Herbert Booth
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Herbert Booth (August 26, 1862 – September 25, 1926) was the third son of William and Catherine Booth. He oversaw the Limelight Department's development and he was the writer and director for Soldiers of the Cross.
At the age of twenty, Herbert began helping his sister Kate in building up The Salvation Army in France. Two years later, he was given charge of England's cadet officer training. He wrote many songs for The Salvation Army and became a bandmaster and a songster leader. He was the first Salvation Army Officer to use the magic lantern for presentations in England.
In 1886, Herbert Booth took ill and went to Australia to rest and heal. While staying in a mining town there, he found a gold nugget. He eventually forged a ring out of it for his future wife, Dutch Salvationist Cornelie Schoch.
Herbert Booth took command of all Salvation Army operations in the British Isles when he was 26. Then, from 1892-1896, he was the Commandant for the Salvation Army in Canada. Next, he was appointed to the Australasian Territory where his health continued to deteriorate. He struggled with depression, but was still very active in his position.
In Australia, Herbert took considerable interest in the Salvation Army's Limelight Department there. He soon authorized extensive expansion, allowing Limelight to make Australia's first fictional narrative film in 1897. The following year, he and Joe Perry produced Social Salvation, a multimedia presentation that portrayed the work of The Salvation Army in its Australasian Territory.
To celebrate William Booth's seventieth birthday, The Salvation Army started seventy different projects, one of which was the building of an officer training garrison at Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Herbert wrote and directed Soldiers of the Cross, as a recruiting effort for the new garrison.
In 1902, Herbert and Cornelie left The Salvation Army to become a traveling evangelist. He bought Soldiers of the Cross from The Salvation Army, his payment being the copyright for the songs he had written. He used Soldiers of the Cross in his crusades in the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, and Australia for many years.
Herbert and Cornelie had three children, and Cornelie often stayed with the children while Herbert travelled. While Herbert was touring New Zealand in 1920, Cornelie died in England. Three years later, he married Anne Lane, Cornelie's traveling partner in the United States and a former Salvation Army Officer. Three years after that, Herbert died in New York.
