Herbert Howard Booth was the fifth of William and Catherine Booth's eight children. Born in 1862, he was in his mid-teens when the Christian Mission started by his parents in the East End of London was transformed into the Salvation Army. Herbert, like his siblings, was thrown into the thick of the battles which raged around the new movement. At the age of 22, after two turbulent years helping his older sister Kate set up operations in France, he was put in charge of cadet officer training in England.