The 1904 Melksham Convention
This old postcard caught my eye, not least because of the display of fancy Edwardian hats.
It shows the Melksham Convention, held on the 21st and 22nd June 1904. The 11th annual such gathering of Christian workers and others to discuss the religious and social issues of the time.
The Convention was organised by Mr & Mrs George Stratton in the grounds of their home, ‘Giffords’ in Melksham, Wiltshire. There they had pitched two large marquees – one for the meetings and the other to serve luncheon – to welcome around 500 delegates.
Florence Booth
On this occasion, the keynote speaker was Mrs Bramwell Booth. Born Florence Soper in Monmouthshire in 1861, she had become an officer in the Salvation Army as a young woman. Growing friendly with the Booth family she married Bramwell Booth at the age of 21 in 1882.
Despite having seven children herself, Florence Booth worked to develop The Women’s Social Work1 of the Salvation Army supporting destitute women, first in her own home, and eventually in almost 50 rescue homes across England.
A report in the Wiltshire & Trowbridge Times2 described how Mrs Booth gave ‘an impressive and deeply interesting address’. She told delegates:
‘No one was more unfit naturally for religious work than she, and she wanted her hearers to know that the plea that they could do nothing in the work of rescuing their brothers and sisters was only an invention of the devil, and was a horrible lie’.
Wiltshire & Trowbridge Times
The General and the King
Mrs Booth assured the crowd of her confidence in receiving future funding for Salvation Army work. That very morning General William Booth, (founder of The Salvation Army and her father-in-law) had met King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace. They ‘were very much pleased with one another’ she announced.
It’s impossible to positively identify Florence Booth from the Melksham Convention postcard. However, if you look closely, you can see that some of the delegates are wearing Salvation Army bonnets.
Notes
1 The Salvation Army
2 British Newspaper Archive: Wiltshire Times & Trowbridge Advertiser 25th June 1904