General Eva Evelyn Burrows, AC, OF (15 September 192920 March 2015) was an Australian Salvation Army Officer and was, from 1986 to 1993, the 13th

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.". O ...

of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

. She served as an Officer of the Salvation Army from 1951 to her retirement in 1993. In 1993

Henry Gariepy Colonel Henry Gariepy (1930–2010) was a Salvation Army officer and the former national editor in chief and literary secretary for The Salvation Army which included The War Cry. He retired in 1995. He held many other positions within the Army such ...

released her biography, ''General of God's Army the Authorized Biography of General Eva Burrows''.

Early life

Burrows was born on 15 September 1929 in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. Her parents, Robert John Guthrie Burrows and Ella Maria Watson Burrows, were both

Salvation Army Officers 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 ...

. The couple had nine children: Dorothy, Joyce, Beverly, Walter, Robert, Bramwell, Elizabeth, Eva and Margaret. With her parents' itinerant life-style Burrows primary schooling was interrupted, she completed her secondary education at

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

, where she was selected as a prefect and Head Girl. From the age of seventeen, Burrows attended the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

and received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in May 1950 with majors in English and History.

Salvation Army

In 1950 Burrows entered The Salvation Army's International Training College in London. She was commissioned as a Salvation Army Officer in 1951. After studying at London University to be a teacher she served at the Howard Institute in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

from 1952 to 1967, was Principal of the Usher Institute from 1966 to 1970, and served at the International College for Officers, at The Cedars,

Sydenham Hill Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisham ...

London, from 1970 to 1975, first as Assistant Principal, then as Principal. She became the leader of the Salvation Army's

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

for Women in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in 1975, and leader of the Salvation Army's work in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

in 1977. In 1980 she became leader of the Salvation Army's work in Scotland, followed in 1982 as leader of the Salvation Army's work in the Australian Southern Territory. In 1986 she was elected General of the Salvation Army by the slimmest margin in the history of the High Council (22 to 24 on the fourth ballot, a margin of one person's vote). In 1986, at 56, General Burrows became the organization’s youngest commander. The Australian-born Eva Burrows was the only woman candidate of seven and was elected by the army’s high council to replace the retiring General Jarl Wahlström. During her seven years as the leader of the Salvation Army she proved highly effective, directing operations in some 90 countries and reawakening the Army’s founding spirit of evangelism by leading it back into Eastern Europe after the fall of communism. At the end of her term as General, she was extended a further two years because of her excellent record and achievements. Burrows continued active salvation warfare, having completed a ten-year post on the Board of the International Bible Society (in 2005), and being the international Champion of the Be A Hero campaign, as well as sitting on the Board of Reference of The Salvation Army War College. She wrote ''A Field For Exploits: Training Leaders For The Salvation Army''.

Death

Burrows died aged 85 on 20 March 2015 at the Coppin Centre in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. She was surrounded by loved ones on the day she passed, and two African nurses who were working there sang the Zimbabwe national anthem with her. A third nurse tending to her was from Usher, a school she had been principal of in then-

Honours

In the

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

Honours of 1986 Burrows was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) with the citation "In recognition of service to the temporal and spiritual welfare of the community and to social justice as the world leader of the Salvation Army". In 1994 it was upgraded to Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).. In 1988 she became an Honorary Doctor of

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's university in Seoul founded in 1886 by Mary F. Scranton under Emperor Gojong. It was the first university founded in South Korea. Currently, Ewha is one of the world's largest female educational inst ...

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 ...

, and was awarded an Honorary LLD from

Asbury University Asbury University is a private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The school offers 50-plus majors across 17 departments. In the fal ...

in the USA in 1988. In December 1993, she received an honorary Doctor of

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from her alma mater, the

. On 1 January 2001 Burrows received a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

" r service to the Australian community".. In the same year she was also inducted to the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the cele ...

. Burrows was inducted into the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Qu ...

in 2012. On Friday 3 July 2015 (AEST), just three months after her death, General Eva Burrows was awarded the highest honour of the Salvation Army posthumously, the " Order of the Founder" in a ceremony at Boundless, in London which celebrated 150 years of the Salvation Army. The award was received by Commissioner Tidd on behalf of the Burrows family.

Appointments and qualifications

International Heritage Centre – Eva Burrows
. salvationarmy.org.uk. Retrieved on 20 August 2012.

References

General * Specific

External links

Biography and Interview from Australian Biography Online

biography at Women's International Center
"Why Help the Poor?"
– A condensed version of an address delivered by General Burrows at the opening session of the Third Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on Banking with the Poor held in Brisbane 21–25 November 1995. *
"Celebrating General Eva Burrows"

"General Eva Burrows remembered as inspirational servant of God"

"Live stream of service celebrating the life of General Eva Burrows"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrows, Eva 1929 births 2015 deaths Alumni of the University of London Australian Salvationists Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal People from Brisbane Salvation Army officers People educated at Brisbane State High School