From the editor’s desk
What is The Salvation Army? The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity providing services in the community, particularly to those who are vulnerable and marginalised. Motivated by our Christian faith, we offer practical support and services in more than 700 centres throughout the UK to all who need them, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. To find your nearest centre visit salvationarmy.org.uk/find-a-church
NOSTALGIA is not what it used to be. Four hundred years ago, it was considered a disease, with its symptoms including irregular heartbeats and weeping. Today it is associated with heart-warming feelings that are prompted when our memories are taken back to ‘better’ times. Nostalgia has played a big part in the popularity of TV programmes such as Call the Midwife. As we report in this week’s War Cry, the series set in 1960s London returned last weekend. But while the drama’s sets, costumes and music transport viewers back more than 50 years, some of the problems covered would appear to dispel the idea that the ‘good old days’ were better than today. The horrors of the past are not shied away from in another historical drama featured in this week’s War Cry. The film 1917 was released in cinemas yesterday (Friday 10 January). It depicts the experiences of two lance corporals, Blake and Schofield, who are serving on the battlefields of the First World War. Blake and Schofield are fictional characters, but the dangers and distress that cinemagoers will witness through them were very real for millions of people between 1914 and 1918. One of those people was military chaplain William McKenzie. As his biographer Daniel Reynaud tells us, McKenzie went above and beyond the call of duty to support the soldiers under his care. His bravery, which sometimes led him to risk his own life, resulted in his being awarded the Military Cross. Daniel explains that the chaplain was driven by his Christian faith, commenting: ‘His absolute conviction was that he was doing what God had called him to do, and he sought to do it to the max.’ Regardless of how we may view the past, if we take the example of McKenzie and do the good that we can to ‘the max’, then we may help these days become the genuinely good old days of the future.
What is the War Cry? The Salvation Army first published a newspaper called the War Cry in London in December 1879, and we have continued to appear every week since then. Our name refers to our battle for people’s hearts and souls as we promote the positive impact of the Christian faith and The Salvation Army’s fight for greater social justice.
WAR CRY Issue No 7456
Editor: Andrew Stone, Major Deputy Editor: Philip Halcrow Production Editor: Ivan Radford Assistant Editor: Sarah Olowofoyeku Staff Writer: Emily Bright Staff Writer: Claire Brine Editorial Assistant: Linda McTurk Graphic Designer: Rodney Kingston Graphic Designer: Mark Knight War Cry office: 020 7367 4900 Email: warcry@salvationarmy.org.uk The Salvation Army UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN Tel: 0845 634 0101
Contents FEATURES
Subscriptions: 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email: subscriptions@satcol.org
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Labour days Call the Midwife takes viewers back to 1965
Founder: William Booth General: Brian Peddle Territorial Commander: Commissioner Anthony Cotterill Secretary for Communications: Lieut-Colonel Dean Pallant
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Kept in trust How the National Trust began preserving history
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So thoughtful Author on why our minds matter
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Bravery on the battlefield Discovering a real-life First World War hero
Helpline: 020 7367 4888
Published weekly by The Salvation Army ©The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland ISSN 0043-0226 The Salvation Army Trust is a registered charity. The charity number in England and Wales is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. Printed by Walstead Roche Ltd, St Austell, on sustainably sourced paper
Your local Salvation Army centre
REGULARS 4
News and media
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Browsing the Bible
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Now, There’s a Thought!
14 Puzzles 15 War Cry Kitchen Front-page picture: Entertainment One
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