salvation army

[Salvator]

The SA is a quite large organization and it is imortant to get your email message to the correct department.
The easiest way to do this is via this link;
http://www2.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/www_uki.nsf/fm-contact
A small donation would be appreciated and,if you wish to do this,there is provision on the above link.
Joe

Actually the Salvation Army's view on past records is not that helpful ... there are several high-ranking officers who consider the past to be unimportant.  You may also find them unable to release information for fear of breaching "data protection".  Sorry to sound so negative. 

[joboy]

I dont think you are negative at all ..... just expressing an opinion.
Understanding that the Salvation Army was only formed in the latter part of the 19th century there would be a high degree of reluctance to pass on any thing that might conflict with present day attitudes.
My own particular instance was to get as much as I could about an ancestor who was a prominent bandmaster at Regent Hall so I wrote to the SA Heritage Centre at 117 Judd St. London in 1995 and they sent me a whole wealth of photocopies of 'The Bandsman' and 'The Songster' dating back to June 1910 which carried articles about him which,at times,included details of the death of his wife and subsequent remarriage and names of his children which I just would not have obtained at that time from any other source.
As I said in an earlier post I have to hand a copy of 'My Ancestor was a Salvationist' written by Ray Wiggins and published by the SOG in 1999 and I note that it no longer exists in SOG publications.
Times have changed I guess as you have found.
Joe

[Salvator]

My own particular instance was to get as much as I could about an ancestor who was a prominent bandmaster at Regent Hall so I wrote to the SA Heritage Centre at 117 Judd St. London in 1995 and they sent me a whole wealth of photocopies of 'The Bandsman' and 'The Songster' dating back to June 1910 which carried articles about him which,at times,included details of the death of his wife and subsequent remarriage and names of his children which I just would not have obtained at that time from any other source.

I congratulate you that you were able to get this information.  When I have made enquiries of Salvation Army centres in a certain locality I was advised to contact my local Salvation Army and in any case they would not release the information as it was deemed to be classified.  I found my information through looking at Kelly's Directory, but it was a lot more general that what you were seeking.

[Salvator]

I found my information through looking at Kelly's Directory

One does wonder what possibly could be "classified" if the same inforamtion is listed in the Kelly's Directory!

[joboy]

This FAQ might be of assistance http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/HeritageFAQ
at least it does address your point.
I would think that the FOI act would not cover anything over 100 years assuming of course that there is any information at all about individual soldiers at the local corps.
From your current information there appears to be little,if any,detail regarding the 'soldiers'.
They seem to have some records of officers.
Good Luck,
Joe