The Leger des Heils is the name of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

arm of

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. The Leger des Heils was largely established by a Dutch teacher, Gerrit Govaars, who together with the English officers Captain and Mrs Joseph K. Tyler, commenced Army work in the Gerard Doustraat,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, on 8 May 1887. The organisation spread rapidly through Holland and into the various Dutch-speaking territories. Operations soon spread throughout the country and reached the '

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

' (present day

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) in 1894. Further advances were made in 1926 in Surinam and in 1927 in

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

Gerrit Govaars

Gerrit Jurriaan Govaars (19 April 1866 in

– 22 October 1954 in Soest) was a Dutch teacher who was instrumental in setting up ''Leger des Heils''. Govaars (as 'Lieutenant Gerrit J. Govaars'), together with the English officer Major J. F. Tyler, commenced Army work in the Gerard Doustraat, Amsterdam, on 8 May 1887. Operations soon spread throughout the country and reached Indonesia (then the '

') in 1894. Further advances were made in 1926 in Surinam and in 1927 in Curaçao. As 'Colonel Gerrit J. Govaars', he was a recipient of the Salvation Army's 'Order Of The Founder' in 1947. Govaars composed a number of

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

that the 'Leger des Heils' employed in their activities. His grandson Robert Simpson was a noted

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composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

References

The Salvation Army by region Christian organizations established in 1887 Protestantism in the Netherlands 1887 establishments in the Netherlands Christian denominations in the Netherlands nl:Leger des Heils {{Netherlands-org-stub