Salvation Army leaves Alderney after more than 140 years

THE Salvation Army left Alderney at the weekend after a presence of more than 140 years with a farewell service at the Mission Hall.

At Saturday's farewell service, left to right, Lt Colonel Drew McCombe, Major Denise Cooper (both from UK), Guernsey corps leader Andrew Diaper-Clayson, Roy Romeril (Guernsey), Paul Southcott (Alderney Corps secretary), Pauline Redhead (retired Alderney Envoy) and Major Alan Young. Other Alderney churches and the States were also represented. (Picture by David Nash)

Representatives at the service included Salvation Army officers from Guernsey and the UK, while other churches in the island were represented and a number of Alderney States members also attended in a congregation of more than 50.

Numbers have been declining among the Salvation Army in the island. It has been more than a decade since the local corps has had a full-time officer and its witness had been under the leadership of local members.

‘The Salvation Army has a proud heritage in Alderney and has played an important role in the lives of people in the island, but over the last few years there has been a significant decrease in numbers, due to age and people leaving the island,’ said Lt-Colonel Graham Owen, the Salvation Army’s southern division leader, explaining the decision last October. The Salvation Army arrived in Alderney and opened a corps in 1882.

The worship meeting hall and the officer’s quarters in the island are to be sold. Members of the local corps will be able to transfer their membership to Guernsey.