What records does The Salvation Army hold?

They should hold records about these places

The Salvation Army holds records about their: 

• Rescue Homes for Adults
• Children's Homes and 
• maternity hospitals (also known as ‘Bethany Hospitals’. Maternity hospitals were for married and unmarried women and teenage girls during pregnancy and childbirth, and for newborn babies). 

Some records might be missing from The Salvation Army 

Learning that your records may be missing information or have little information can bring up a range of emotions. Find out what help and support is available.      

Records were often not kept, or were destroyed or lost when institutions closed 

The Salvation Army started work in New Zealand in 1883, and for a long time they did not have policies around keeping and disposing of records. Their institutions’ records were often lost or destroyed when they closed.

After they created record keeping policies, these were not always followed nationally by all staff. Also, when institutions closed, their records may have been lost while being transferred to the Salvation Army Archives.

During the Depression (1929-1935) and the World Wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945), records often were not kept and those that were made are often missing.

The current Salvation Army Archives opened in the 1990’s. They also had an Archives Historical Trust that was set up in 1975, but only some of the records from this archive were transferred to the current archives.  

Despite all this, The Salvation Army holds many records. 

Records destroyed or lost during specific events 

Salvation Army records may have been lost during these events: