The best from the Blues - George Carpenter
AN UNSUNG HERO
From the floor of a printing shop to lead The Salvation Army through one of its most difficult times, General George Carpenter may well be one of our unsung heroes.
By David Woodbury
As the insanity of World War Two plunged the world into a great abyss, The Salvation Army needed a steady hand on the tiller and that hand was the hand of Australian-born George Lyndon Carpenter. The history of The Salvation Army is littered with stories of people who, under the direction of Holy Spirit, have carved out a ministry for God and the Army from very humble and insignificant beginnings. Perhaps none more remarkable than George Carpenter, fifth General of The Salvation Army.
It may well be that George Carpenter is one of the unsung heroes of our movement; from the floor of a printing shop to lead The Salvation Army through one of its most difficult times; from a rebellious larrikin, to a senior officer unfairly censured by General Bramwell Booth, George’s character was refined and tried by the fire of adversity and conflict, yet he emerged as gold. His successor, General Albert Orsborn was to pay him the highest of compliments: The light shone through him. The windows of his soul were always clean, and his outlook was high and wide. There were no dark holes and corners in his character. Yet those who supposed this offending guilelessness was an easy prey to the more worldly wise soon discovered their error!
Boy from the bush
Born in the Hunter Valley of NSW on 20 June 1872, the grandson of English immigrants from Bristol, and son of Tristan and
Hannah Carpenter, George enjoyed the rural life style – swimming, horse riding, fishing and duck shooting in the rivers and marshes of the valley.
Although his initial urge was to become a teacher, young George took up a position as an apprentice compositor with the Gloucester Gazette (later to become the Raymond Terrace Examiner). His early experience on the staff of the Raymond Terrace Examiner and on the Blue Mountains Express was to provide him with a good foundation for his life’s work. He never regretted the experience he gained in the printing shop, and the knowledge of world affairs you learned from his association with printers.
Although he was well liked around the town, his high-spirited, mischievous attitude to life often had him in trouble, causing one of his acquaintances to challenge: It’s a damned pity you don’t join The Salvation Army as your mother has. The Army had only recently arrived in town and Hannah, George’s mother, soon joined up. George, however, was one of the lads who sat on the fence and jeered as the soldiers held their open-air meetings. As Hannah began family prayers in the home, her husband, Tristan, suffered in silence and George simply ignored the practice.
Change in direction
One autumn Sunday, George was persuaded by his mother to attend a service led by Joseph Walker at the local Methodist chapel. George’s plans for that night were anything but spiritual as he led eight teenage boys to the back seat and told them he would give them a sign for the fun to begin.
As the service progressed the spirit of God was challenging young George and the words of the sermon text: How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, caused some deep soul-searching for the young man. Following a personal word from the preacher, George knelt at the communion rail and said “Yes” to God. Shortly after being elected as the fifth General of The Salvation Army, George was to tell a newspaper reporter of that experience: My whole life was changed, and from that evening I decided to devote my life to spiritual matters. I joined the local Salvation Army, and immediately took an active part in its work.
Completing his apprenticeship, George secured a position as a compositor with the Blue Mountains Express. On returning from work one evening he stopped to listen to a Salvation Army open-air meeting and, obeying the promptings of his conscience, crossed the road and joined the small band of Salvationists. He was soon given a bundle of War Crys by the corps officer, Captain Albert Mytton, and introduced to hotel ministry.
The War Cry had introduced George to the founder of The Salvation Army, General William Booth, and he travelled to Sydney to hear the ageing General preach. Some 40 years later he was to write of the occasion: The General’s talks thrilled my young heart; the throngs of penitent more so. I had never seen such sights of salvation! George returned to Raymond Terrace to be sworn in as a soldier in The Salvation Army.
By 1892 George had heard God’s call to be an officer in The Salvation Army and filled in the necessary forms. A letter of acceptance soon arrived from Commissioner Henry Howard and George informed headquarters in Melbourne that he would arrive at the end of May to commence his training.
Pioneer in a new Army
On 27 May 1892 George arrived at The Salvation Army Training Home in Punt Road, Richmond, Victoria, and with 35 other men cadets, commenced his training. At the Men’s Training Home … Cadet Carpenter in 1892, was appointed bugler. “We just heard him early to great advantage,” wrote a fellow cadet. A favourite tune was –
Then awake! Then awake!
Happy song! Happy song!
After six weeks of intensive training, Probationary Lieutenant Carpenter was appointed to special duties in the Property Department at Territorial Headquarters. He was just 20 years of age and The Salvation Army had only been operating in Australia for 12 years. Among his many duties was the management of the officers’ hostel at Marchmont in Melbourne. The people skills learnt here were to stand him in good stead for the path God had chosen for him. His ability to help people through personal conversation began at Marchmont; in later years he became skilled in the art of counselling and interviewing.
During his early years of officership, George had made a resolve never to leave my room in the morning without having concentrated my thoughts deeply and intently on the fact of the actual presence of God, there with me, encompassing me, and filling the room as literally as it fills the heaven. This resolve, committed to writing, signed and dated 1899, hung over his bed all his life. Despite the deep spiritual essence of his life, there can be no doubting that George remained a man of spirit in whom something of the larrikin could always be found. In its obituary following his death, The Sydney Morning Herald of 10 April 1948 contained the following: In one street battle General Carpenter is reported to have shouted as he fought to defend the Army’s colours against hooligans: “that (a heavy punch in the jaw for one tough) for the Lord; that for the Army – that for George Carpenter!”
In 1896, then with the rank of Ensign, George was appointed as assistant to the editor of The War Cry. Here he was to meet Captain Minnie Rowell and, although he did not recognise it at time, she would become his lifelong partner. However, while still managing the officers’ hostel at Marchmont, George was to become acquainted with the housekeeper, a rather attractive Miss Edwards. His friendship with her was to cause George considerable heartache when he indicated his fondness for her and suggested she consider officership. Although the friendship did not progress – and George was to pursue his friendship and subsequently marry Minnie Rowell – Miss Edwards, who had since become an officer, went to headquarters and lodged a complaint against him. Commandant Herbert Booth, then leader of The Salvation Army in Australia, investigated the complaint and concluded that although George had acted foolishly and gone against Army regulations, he had not been dishonest. A subsequent breach-of-promise court case was to cost him £100 and result in a great deal of negative interest in the press.
On 21 June 1899 Commandant Herbert Booth conducted the wedding of Adjutant George Carpenter and Ensign Minnie Rowell in the City Temple in Bourke Street Melbourne. Following the ceremony and words from Herbert Booth three people came forward to kneel at the penitent form. A brief honeymoon in their quarters followed before both George and Minnie returned to their appointments in the Editorial Department. Various appointments followed with a time as vice-principal at the new Federal Training Home in Melbourne. In 1911, following instructions from International Headquarters in London, Majors George and Minnie Carpenter sailed for London.
Career rises and falls
At International Headquarters, George was appointed to the Editorial Department and became the News editor for The War Cry. Minnie was summonsed to the office of Chief of the Staff, headed up by Bramwell Booth, and requested to assist him with the writing of reports.
During 1911 George Carpenter came to the notice of General William Booth when he accompanied the Founder on his last great motorcade around England. On returning from the motorcade George was appointed as the Assistant Business Manager and Secretary to the Editorial Board. His new position brought him into close contact with Bramwell Booth and following the death of the Founder on 20 August 1912, George and Minnie Carpenter were valuable to him and even more to the Army.
In 1914 George had a new position as Literary Secretary at International Headquarters and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to assisting the new General Bramwell Booth in his administration of the international Salvation Army. Carpenter never left IHQ until the General’s office was darkened. There is little doubt that the two men shared a close personal and working relationship. Bramwell Booth demanded high standards of literary and editorial work, careless work brought down the General’s wrath.
The Carpenter family now numbered five, with son George Raymond and daughters Renie and Stella. These were to become difficult days for George and Minnie Carpenter. On 21 October 1921, they lost their daughter Renie. By the mid 1920s there was growing unrest with Bramwell Booth’s management of The Salvation Army and an anonymous pamphlet, The Blast of the Trumpet, criticising his leadership came to his attention. He demanded to know from George who was the author of the document to which George replied: General, it's not so much who wrote it, but is there any truth to it?
Aspects of the pamphlet were discussed and the General asked for George’s views. As the discussion continued it became clear that Carpenter’s assessment was totally unacceptable to the General. In the days and weeks that followed it became obvious that George and Minnie were no longer in favour with the General and George’s contact and close relationship with him declined. For George this was a great sadness for he revered the General as a man of God. A great deal of correspondence ensued between the General and George with the result that at the General’s bidding, the Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Edward J. Higgins, despatched the Carpenters back to Australia, George to hold the position in the Editorial Department which he had held some 20 years earlier. Despite an instruction that officers were not to attend the departure of the Carpenters from St. Pancras Station, a [large] crowd of fourteen Commissioners [plus] senior officers and employees gathered to bid farewell to their comrades.
Lesser men than George Carpenter may well have had their spirit broken by such unjust treatment. On his last day at International Headquarters, during the daily noon prayer meeting, George responded to some of the consternation over his new appointment by saying: I have long felt that a man’s opportunity is no bigger than the man, words that were to prove not only the man’s character but also be prophetic for the days ahead.
Wider ministry
In January 1929, a High Council of The Salvation Army was called by the Chief of the Staff, Commissioner Higgins. General Bramwell Booth, who had been in ill health for some time, was requested to retire, a request he refused. As a result the High Council terminated the active service of General Bramwell Booth and Edward J. Higgins was elected the third General of The Salvation Army on 13 February 1929.
With the change in international leadership came a change in the Carpenters’ appointment. On 15 April 1929 George Carpenter was appointed as the Chief Secretary in Australia Eastern Territory, a post he held until 1933 when he was promoted to Commissioner and appointed to lead The Salvation Army in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Upon his arrival, George discovered the territory was in serious debt. George and Minnie approached the dilemma as they had many times in their lives on their knees to God in prayer.
There was no denying that George was the right man in the right place at the right time. He seems to have a God-given ability to connect with people in need. The friendliest of men, Carpenter naturally seemed to give to his sympathy and interest the warmth of affection, and, although poor in this world’s goods, his hand was often in his pocket on behalf of the needy.
Having grown up understanding the power of the press and public relations, George developed these channels as part of the vision God had given him for the territory. Soon afterwards a phone call early one morning from an excited officer informed the Commissioner of a considerable legacy which had been left to the Army. It was to become just one of the many financial contributions that came as an answer to their faithful prayers.
A cable from General Evangeline Booth, who had succeeded General Higgins as the international leader of The Salvation Army, arrived for the Carpenters in May 1937. It read: DESIRE TO APPOINT YOU TO CANADA – WISH TO KNOW YOUR VIEW Commissioner Carpenter replied by cable: SURPRISED, HUMBLED, DARE NOT REFUSE, WILL GO IN THE STRENGTH OF THE LORD.
While financial challenges in Canada were different from South America, George soon discovered the Great Depression which had swept the world had left a severe stain on resources in Canada. However, he soon realised that what was needed was not so much financial resources as human resources. As he moved about the country he laid the claims of God through officership before young people. To his delight a number responded, resulting in a training session in 1938 of 50 cadets. To get acquainted with Canadian Salvationists in 1937 he and Minnie travelled from Newfoundland to Vancouver by train visiting some 50 Salvation Army churches and leading five congresses.
George never forgot his humble beginnings and the transformation God had made in his life. From Canada he was to write to an old friend back in Australia: We were none of us any better than we ought to have been in those days, and I am glad there came a time when I saw a higher and better way of life – a life with a purpose in it, and in which one can make a contribution to the moral and spiritual wellbeing of his day and generation.
Rock in the storm
With the imminent retirement of General Evangeline Booth, a High Council was convened in London in August 1939, to which George was summonsed. Searching through the list of officers with whom he had cultivated friendships over the years, George looked for a man of vision, courage and faith who would lead the Army in the critical days ahead. In his heart he hoped that God would place his hand on some strong, young godly leader. Although there was strong feeling that he would be nominated, he neither sought it, or expected it, but would consider it, should it occur.
On 15 August 1939, with the storm clouds of war gathering over the world, the High Council of The Salvation Army met to elect a new leader. In the final analysis three English and two Australian officers were nominated, including George Lyndon Carpenter. Commissioner Carpenter led from the first ballot and on 24 August 1939 was confirmed as the General Elect. Later he was to say of that occasion: Were I not clearly conscious of the Divine overruling in the deliberations of the recent High Council, I might well have hesitated to accept such a charge. George went on to acknowledge that he anticipated that the days ahead would be dark and difficult. It is possible that we are on the edge of testings and trials in the world. We must be steadfast in courage and faith.
In his first message as General to the officers and soldiers of The Salvation Army, he said: I believe the Lord expects Salvationists to be a separate people – separated wholly in their spirit from the spirit of the world united with Christ in His saving purposes; people impelled by love and mercy to spend themselves unstintingly in selfless labour for Christ, the service of the sinful and needy. ... we are a passionate people – passionate in desire and desperate and labour for the Salvation of mankind.
For George, his time as General coincided with perhaps the most traumatic and disturbing events the international Salvation Army had to face as World War Two raged around his global organisation. His term began at a headquarters sandbagged against air attacks and ended with an Army whose officers and soldiers were decimated by almost six years of conflict. His six and a half years of international leadership have been entirely overshadowed by the profound disturbances and sharp griefs of conflict, and by the ruthless trampling down of plans.
To compound George’s leadership hardships, in May 1941 International Headquarters was completely destroyed by fire following an air raid with the consequent disruption of every department of the Army. Many documents and records were so badly damaged or destroyed that it became increasingly difficult for effective administration. One cannot describe how our wartime General kept his faith and courage. Gradually, he led us to successful reorganisation, so that our vital work did not permanently suffer.
With the war restricting his ability to travel the world as the Salvation Army’s leader, George used his literary skills to not only reach but also encourage his people. His regular column entitled, From my Desk, made its way into every War Cry that could be accessed during those difficult years. The production of New Battleground, a Christmas booklet to fit the pocket of a soldier’s battle dress, was officially adopted in the United States as a handbook for all protestants. The General’s position enabled him to comprehend the Army’s place within the world wide church. He recognised that The Army has something to give the Christian Church and can give it without in any way losing its identity or power as a separate Movement.
On 20 June 1945, General George Lyndon Carpenter was due to retire and vacate the office of General as required by Salvation Army regulation. However, wartime restrictions had made it impossible to assemble a High Council in time. Following correspondence between the Chief of the Staff and Salvation Army leaders around the world it was decided to extend General Carpenter’s term in office until June 1946.
Following the conclusion of World War Two, General and Mrs Carpenter were able to visit many of the countries closed to them during war years, including a visit to their homeland of Australia. In Melbourne he was able to visit The Salvation Army printing works where he had been the assistant manager during the 1890s.
Final curtain
George and Minnie Carpenter retired to the Sydney suburb of Earlwood. Sadly the General’s retirement was brief; he took ill and was promoted to glory on 9 April 1948. A funeral service was held in the Sydney Congress Hall before he was interned at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney. In a fitting tribute to one who had started his life as a Salvation Army bandsmen in the Melbourne Staff Band, a band headed his funeral possession through the busy streets of Sydney, playing the hymn tune, Hiding in Thee.
His successor, General Albert Orsborn, was later to pay tribute to his life: My outstanding impression of our fifth General was of translucent honesty and simplicity. ... He was not of the world, but he lived in it, and always made shrewd appraisals of men and events. The London Times in its obituary recalled: He gave them what he promised on the day of his election – “an example in simplicity, an example in faith, an example in sacrifice, an example in courage”, while The Sydney Morning Herald paid its own tribute to his life and ministry: General Carpenter has been described as one of the greatest and most saintly sons of Australia.
Further reading
Stella Carpenter, A man of peace in a world at war, Private publication, Sydney, 1993.
Miriam Richards, One of the Gang,