Herbert, whose relations with his brother Bramwell had gone from bad to worse, hoped that some close contact with his father might help heal his rift with London. It did not. William Booth had total confidence in Bramwell and left Herbert and Cornelie "utterly dispirited and broken-hearted." To help shake off the depression, Herbert threw himself into a period of frenetic activity. Seventy projects were launched to celebrate his father's seventieth birthday, one of which was the building of an officer training garrison at Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. To enlist trainees, Herbert wrote and directed "Soldiers of the Cross", a recruiting show that featured stories of early Christian martyrs. "Soldiers of the Cross", written and directed by Herbert, again with Joe Perry as cinematographer, premiered at the Melbourne Town Hall on 13 September 1900.