Territorial leaders Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill retire

Commissioner Edward Hill (International Headquarters) recognises the service of Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill as they enter retirement.

Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill, currently serving as Territorial Commander and Territorial Leader for Leader Development, United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, will enter retirement on 31 December 2023.

Anthony and Gillian Cotterill entered the training college from their home corps of Regent Hall as cadets in the Servants of God session, and they were commissioned Salvation Army officers on 25 May 1984.

Following their commissioning they were appointed to corps ministry in Scotland, where they served for three years in the North Scotland Division, firstly at Buckie with Buckpool and then at Arbroath. In May 1987 they remained in Scotland but moved to Glasgow to serve as corps officers at Pollokshaws. They received the rank of captain in May 1989.

May 1991 saw a move back to England, to the West Midlands Division, where Captain Anthony was appointed Divisional Youth Secretary and Captain Gill the Divisional Youth Programme Support Officer. They served at West Midlands DHQ for the next six years, with Captain Gillian Cotterill being appointed Field Programme Support Officer in May 1996.

In May 1997, Captains Cotterill returned to corps ministry, where they served at Hemel Hempstead Corps for the next seven years until June 2004, having received the rank of major in 2001.

June 2004 brought a different form of ministry, when Majors Anthony and Gill Cotterill took up appointments as Divisional Commander and Divisional Director of Women’s Ministries respectively in the London South East Division, remaining in those appointments for a further eight years and receiving the rank of lieut-colonel in February 2009.

In July 2012, Colonels Cotterill were appointed to the William Booth College, London, where Colonel Anthony served as Principal and Colonel Gill as Assistant Principal and Personnel Officer for Officers.

A term of overseas service came in September 2014 with their appointment to the Denmark and Greenland Territory, where they served as Chief Secretary and Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries until January 2018.

Returning to the United Kingdom and Ireland Territory, and following a short period of sabbatical leave, they took up leadership positions in the territory – Chief Secretary (designate) and Territorial Secretary for Leader Development (designate) in April 2018.

In August of the same year, the now Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill were appointed Territorial Commander and Territorial Leader for Leader Development, United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. It is from these appointments that they will enter retirement.

Of their officership-service, the commissioners have written as follows:

‘When we left our home corps, Regent Hall, for the training college in 1982, the verse Gill shared with the congregation at our farewell meeting was 1 Timothy 1:12: “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service” (New International Version 1984).

‘All these years later we testify that this is true – Christ has given us strength and enabled us to serve him and the communities of people in which we have been privileged to be appointed to. We give him thanks and praise and also thank God for the wonderful people it has been a joy to journey with.’

We give thanks to God for the lives and service of Commissioners Anthony and Gillian Cotterill, knowing that both in person and in ministry they have blessed and impacted many people in each appointment in which they have served. As they officially enter retirement from active service, we wish them much joy and blessing on this next stage of their life-journey.