S
amuel Bramwell Royle is what we
call in The Salvation Army "a child
of the regiment."
His Salvationist par-
ents gave him his middle name for the Army's
second General. As a child, he even met General
Evangeline Booth during one of her visits to
Reading, Pennsylvania.
At 96 years old, Bram is still a colorful charac-
ter in Reading, both at the corps and in the city's
fire department. He drove the fire truck for 20
years and retired in 1980. Bram and his 40 or so
fellow firemen still meet occasionally to share old
stories.
Bram is the ultimate Salvation Army soldier
and bandsman. Since his family moved to Read-
ing 91 years ago, Bram's memories of his minis-
try at the Reading Citadel Corps could fill a book.
"I was about eight years old and my mother led
me to ask Jesus into my heart," Bram recalls. "It
was during a Decision Sunday at the corps, and
that morning at the altar, I got saved."
At age nine, Bram picked up a brass instru-
ment for the first time, and he has been playing
ever since. At the moment, Bram plays the alto
horn in the Citadel Band, where he has been
bandmaster for decades. Before becoming band-
master, Bram worked as a janitor at the corps.
The corps officers lived on a floor above the corps,
and Bram often stoked the furnace with old
shoes "just to keep the officers' family warm!"
During the Depression, lines of people would
form at the corps for milk and bread donated
to the Army for distribution. Bram got to know
many of Reading's families through that minis-
try, right up until the beginning of World War II.
One of Bram's more colorful moments oc-
curred when he had to bail the corps officer out
of jail. "The captain was preaching on a street
corner downtown, and the police told him to pipe
down. When he refused, the police arrested him
for disturbing the peace. I had to borrow $100
from a friend to go down to the jailhouse and get
him out."
In a precursor to his firefighting days, Bram
was living in the corps building when the chapel
caught fire. As smoke quickly filled the second
floor, Bram risked his life to carry all the brass
instruments to safety!
These days, Bram misses Rita, his wife of 50
years. She was a faithful soldier until her promo-
tion to Glory six years ago.
"I met Rita in this corps. We got married in
this corps. And our children were dedicated and
raised in this corps," he says proudly.
So, what is the secret to Bram's long, full life?
"Be a good Christian, stay grounded in the
Scripture, remain as active as you can and, oh,
be sure to pray...a lot!"
How I Met
the Army
............
Young
at Heart
by
MAJOR FRANK DURACHER
42
The War Cry | APRIL 2015
At 96 years young, Samuel Bramwell Royle
hasn't slowed down a bit. Known as "Sam" to
local firemen and "Bram" to his corps family,
he has faithfully served the Lord for almost
ten decades at the Reading Citadel Corps.