Corps History
Tadley Salvation Army History
The Beginning
When Captain Edith Griffiths and Lieutenant Alice Irlam alighted at the railway station, one cold afternoon in January of 1868, and asked the way to their destination, the village of Tadley, it was not reassuring to be greeted with, "Tadley, God help us? There is only the one road a matter of six miles or so. Folks mostly give it a wide birth. Them as goes there mostly has a rough time."
Just when and why the straggling village got the prayer, or invocation, tacked on to its name, even the oldest inhabitants could not tell us. No doubt the godless, reckless band of young men who spent their evenings roaming the country in search of amusement and visiting every pub along the road had much to do with it. Wherever they came there was sure to be a row. Yet Snobby, the infamous ringleader, kept the men of Tadley so closely together that they nearly always came off victors, and by the time they had visited all the pubs along the road they would turn homeward drunk, except when they halted by the way, to sleep under hedges or in ditches as was often the case.
"We must go for the Captain of that gang, Leff," said Griffiths, who had cheered up wonderfully at the first sniff of battle. The words 'God help us!' sounded now not as a discouragement, but as a cry which she must do her level best to answer.
Looking from his cottage window early in the day, Snobby had said, "Be they two little women down by the brook The Salvation Army? Then we'll soon shift em!"
That night those self-same lasses started out in search of their first open-air stand when they heard the playing of a drum and fife band. "That's Snobby in a public house," said Captain Griffiths; "we'll start here." Though the night was dark, and the only figures discernable were the tall fir-trees, in faith the girls sang and prayed and pleaded with Snobby to seek salvation, with a word thrown in for the publican who housed him and took his money for that which brought only misery and shame. But as the moon rode high above the fir-trees, its faint light revealed that the lasses had bombarded not a pub, but Snobby's cottage! "Never mind," said the Captain, "Snobby was there and his men too."
From that night onwards, Snobby's conscience was troubled, and there was not a more miserable man in Tadley. Shyly he hung round the open-airs allowing himself to be dealt with, and at last, one Friday night in an adjacent parish, he knelt at the drum-head and gave himself to God. The next day, as news of Snobby's conversion reached the villagers of Tadley, the persecution that followed was so strong that Snobby flew into a rage breaking his commitment. His unfaithfulness was speedily followed by terrible remorse, and Snobby went about in an agony of soul which only backsliders know.
One night, whilst Snobby was yet holding out and writing bitter things against himself, four of his gang, big, strapping fellows, all of them, they turned to their old captain and said "Come on, Snobby, have another try; five of us to thrash the devil now!" So Snobby tried again and has been drumming for the Lord ever since, a marked man you may be sure, for his seat in the tap-room is vacant, and he no longer pipes for the devil's dupes.
To see the two Salvation lasses picking their way across the heath by the light of a primitive lantern was a source of great amusement to the dark-eyed, stalwart nomads who know every gravel pit and pitfall so well that they could almost find their way blindfolded. They have kind hearts these travellers, and voices which, if they were saved, might carry the message of salvation through copse and dale. There is so much space between each house that a stranger naturally wonders where the village of Tadley is. There is no elbowing one another there. The folk have plenty of room to grow, and they nearly all seem to have availed themselves of the opportunity! They are a fine race, and make very presentable Soldiers.
The latest scene witnessed in Tadley, in connection with The Salvation Army, was a solemn assembly, consisting of the Captain, Treasurer and Sergeant-Major. Subject under discussion: A village barracks, as supplied by the Social Wing. Captain gives the measurements, and the treasurer marks out the size on the common.
"Too small, Captain!" says he, "Hadn't you best write and say so?"
"Nay, nay," the Sergeant-Major replied, "Let un send it, as they're in the mind to; no scarcity of wood round here. Soon knock out the end that's fast and extend to fit the people." By which readers will see that the Sergeant-Major was a highly resourceful man who had realised that a good few extensions to the barracks might be best thing for Tadley!
Tadley Salvation Army grew so quickly in numbers that one Elder Brother was heard to exclaim, "I can't understand why you fellows should have heard the Gospel at church and chapel all these years and neglected it 'til these bits of girls came along!"
"I thinks it's like this," was the reply, "we heard the Gospel, or something like it, on Sundays, and then had a week to forget it. But these lasses came to us on Sunday and said, "Get saved!". On Monday they said, "Look here, get saved!" On Tuesday night they repeated, "Get saved!", Wednesday they pleaded with us to get saved. Thursday was mostly likewise. Friday, they never let off. Saturday they were at it all the time, and when they began over again on Sunday, we reckoned it was time we did give it some serious consideration!"
Perseverance continuance in well-doing has had much to do with the success of the work in Tadley. It has meant much sacrifice on the part of the pioneers of this village war, but it is a beautiful illustration of what can be accomplished even in the most unpromising corners of the earth by whose eye is single.
God bless Tadley!
Early Days 1897-1917
After much growth a larger hall was needed and in 1907 land was acquired on Mulsfords Hill (the site of our present corps). Work on the hall was completed in 1909 and there was much celebration.
In the early 1900's William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) came through Tadley on a motorcade and preached on the site where Lloyds TSB Bank now stands. Huge crowds gathered to hear the great man speak.
Tadley corps often struggles financially and these early days were no different. The first officers often went without their salary, but never went cold or hungry. On their doorstep they would find potatoes, eggs, logs, pieces of bacon, vegetables and kindling wood.
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