Frederick Coutts,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 September 1899 – 6 February 1986) was the 8th

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

(1963-1969).

Biography

The son of corps

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, he was born in Kirkcaldy,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 1899. In 1920, he became an

Officer of The Salvation Army An officer in The Salvation Army is a Salvationist who is an ordained minister of the Christian faith, but who fulfills many other roles not usually filled by clergy of other denominations. They do so having been trained, ordained and commission ...

from the corps in Batley,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He served in divisional work in the British Territory from 1921 to 1925, when he became a Corps Officer of the British Territory. He would serve as Corps Officer of the British Territory for 10 years. It was during his time as Corps Officer of the British Territory that he married his first wife, Lieutenant Bessie Lee in 1925. Beginning in 1935, he would work 18 years in the Literary Department of International Headquarters. During his time there, he was the writer of the International Company Orders from 1935 to 1946, Editor of The Officers’ Review from 1947 to 1953, Assistant to Literary Secretary from 1947 to 1952, then in 1952, he became the Literary Secretary himself for a year. In 1953, Frederick would move from Literary Secretary to Training Principal at the International Training College. He would hold this job for four years. In 1957, he would become the Australia Eastern Territorial Commander for six years.

Personal life

His first wife, Bessie Lee died in 1967. A graduate of Manchester University, she was also a Salvation Army officer. General Coutts married his second wife, Commissioner Olive Gatrall, in 1970. General Coutts retired a day before his 70th birthday, 20 September 1969. General Coutts died at the age of 86 and is buried in New Camberwell Cemetery.

Honours

*In December 1963, Frederick Coutts was elected by the

High Council of The Salvation Army The High Council of The Salvation Army elects a new General in the event of a vacancy or prior to the retirement of the existing office holder. It can also remove a General who can no longer fulfill their duties. It is made up of the Chief of th ...

as General of the Army. *During his time in office, received a Honorary

Doctorate of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from

Chung-Ang University Chung-Ang University (CAU; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak District, Seoul, and ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

in 1966. * Order of Cultural Merit, Korea (1967) *

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1967) *In 1981, he received an Honorary

Doctorate of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

Books

He is the author of the following texts: *''The Timeless Prophets'' (1944) *''Portrait of a Salvationist'' (1955) *''The Call to Holiness'' (1957) *''Essentials of Christian Experience'' (1969) *''The Better Fight'' (1973) *''No Discharge in this War'' (1975) *''No Continuing City'' (1976) *''Bread for my Neighbour'' (1978) *''In Good Company'' (1980) *''The Splendour of Holiness'' (1983) *''The Weapons of Goodwill'' (1986) Extracts from his writings are also published in ''Through the Year with Frederick Coutts'' (1987) a book of daily readings by Peter Cooke.http://salvationarmyusa.org/usn/Publications/WD_1998_Nov_6_General_Frederick_Coutts.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coutts, Frederick 1899 births 1986 deaths Christian writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Korea) Salvation Army officers Scottish Salvationists