Retired officer celebrates centenary by leading Castleford Worship

A retired Salvation Army Officer has marked his milestone 100th birthday by preaching at Castleford church’s Sunday Worship. 

Still an active member of the Corps, Major Ken Lawson was determined that if he made it to 100 he would celebrate by preaching – which he did without notes the Sunday morning after his birthday. 

Becoming a Salvation Army Officer just after the Second World War, Major Ken and his wife Viv, who passed away 16 years ago, led 13 churches across the UK. He also worked in the publishing department at the church and charity’s International Headquarters (IHQ). 

Settling in Normanton, West Yorkshire, after retiring he became a member of the Castleford Corps, playing cornet in their band until about five years ago and in the Yorkshire and Humber Divisional Fellowship Band until about 18 months ago. He still plays at home and can remember the first tune his father taught him. 

Major Ken said: “On my 98th birthday, I was asked ‘are you looking forward to being 100?’ and I said ‘Of course I'd like to get there, but at this point there's no certainty, your birth certificate doesn't come with a length of age guarantee!’

“But I said if I do live to be 100, A) I'd like to be well enough to preach and B) I'd like to preach when it’s my birthday weekend. I've been trying to preach the Gospel since I was 13 years old, so if anything has been the main occupation of my life, it's been that.

“I don’t see very well now so I preached from memory. I have preached without notes several times before, but never without an open Bible or printed text that I could refer to.” 

The weekend of celebrations included a festival with the Castleford and Fellowship bands, which Ken still attends for the friendship. He selected some music for them to play and suggested a vocal soloist – Hannah Wainwright to represent his wife Viv, who was an accomplished singer. Cake and a party with around 70 people took place on the Saturday. 

He also received 150 birthday cards and messages from people who he had crossed paths with throughout his 37 years of Officership, as well as a letter from The Salvation Army General Lyndon Buckingham. 

Major Ken was born into a Salvation Army family where his father was Bandmaster at the now closed Featherstone Church. 

He said: “My mother told me that the first place I went to when I was two weeks old was The Salvation Army!

“Featherstone was a small Corps. I grew up there, became a Junior Solider and at the age of six or seven, my dad began to teach me to play the cornet. I was playing in the Senior Band at the age of 10, taking part in open air gatherings. 

“Open air gatherings were a big part of life for the band back then. We’d play in the town centre several times over the weekend. My dad worked night shifts at the pit, and we used to joke that the colliers went to work for a rest after the weekend!” 

Major Ken joined the Corps Cadets when he turned 13 and felt the calling for officership when he was 18. However, the Second World War interrupted those plans. He registered as aircrew, but by the time he was called up in November of 1944 they wanted infantry. He was later transferred to the Royal Army Service Corps to take charge of launch boats, but before seeing action, the War finished and he found himself at the Salvation Army Training College in London. It was here that he met Viv when they were both Sergeants. 

His road to Officership was not smooth sailing after a bout of pneumonia almost took his life and further illness left him on light duties for the first two years after leaving college. 

His first appointment was as an Assistant Officer at Brighton Congress Hall, but his first solo posting was at Great Wakering in Essex. After he married Viv in 1950, they moved to Old Ford in the East End of London where they had their first child Judith. 

Recalling that time Major Ken said: “East London was a real change. Then we went to Deptford in South London and then Falmouth in Cornwall. Well, now you talk about a culture shock. We were moved up country to Tavistock, Devon, where we were stayed for nearly three years and where my son Martyn was born.” 

They went back to London to Tottenham, then up to Crook in County Durham and Grangetown in Middlesbrough, before heading back down south to the commuter town of Harpenden near St Albans.

Major Ken said: “There were some places that were easier to manage and others that were more fulfilling than others, but on the whole we had a good life. Viv and I worked well together. Viv was great with people, for example, if we went to a conference she would know the names of most of the people there, how many children they had and so forth. She was so interested in people, and had a gift for them.” 

In the 1970s when he was in his 40s, Major Ken returned to education studying for a Theology degree as a mature student at Hull University. 

After spells in Goole, Stockport and Kettering, he then moved to the Literary Department at IHQ where he wrote and edited the Sunday School Teaching Manual and the devotional book The Soldier’s Armoury. He spent time as the Assistant International Literary Secretary and as editor of The Officer magazine. 

He said: “I enjoyed being in the Literary Department because it gave me the chance to do research and creative writing. It was a real thrill and a real challenge, and I loved going to work every day.” 

After retirement, Ken continued his education with an undergraduate degree at Leeds University and a Master’s Degree at Durham. 

Reflecting on his calling, Major Ken feels he did a worthwhile job even in hard situations – which is reflected in the number of people who got in touch to mark his birthday. 

He said: “The messages have come. One came from Australia, from someone who had been a little lad when we were at Tavistock, and another from when we were at Deptford. It’s been an interesting life. One of the things that seemed to come out of the celebrations is I had to keep pinching myself and saying ‘is this me they're talking about who did all these great things?’ It’s been lovely to hear people reminiscing.” 

Major Ken is close to his family – his two children, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Seeing them grow up brings him a lot of joy. He also still manages to get to Castleford Corps a couple of times a month. 

And what would he say is the secret to reaching 100? 

He added: “I think probably a fair measure of contentment helps. I’ve been determined enough to go for the things I wanted to do, like preaching the Gospel and going off to University and that kind of thing. When I decide to do something, I do it wholeheartedly, but have I been overly ambitious? I don’t think so.

“I have a neighbour who, when I see her, will invariably say to me ‘Ken, it's no fun getting old, is it?’ And I usually say ‘well there's a lot of things I can't do now, and that's a bit of an annoyance, but on balance, I'm enjoying my old age. I'm happy to be here’.”