This is my story - 48

48 – Working with Lieut. Colonel and Mrs. Earle Maxwell.

Our first contact with Captain and Mrs. Earle Maxwell was in 1960 when one of our girls at the Penang Corps Ng Kan Ying was going to Australia to study nursing at Manly. I wrote a letter addressed to “Commanding Officer, Manly Corps, Australia.” The Maxwells happened to be the Corps Officers that that time. He graciously responded by return mail and when Ng Kan Ying arrived at Manly she was warmly welcomed. We kept in touch with the Maxwells after that. One day they came to Singapore and as the General Secretary I was able to arrange accommodation for them in one of the vacant units at The Salvation Army Headquarters.

Then in 1979 Lieut. Colonel Earle Maxwell were appointed to be the leaders of the Singapore/Malaysia Command. They arrived in September.

A month after their arrival was the visit of General and Mrs. Arnold Brown. It involved a lot of preparation, but the Singapore officers and comrades were very helpful and all worked extremely hard to make the visit a success. The General was most fascinated with our Headquarters’ building and old Chinese mansion at 207 Clemenceau Avenue. He pointed to the Chinese carvings depicting all sorts of weird creatures and made a remark which I’ve not forgotten. With a twinkle in his eye he said, “These are the former leaders of The Salvation Army in Singapore and Malaysia!”

Well, Lieut. Colonel Maxwell got down to work immediately and initiated a five year plan. Three more cadets, Lee Kong Yee, Richard Fong and Teoh Ghim Leng (now Lieut. Colonel Wendy Lee) were accepted for training in the Philippines. It was felt at that time not feasible to train such a small number of cadets in Singapore. It was envisaged that there should be a Zonal Training College in Manila. Major Gunvor Paulsson was transferred to the Philippines to be the Education Officer.

It was during the time of Lieut. Colonels Earle and Wilmar Maxwell that the Haven was established. The Army decided to amalgamate the two Homes for Girls and Children under one administration. So the Haven, costing $2 million was built and opened on 23 May 1981 by the Acting Minister for Social Affairs, Dr. Ahmad Mattar.

The original plan was to have all the residents of different age groups living under one roof. The different sections catered for the different groups – children, youth and the elderly, the latter housed directly below the Hostel for girls. In this way the elderly could act as grandparents to the children and youth. It was the ideal envisaged and implemented for a period of time. Subsequent leadership changed the plans and turned the units for the elderly into quarters for officers.

We felt the need to start a Corps (church) right from the beginning so my wife and I took over the additional responsibility of Corps Officers and began meetings in August 1981. On the weekends when we had to be away on field inspection and conduct meetings elsewhere, other officers stood in for us. Everyone was happy to make their contribution to the new Pasir Panjang Corps.

On 30th January 1982, the Corps was officially opened. It had been sixteen years since the last Corps was opened in Kuala Lumpur. (See Chapter 31) Lieutenant Samuel Chong Kok Hong, who had been assisting us, was appointed the Commanding Officer. We remained in the Corps as soldiers and gave full support to the Lieutenant and my wife continued with her women’s ministry in the Corps.

With the support of the officers, staff and residents of Haven the Corps grew. Sections catering for the various age groups were started. The ladies from the Elderly Section of the Haven were pleased to have fellowship at the weekly Home League meetings. Children from the Haven formed the nucleus of the Sunday School. Soon children from Clementi Housing Estate joined in and we had a thriving children’s work. Youth from the Hostel joined the older children of the Haven formed the Youth Group.

Twenty years later, Pasir Panjang Corps closed its doors and the soldiers, adherents and friends moved to Praisehaven, Upper Bukit Timah to form the William Booth Corps. My wife and I, by now retired were given the responsibility of conducting the last meeting at Pasir Panjang Corps on 7th July 2002. Majors Allan and Esther Satterlee the Corps Officers conducted the ceremony of closure.

It was our privilege of joy to work with Lieut. Colonels Earle and Wilmar Maxwell till December 1982, when we farewelled from Singapore to take up our first overseas appointments as Officer Commanding and President of Women’s Organisations in the Hong Kong/Taiwan Command.