hall on Richmond Street, when the floor suddenly gave way, sending 250 people falling to the floor below. Seconds later a 500 lb safe slid through the hole onto the people beneath. 23 people died that night, with 150 more injured.
In world news Queen Victoria died in January 1901 and her son Edward VII succeeded her. Edward's son Prince George (later George V) visited London later that year with his wife Princess Mary. The Boer War raged in Africa from 1899 • 1902 and in 1900 Winston Churchill came to London to speak of his experiences during the Boer War.
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1902-1912
With the arrival of a few Salvationists from England, the corps formed a permanent Songster Brigade in 1906. The Songster Leader, Mr. J. Harp, led the twice weekly rehearsals for a number of weeks before they sang in public, with the accompaniment of Mabel Horwood.
The League of Mercy was carrying on its practice of conducting a weekly service at the jail on Sunday afternoons.
Up until 1910 there were meetings held at the corps every night of the week. During the summer months meetings were held in Victoria Park under a tree, with the bass drum as a penitent form and the congregation sitting on the grass around.
The Band's reputation was spreading and they were in demand to visit other Corps. On one trip to Windsor and Detroit the train they were travelling on derailed, but thankfully there were no serious injuries and after some delay the band continued on to its weekend away.
The appointment of officers during this decade had slowed somewhat from previous years. There were ten officers who had the leadership of the corps one for each year. Among these officers were Staff-Captain Perry, Adj. J. Habkirk, and Staff-Captain Goodwin.
Cars were beginning to make their presence felt in London and in 1904 the London Automobile Club managed to gather 5 cars and 19 people for a road trip to Aylmer and St. Thomas by way of Belmont. The London and Lake Erie Railway finally managed to complete the tracks to Port Stanley in 1907 after some very lengthy delays due to financial problems. The London terminal of this railway was located on Horton Street on the present site of the Men's Social and Thrift Store.
On November 30, 1910 the switch was thrown bringing Hydro power to London from Niagara at a charge of 4 1/2 cents per kilowatt hour, a fee which was later dropped to 2 cents. There was no fee for the meter rental. The London Fire Department began testing the response of mechanical engines in 1911, but on the first three occasions the horses were faster than the engines. A new self starting motor finally allowed for the retirement of the horses.
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1912-1922
The whole of the Salvation Army world (but especially in Canada) was shocked when the Empress of Ireland sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in May 1914. 150 Canadian Salvationists went down with the ship, including the Territorial Commander, Commissioner Rees, and his wife. All but 10 members of the Canadian Staff Band perished. They had been en route to the International Congress in London, England. One of the survivors was Alfred Keith, who later became Divisional Commander of the Ontario West Division and after retirement made London Citadel his home corps.
The outbreak of World War I, in 1914 brought changes to the London Citadel Corps. In 1915 almost all of the Citadel bandsmen of military age joined up and formed the nucleus of the band of the 142nd Battalion, London's Own Regiment, under the leadership of the Citadel bandmaster, George Wilson.
The Home League began its operations in the corps in 1917, growing from the meetings held by servicemen's wives.
In 1916 the Salvation Army Guards, which later became the Girl Guides, were organized under the leadership of the Divisional Commander's daughter. Miss Reta Rawling. In 1917 leadership was taken over by Miss Edith Salmond, (now Mrs. Edith Mann).
The building on Clarence Street underwent extensive renovations in 1917) and there was a dinner and programme held to celebrate the re-opening. A total of 700 people were served dinner that night, with the corps officer providing the meat for each table. The cost of the ticket which included dinner and the programme was 25c. The incumbent mayor of London, Mr. Hugh Stevenson, was the programme's chairman.
The major international event during this time was of course World War 1. London was headquarters for the Military District No.1 and Wolseley Barracks was remodelled to house the headquarters staff. London became one of the most important recruiting centres in Canada. Western Fair was taken over to house the troops in training, except while the Fair was on.
Various women's organizations were active in London at this time and London acquired its first female driver in 1914 when Miss Meta MacBeth passed her driver's exam.
The Armistice on November II, 1918 was celebrated by 20,000 people in Victoria Park, Spanish influenza struck in London just as it did around the world, and churches, schools, theatres and other places of public assembly were closed in order to help control the spread of the disease.
A mini building boom occurred after the war to handle both the increase in population and the fact that building during the wars years had been practically non-existent.
Funds began to be collected shortly after the end of the war to help build the War Memorial Children's Hospital as a practical monument to the men who went overseas. The building itself would be opened in 1923.

Address: 555 Springbank Drive London, Ontario Canada N6J 1H3 Phone number: 519-472-2500 Salvation Army Territory: Ontario Great Lakes Division Website: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   12/28/2016 Keldar5 visited it