life. A consummate organizer, systems designer
and manager, Bramwell Booth had a way of
taking the grand schemes of his father, finding
the personnel, building a framework in intri-
cate detail and then devising ways to monitor,
correct, tweak and overhaul as needed. While
William Booth was the creative genius, Bram-
well was the one who made things happen.
school with other children ended tragically when
the other boys severely beat him, leaving him
partially deaf. His mother promptly pulled him
out of school and provided his education at
home. He was a self-motivated learner, show-
ing his acute intelligence early. When the
financial books of The Christian Mission failed
to balance, 15-year-old Bramwell worked
through the night until he found the error.
the organization they were founding. The work
of the Army in those days was moving ahead at
breakneck speed. Sometimes the question was
not so much what they should do next, but how
to find out exactly what the Salvationists were
doing out there and hadn't yet reported. It
largely fell to the young Booth to go discover
what the other forces were doing--to tell this
one to stop, that one to forge ahead and others
mad rush by saying, "We had to build the ship
while we were at sea, and not only build the
ship but master the laws of navigation."
sold into the slave trade, he was put on trial for
the very law he worked on to protect them.
When there were burgeoning tensions between
members of the family--his brothers and sis-
ters that were painful and difficult. In the
process, two brothers and a sister resigned from
the Army, his brothers especially bearing life-
long grudges against him. But he pressed on,
bearing the death of his beloved mother and
continuing to shoulder increasing responsibility
as The Salvation Army became a worldwide
movement. He continued to organize and ar-
range. He watched and served as his father,
once despised and ridiculed, became a heralded
prophet and almost epic figure. While the
Founder traversed the globe on fantastic cam-
paigns, his son managed the everyday affairs of
the Army back on Queen Victoria Street in
London.
son. It was evident that the end was near.
When finally, in 1912, William Booth "laid
down his sword," an envelope was opened that
designated the Founder's successor. To no one's
first Salvation Army Chief of the Staff and second
General of The Salvation Army. William Bramwell