The Turn of the Key

Sir,
    Dr Robert Lomas and I were saddened but not surprised to read John Heron’s silly review of The Hiram Key. The actions of the paid officers of UGLE have made it clear that they do not like either this book or our follow up, The Second Messiah, and it appears that the party line of disinformation has been carried through to your magazine.
    John Heron runs through dismembered elements of our findings in a scathing manner then asserts that we have to be completely wrong because existing dogma is unquestionable. He states that “the writers of The Hiram Key are proud that it is all their own work and that they consulted no experts in any field that their book covers - theology, early church history, Egyptology and Freemasonry.” Utter nonsense. We have made no such statement. I first read this review when it was passed to me by Prof. Philip Davies (the world famous Biblical scholar), who asked : “Don’t they consider me to be an expert?” We also involved a priest and other Masons from the start of our research and consulted with an arch bishop and a leading figure in the study of Ancient Egypt at manuscript stage. John Heron states that a “major problem” with our work is that we have treated Masonic rituals as factual and historical texts, and then categorically states : “They are Not”. How can John Heron know this as absolute fact? Has he got a sworn affadavit from the person that invented all Masonic ritual? When we started our research we too thought that they were allegorical tales, but we now know better.
    The claim that we have “ignored Masonic scholarship over the last hundred years” is a line taken straight from the Grand Librarian, John Hamill, who quietly circulated this accusation to all provincial grand secretaries the day after The Hiram Key was published. It is as inaccurate now as it was then. It is UGLE that has steadfastly refused to acknowledge the work and hard evidence of many Masonic scholars over the last 150 years when they produced results that collided with UGLE’s deliberately altered account of history.
    John Heron states : “There are numerous factual errors, the most important - and often repeated as it is central to their thesis - being that the Master Mason degree is a ‘resurrection rite’. It is not. The builder dies - to protect the genuine secrets - and remains dead.” If he had read The Hiram Key with care, he would have noticed that in chapter one we wrote “It is important to note that Hiram Abif, once killed, remained dead; there was no return to life.” The whole point is that there is a glaring contradiction because the candidate is certainly laid lifeless in his tomb before being ‘raised’ to a resurrected life beneath the light of the morning star. This strange inconsistency was only reconciled when we uncovered events in Ancient Egypt.
    John Heron finishes in the same arrogant vein when he definitively states that The Hiram Key is not history and has put back the search for the ‘true’ origins of Freemasonry. This type of intellectually lightweight knocking of serious research does nothing for the credibility of the paid officers of UGLE or their apologists. If they really care about truth, then they should have the guts to stand up and debate all of the available evidence. However, if they insist upon keeping their heads buried in the sand there is a good chance that reality may soon come along and kick them squarely in the butt!
    Chris Knight. Co-author of The Hiram Key. North Yorkshire.

Sir,
    I was pleased to receive Issue One. As a Freemason since 1939 and now in my 88th year, it gave me a full day’s interest in the reading and I congratulate you on the production. Page 22 was most interesting : the review of The Hiram Key. The local library are obtaining a copy for me.
    Bro.Leigh Harrison. Solihull.

A View From Malta

Sir,
    In Malta, where I live, where Freemasonry is regarded by many as an evil, it was very reassuring to receive Freemasonry Today in a blue coated envelope that eliminated the visibility of the contents to all and sundry and prevented one from the possibility of losing friends through bigotry and ignorance that has been engendered through the religious authorities for so many years that it has become the normal thinking on the subject.
    Please keep The Eye by Julian Perry and expand it considerably [As far as we can, we will. Ed.]. My one major criticism was with the shadow photos used to enhance the colour printing. Now that I’m getting older I found this somewhat difficult to read. I would request that you try to overcome this problem without losing the creative approach to the magazine. [This problem has now been addressed. Ed.] Finally, I wish you well for the future and hope the magazine will enhance the stature of Freemasonry, not only to its members, but to those potential members who are not fully satisfied with our attempts to convince them of our beliefs.
    W.Bro. Donald Haigh PAGDC.

Sir,
    Many congratulations on the launch of the magazine. The graphics, layout and contents were all superb and promise a great future. I look forward to further issues and hope that book reviews covering Masonic topics will also be included.
    Mark Andrew Gay. Parrinho. Portugal.

Sir,
    I would like to draw your attention to the article In those days the Masters carried Swords, by Michael Baigent. He writes “Following after the example of the builders of the temple in Jerusalem; holding the trowel in one hand and the sword in the other.” This occurred during the building of The Wall, not the second Temple (see Nehemiah IV.15-22).
    A.W.Lemon. Topsham. Devon.

Sir,
    Has anyone out there got a copy of the biography of the Marquess of Ripon, our former Grand Master? The Life of Lord Ripon by Bro Lucien Wolf was published in 2 vols. by John Murray in 1921 but is incredibly difficult to obtain. Perhaps one of your readers has a copy they would like to sell.
    W Bro. JR Cradock. PM Marquess of Ripon Lodge No 1379. Co.Durham.

Strange Fate

Dear Brethren,
    With great interest I have just read issue one of the new magazine. I like it. Carry on this way. I am a member of the Lodge No. 127 Zu den drey Balken in Münster, Westphalia, founded in 1778, and hence the oldest lodge in Westphalia. I was very much interested in your article about Winston Churchill.
    A young man from an aristocratic family was almost drowned while taking a bath in a Scottish lake. In the ice-cold water he got spasms, cried for help and was saved by a country lad working nearby. The young aristocrat later returned and asked the lad about his future plans. The lad told him he would like to study medicine. The aristocrat’s family supported him. The lad became a doctor and scientist, discovering a completely new remedy and received the Nobel Prize for the work. Considerable takings for his discovery flew into Masonic benefit organisations. The rescued young man also became a mason, however, he was not very hard-working in the craft. He too won the Nobel Prize - for literature.
    Who were these men? One of them was called ‘Alec’, the 7th child of the farmer Hugh Fleming. He lived from 1881 to 1955, discovered penicillin in 1928, was raised to the peerage in 1944 and got the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1945. The rescued man was Winston Churchill who won the Nobel Prize in 1945 “for his masterly manner to describe the history and his life, and for his brilliant eloquence by means of which he stood up for the defence of our civilisation.”
    Günther Plath. Altenberge. Germany.

Sir,
    I have just received my copy of the magazine with its interesting articles and hope it will go from strength to strength. Having lived outside of the UK in many countries for 30 years, I have greatly appreciated visits to and from foreign lodges. I hope that future issues indicate those Grand Lodges which are currently recognised by the UGLE and have English-speaking lodges, and the awareness of the dangers of the constant change in relationships between the Grand Lodges throughout the world and especially within Europe.
    May I take this opportunity of mentioning that the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy is also going from strength to strength, now over 1500 members since its formation in 1993, distributed over 84 lodges under 11 Regional Grand Lodges. Two of these lodges, the Keats and Shelley Lodge No.1 in Rome, and the Sir Horace Mann, 1732 No.2 in Florence, work in the English language.
    P.Nicholas Emerton-Court. Bracciano. Italy.

Gentlemen,
    I received the first issue today. Congratulations on an excellent publication - I am looking forward to future issues and will be sure to publicise the magazine among my Masonic friends.
    Frank L.Kendrick, PDDGM. Grand Lodge of British Columbia.

Charity Boost

Sir,
    Page 5 of your last issue refers to the Grand Charity 1997 Festival (4 June 1997) and quotes the sum of £1m having been subscribed. That figure was our original target, but in the event, the total sum donated was £1,402,500.00.
    Bro. JH Gale, PAGDC. Provincial Grand Secretary. Provincial Grand Lodge of Cumberland & Westmorland.

Sir,
    re Bro. Julian Rees’ article on Ritual Excellence. Without hesitation or reservation, Bro. Rees must be supported in his plea for high standards of ritual practice. However, some have a facility for rote learning and others do not. Do not expect young professionals, subjected to the stresses and strains of present daily living, to undertake the learning of the varying degrees or to attend weekly Lodges of Instruction. Times have changed. A monthly meeting dealing with the perambulations and catechisms and an explanation of the meaning and historical background of the ritual would be a more attractive and sensible alternative. Let us revise the system : let those who want to, read rather than recite what we love, and since we Freemasons are so fond of medals, let those who do it get a special decoration (or matchbox), while those of us who want to get on with other things make do. And who knows? Churchill might have stayed, had he had time to learn the ritual!
    ET Wheeler SLGR SLGCR. Sydenham. London.

Sir,
    I am researching a book on Masonic activity in P.O.W camps. Accordingly, I should be grateful for accounts of personal experiences in this connection. Third-part recollections, anecdotes &c. would be very welcome.
    Keith Flynn OBE. Cardiff Masonic Hall. 8 Guildford St. Cardiff CF1 4HL.

Sir,
    Concerning the article ‘Minding your Head’ in the last issue. The Levy in 1967 was neither “a penny a head”, nor was it a levy. The retiring Grand Master, Lord Scarborough, had made it known that he did not wish to be presented with a piece of silver in recognition for his services to the Order, but would prefer that every member of every lodge under the British Constitution donate a pound so that a fund for medical research could be established. That meant of course that those of us who belonged to more than one lodge, paid more than a pound. I will not disagree about the amount raised but, at the same time, we were told that the amount realised was ‘about £660,000’.
    L.H. Lockley, PAGSupt.Wks., L.G.R. Acomb, North Yorkshire.