The work of the Salvation Army

The work of the Salvation Army in helping “down and outs” as they  used to be called,  is well known.  This is the story of one family friend that they helped after the First War during the general strike.

He was a family friend of my Father who worked in the city with him at Lloyds Bank,Threadneedle Street.   His family used to visit us in Hadleigh during the summer months and made trips to Southend, this was in the early 1920s.

It appears that he lost his job, left his wife and turned to drink and lived on the streets of London. The Salvation Army eventually picked him up and he spent time in one of their London hostels before being transferred to The Hadleigh Colony.  By now, he had sobered-up and was given a job in the office just inside the Colony gates at the bottom of Castle Lane, For many months he avoided any connection with my family, but eventually things were forgotten and he used to visit us at “Dorlie” No.72 Castle Road West for cups of tea. I believe he died in the 1970s.