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Salvation Army International Heritage Centre

William Booth College


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 2133 WBC

Held at: Salvation Army International Heritage Centre

Title: William Booth College

Date(s): 1883-2012

Level of description: Collection (fonds)

Extent: 57 boxes and 18 volumes

Name of creator(s): Salvation Army

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

The training of men officers began experimentally in Manchester under Ballington Booth in 1879, and in the following year started on a regular basis in two small Training Homes in Hackney: for women, at Gore Road, and for men, at Devonshire House, Mare Street. In November 1881, the former London Orphan Asylum, Clapton was acquired for use as the National Training Barracks and Congress Hall. This served as the principal centre for training officers until the new William Booth Memorial Training College was opened at Denmark Hill in 1929, though during the late 1880s and 1890s, some of the training of cadets took place in regional depots or garrisons, in addition to training at Clapton. The training centres were known at various times as the Training Home, Training Garrison, or Training College, and by 1904 the centre at Clapton had become the International Training College, though later it was known as the International Training Garrison (c 1917-1929). For a few years in the early 1920s additional accommodation at the Mildmay Conference Centre was used for men cadets. At Denmark Hill, the college was generally known as the International Training College (ITC), or the William Booth Memorial Training College until 2000, when the name was changed to the William Booth College.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

These are the papers of William Booth College, 1883-2012.

The training of Salvation Army Officers began in 1879, but was based in various locations and training homes, and known under varying names. It became established in Denmark Hill in 1929, and (as of 2013) is still at this location. It was known as the William Booth Memorial Training College, but as of 2000, is known as William Booth College.

This collection is the complete records of all Salvation Army training from 1879, with the first records here dated from 1883 until the present day. As training before 1929 was not centralised and under different names, it has been regarded for the purposes of this catalogue that these are still 'William Booth College' records under a different name.

Due to the original order and context of the collection not surviving, the records have been arranged in a logical structure and not one which relays the original functions/departments of the college.

The arrangement of the records is as follows:

WBC/1: Records of the administration of the college.

WBC/2: Records relating to cadets (individuals training at the college to become officers).

WBC/3: Records relating to the staff of William Booth College.

WBC/4: Records relating to College premises.

WBC/5: Records relating to the financial administration of the College.

WBC/6: Photographs of Cadets, Officers and College buildings.

WBC/7: Records of the School for In-Service Training and Development (SISTAD)

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

See Scope and Content.

Conditions governing access:

This collection is partially available for research. Some files, particularly those relating to Cadets and Officers, are closed under the Data Protection Act. Please enquire for details. Open files can be viewed in the reading room of The Salvation Army International Heritage Centre, open Tue-Fri 9.30-4.00. It is advisable to make an appointment. Tel: 0207 326 7800; email: heritage@salvationarmy.org.uk.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Contact the Archive for further information.

Finding aids:

Contact the Archive for further information.

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Contact the Archive for further information.

ALLIED MATERIALS

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Archivist's note: Catalogued by Naomi Sharp, June-July 2008 and Steven Spencer, January-February 2010

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: EAD into AIM25 October 2014


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Religious education | Social science education

Personal names

Corporate names
Salvation Army

Places