with tears streaming down my face

Lt. Colonel William Arthur Bamford
(May 25, 1909 - November 28,2006)

Late Tuesday morning, November 28th, all of Heaven celebrated. God's precious saint Lt. Colonel Wm. Arthur Bamford had arrived Home. While requiring several months of care in the skilled nursing unit of Waterford Glen, Wall, NJ, he had often expressed his longings to reunite with his wife, Eleanor, to see Jesus, to go Home. On Tuesday morning, shortly after beginning hospice care, he journeyed in the blink of an eye from the ministering presence of his corps officer Major Jeffery Bassett in his skilled nursing room into the rejoicing, welcoming presence of his beloved Eleanor and Jesus Himself in Glory.

Wm. Arthur, a third-generation salvationist, was born to Army officers John and Sarah (Roberts) Bamford in Stockport, England. The family moved to America a year later, and Sarah died soon after. Captain John Bamford later married Lieutenant Beatrice Barry, who became a loving mother to Arthur. Arthur experienced corps life in several cities in West Virginia, western and northeast Pennsylvania, and eastern Ohio while growing up. He wrote of his life as a young salvationist, "When ten years old, I was converted in Steubenville, OH, and began to live for Jesus. I desired to be useful in the Army, and my mother and father were ready to give me every little duty I could possibly do to help me grow." He learned to play cornet, experienced his corps cadet training as "the greatest opportunity in my life because I was able to study the Bible and had greater chances to take part in meetings", and prayed with and encouraged customers on his War Cry routes. During his late teenage years, he was employed as his parents' corps assistant in Williamsport, PA. Consecrating his life to God and the Army at a 1928 young people's council, he entered the Trailblazers session of cadets at the New York training college from the Williamsport corps in 1929.

Arthur was commissioned a cadet sergeant and appointed to the training college staff in 1930. At age 95 he referred to his 1930 introduction to fellow staff member Captain Eleanor Breen as "the beginning of the romance of a lifetime". He next served as assistant in Carbondale, PA, corps officer in Danville, PA, social relief officer at Scranton DHQ, and corps officer in Altoona, PA, where Eleanor joined him after their September 1932 marriage. As a result of the Great Depression, they lived sacrificially in Altoona, going without full salary throughout their five-year stay and, during their first winter, working tirelessly with God's guidance to provide meals to nearly 100 men daily, men who sought food from the Army after streaming from freight trains on which they traveled in search of jobs. Ministry followed at the Lock Haven, PA corps, from which they sent 10 candidates to training college, and the Wilkes-Barre, PA corps. Divisional appointments, held from 1946-1970, included divisional and young people's secretary for Southern New England; divisional secretary and general secretary for Southeast Pennsylvania; and divisional commander forNorthern New England, where a new DHQ building was erected; Northern New Jersey, where increases in lay personnel and local officer ranks were significant, 10 Army properties were acquired, and Prudential Life Insurance Company's Newarker of the Week Award was received; and Western New York. Transferring to Eastern THQ in 1970, Arthur was public relations and service extension secretary before becoming the East's last staff secretary in 1971.

Retiring in 1973, the Bamfords settled in Portland, ME, where the Colonel served as corps sergeant major. He also served as Manchester, CT interim corps officer in 1974. Moving to Asbury Park, NJ in 1985, the Bamfords became loyal soldiers of the Asbury Park corps and, in 1989, became residents of the Retired Officers' Residence. Arthur suffered the crushing loss of his beloved Eleanor, his wife for nearly 69 years, in August 2001. He moved to Waterford Glen, Wall, NJ, in 2003.

The Colonel's living was an expression of Jesus. It was holy living. It revealed a gentleman who, in keeping with his chosen Scripture verse, sought to acknowledge God in all his ways. He was an example of Christian leadership. As a corps officer, he was a hard worker and "a true shepherdof the flock that was put in his care". He taught, worked with, loved, andvisited his people, sharing the joys and sorrows of their daily lives. As a staff officer, he upheld high standards, demonstrated integrity, and served with thoughtful kindness. A comrade wrote of him, "As busy as he was, no one who entered his office seeking counsel felt like an intruder orsensed that his concerns could not be laid aside long enough for him to listen and give sympathetic understanding." As a retired officer, he continued to intercede at God's throne on behalf of others. A gracious encourager, he thanked and assured others and, until the last months of hislife, regularly telephoned others, some weekly, to listen, to support, and to remind of his prayers. One who benefitted from his active concern in retirement states, "When Colonel Bamford was in your corner, you weresupported!" He also modelled godly living in his own home while caring forthose he loved most.

Viewing will be on Friday, December 1, 9:30-10:15 a.m. at Ely Funeral Home, 3316 Rte. 33, Neptune, NJ 07753 (Phone: (732) 775-0567). A funeral will follow at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Lt. Colonel William A. Bamford will lead; Commissioner Robert Rightmire will speak. Major Jeffery T.Bassett will conduct a committal service at 2 p.m. at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, NY. The Colonel leaves his sons, Lt. Colonel William A., Donald J. of Red Hook, NY, and W. Dean of Burlington, MA; 12 grandchildren, including Southern New England Divisional Commander Major William A. Bamford III; 22 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Family Address: Lt. Colonel William A. Bamford, 4534 Fern Dr., Bradenton, FL 34208.
Major (Mrs.) Patricia Mack
Retired Officers' Representative
USA Eastern Territory
November 29, 2006