When Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, not only was Canada brought into the conflict but so was the Canadian Salvation Army. Unlike in the Second World War, when the Army was accepted as an independent auxiliary service, most of the church organization’s involvement during the First World War was concentrated at home. However, five Salvationist pastors served with the troops overseas, and one of them, Robert Penfold, served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1917.

A conscientious and diligent correspondent, Robert posted many letters home, where they were faithfully published in The War Cry, the predecessor of Salvationist, sister magazine of Faith & Friends. Dr. R. Gordon Moyles has collected and annotated Robert’s letters for a new generation of readers.

“A Salvation Army Chaplain in World War I resulted from a convergence of two main research fields,” says Moyles, “a personal interest in the First World War, in which my grandfather was wounded at Vimy Ridge, and an ongoing professional interest in The Salvation Army, about which I have written 16 books.”

In working on the project, Moyles was surprised that the letter soffered so much detail about life in the overseas military camps and at the front lines at a time when such letters were subject to censorship. “The letters, supported by interspersed commentary based on research, seemed to me worth retrieving so that readers could become aware of one overlooked aspect of the Army’s wartime effort,” says Moyles. “I hope it can be the beginning of further research into what is an important aspect of Salvation Army history.”

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