caption predecessor successor death_date birth_place religion office birth_date term_start image article_title term_end name
horace -rrb- , germany , 1932 rumbold and edward higgins -lrb- at far right bramwell booth t. henry howard evangeline booth henry w. mapp 14 december 1947 highbridge , somerset , england christian 3rd the staff of the salvation army general of the salvation army 3rd chief of 26 november 1864 february 1929 1919 bundesarchiv bild 102-13847 , edward higgins und horace rumbold.jpg edward higgins
 november 1934 1929 edward higgins
edward higgins

edward john higgins -lrb- 26 november 1864 -- 14 december 1947 -rrb- was the third general of the salvation army -lrb- 1929 -- 1934 -rrb- .
he was born in highbridge , somerset , england .
his father became a much revered commissioner in the army 's ranks , and travelled extensively in the interests of the organisation .
his mother died when he was 8 years of age .
he became an officer in 1882 at the age of 17 .
most of his earlier career was spent as an officer in the united states .
during his time as an officer in the u.s. , there was great divisions amongst the american salvationists .
he was known as the peace maker , thus earning him a lot of respect .
in 1888 , he married captain catherine price .
when higgins was 42 years of age , commissioner and chief of the staff bramwell booth gave him the oversight of the evangelistic work in the united kingdom .
by this time , higgins was a great speaker , and had a lot of leadership skills which was needed in this role .
the siege of london was a 10 day effort that took place in november 1912 .
it was an attempt to bring a prayer service to the people out in the core of london .
it was such a huge success that it was repeated in 1913 .
in 1919 , general bramwell booth appointed him as his chief of the staff .
edward was never one to lead a political agenda , but he took his new role in stride .
however , 1929 was a real test for edward and a critical time in the history of the salvation army , the calling of the first high council to elect a new general .
general bramwell booth was asked to resign because of his ill health over the past several months .
he refused , however , and was then reluctantly deposed from office , to be succeeded in the election of edward .
as general booth sued , the matter was put in the hands of the court .
the court ruled in favour of the high council .
thus , edward was the first general to be elected by the high council .
as leader of the international salvation army , general higgins still had his personal touch and warmth towards others .
during his term in office as the general , he allowed a centenary of william booth 's birth to be celebrated .
he also presided over a gathering in the royal albert hall , and among those taking part was then prime minister , the rt hon. stanley baldwin .
when he retired , his farewell meeting was held at the royal albert hall on 1 november 1934 , presided over by the then duke of york -lrb- later george vi -rrb- , who was accompanied by the duchess -lrb- later queen elizabeth the queen mother . -rrb-
the general and his wife then went to live in florida , and later moved to canada .
the general and his wife had 7 children .
he continued to prove himself a true `` son of the army '' by maintaining as much interest in the relatively small corps around them as he had done in the greater issues when in office .
mrs general catherine higgins died in 1952 .
higgins wrote a number of books , including `` stewards of god '' and `` personal holiness '' .
general edward higgins died at age 83 .
