In 2015 the Salvation Army celebrated the 150th anniversary of its birth in the poverty and squalor of London's East End. Today the Army is to be found in towns and cities throughout Britain, its members readily recognised through their military uniform and their reputation for good works widely acknowledged. Many people, however, are unaware of the origins and subsequent development of the organisation. At times Salvationists were imprisoned, beaten up in street riots and ridiculed in the press for their religious beliefs. Despite this persecution the Army put in place a programme of help for the poor and marginalised of such ambition that it radically altered social thinking about poverty. There have been very few attempts at writing a wider and accessible account which locates the Army in its historical context. This is something of an omission given that it has made a unique contribution to the changing social, cultural and religious landscape of Britain. The Salvation Army: 150 years of Blood and Fire aims to provide a history of the organisation for the general reader and is for anyone who is interested in the interplay of people, ideas and events. The book reveals how the story of the Salvation Army raises fundamental questions about issues of power, class, gender and race in modern society; all as pertinent today as they were in Victorian Britain. The Salvation Army: 150 years of Blood and Fire also makes an extensive use of pictures illustrative of the Army's history gathered from around the world, most of which have never previously been published.

The Salvation Army is well known for its work with the poor and disadvantaged. There is, however, much more to the story of the Salvation Army than their highly commendable good works. They have been so closely identified with a programme of social action that their wider history has been marginalized. This history includes a period of astonishing levels of opposition and religious persecution which the Army faced in its early years. Many Salvationists were badly injured in violent street riots against them while at the same time facing imprisonment as the force of the law was brought to bear on their evangelism. Among all those places in Britain where the Salvation Army was persecuted, that in the south-coast town of Eastbourne during the 1880s and 1890s stands out as worthy of attention. The Sussex seaside resort played a hugely important part in the wider anti-Salvation Army narrative as it was in Eastbourne that opposition was among the most violent and protracted. Significantly and surprisingly, the vehemence and savagery was supported by the local Council and Mayor. The narrative of The Mob and The Mayor is chronological and entirely evidence based. It includes: Eyewitness accounts; newspaper reports; Parliamentary papers; Eastbourne Council & Watch Committee Meetings Minutes; and Salvation Army documents. Britain was at times at war with itself as the country came to terms with urban poverty resulting from the Industrial Revolution. The persecution of the Salvation Army at the Victorian seaside sheds a wider light on the struggles to promote social betterment for all.