 Employed by a firm of tobacconists, from 1881 the 16-year-old Charles Jeffries was the second-in-command of a Whitechapel branch of the Skeleton Army and was well known for disrupting Salvation Army public meetings and on occasion had assaulted Salvation Army Soldiers and Officers.The 'Skeleton Army' adopted the tunes of The Salvation Army, but altered their words, and wore cap bands on their hats reading 'Skeleton Army'.