Salvation Army's War Cry goes digital

It's a new era for The War Cry as the 133-year-old newspaper enters the digital age(Photo: The Salvation Army)

The Salvation Army's iconic War Cry newspaper goes on sale in digital format for the first time on Saturday.

The weekly has been sold in Salvation Army churches, as well as in pubs and clubs since 1879.

The War Cry had its humble beginnings on a small printing press in The Salvation Army's Whitechapel headquarters and 1,400 copies were sold on the streets of London for a mere halfpenny.

Today, around 45,000 copies of the newspaper sell each week in the UK and it is hoped that the ever popular newspaper will reach even more people with the digital edition.

The app is available as a free download for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets.

Martyn Croft, Chief Information Officer of The Salvation Army, said: "We are embracing digital publishing technology to make The War Cry and other Salvation Army publications available to a wider audience.

"Working with the online publisher YUDU, The Salvation Army has been able to design an engaging newspaper which is able to reach out in new ways to the digital generation."