God's Cadets: Joining the Salvation Army, BBC4 - TV review
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.You might assume that the participants in the BBC4 documentary God's Cadets: Joining the Salvation Army would all be classic "lark" types, but there was a greater variety of personality than expected in this 90-minute film. It followed the pious, but not pompous "cadets" who had given up their lives to enter into two years of intensive officer training at the William Booth College in south London.
This documentary was full of interesting insights into the sort of people who become spiritual soldiers. Far from the stereotype of the sheltered innocent, struggling to connect with wayward sinners, many had dark pasts of their own, which gave both empathy and courage. Soft-spoken Annmarie might have looked a wally, sat at a King's Cross bar, offering a listening ear to lap-dancers, but that didn't stop her making herself of service. She knows what it feels like to need a friend.
If you're sick of those supposedly "behind-the-scenes" workplace documentaries where there's never a cross word between colleagues and every boss is an inspiration (yeah, right, come off it, Iceland Foods: Life in the Freezer Cabinet, Liberty of London and Educating Yorkshire), then this was an unexpected dose of candour.
Darren revealed he was troubled by passive-aggressive Post-it notes left by church zealots, Katie admitted to occasionally missing the sweet, sweet taste of cider and Janet said she had her wobbles: "I'm still an atheist every Monday morning before I've had my first cup of coffee." That's the kind of doubt which gives you faith.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments