Special Edition: Celebrating 150 years of The Salvation Army in Wales

Wales 150th Anniversary Special – Dyma Gariad (Here Is Love)

This special episode was recorded on Tuesday 19 November 2024 at the Welsh Parliament, The Senedd, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of The Salvation Army in Wales. 

Our guest is Steven Spencer, Director of The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre at Denmark Hill in south London. In his role, Steven has acquired a wider and deeper knowledge than most about the people and events that shaped our mission.

A scholar with a keen interest in the story of the church and charity in Wales, Steven’s fascinating journey for this podcast begins in The Valleys, tracing the footsteps of early pioneers such as 17-year-old Kate Watts and Harriet Parkin. Sent by William Booth, the pair arrived in the grim industrial heart of the Welsh coalfields in 1878 ill prepared for what they found but sustained by their faith. 

Travelling south, we take in significant sites in The Salvation Army’s story over the past 150 years in Wales, passing towns that supplied coal and steel to the great industrial centres of Victorian Britain. Names such as Aberfan, Senghenydd and others are etched on the soul of Wales and its people following tragic accidents leading to unbearable loss and suffering. The journey ends joyously where it began, at the site of the former Gospel Hall in Bute Street, Cardiff, where John Allan established the first Welsh congregation in 1874.

Steven is an Honorary Research Fellow in Birkbeck’s Centre for Nineteenth Century Studies. He holds an MA in History from Canterbury Christ Church University. The International Heritage Centre houses the archive story of The Salvation Army from its origins in the 1860s to the present, both in the UK and internationally. The department includes two museums, one in London and another in Nottingham at the birthplace of William Booth. A reference library, museum displays and archives are based at the London site, within William Booth College.

Click here to discover more about Steven’s work:

@SalvArmyArchive on Instagram and X (Twitter) and BlueSky

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Created by The Salvation Army Children and Youth Department.

Hosted by Jo Taylor (Discipleship Specialist- Youth)

Produced by Avenue Services

Theme music "Here with Me"by Doug Ross 

Artwork by Nathan Bright

Executive producer Phil Ball

For more information on the four questions www.quadratos.com 

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the participants and may not reflect the position of The Salvation Army.