Roller-Coaster

Sir,
    re R.E. Oakley’s letter in the last issue referring to publicity. I fail to see the significance of publishing to the general public our donations to masonic and non-masonic charity. If we do a good deed or donate money, surely the policy is not to publish the fact. If I give at the front door to a charity, I do not put a notice in my front window that I have done so. As Freemasons we are all aware of the basic principle of ‘Relief’. Why is it necessary to inform the world of our charitable deeds?
    I, and I am sure many other Freemasons, are beginning to fear that the ‘roller-coaster’ of ‘Openness’ will soon get out of hand.
    W Bro Peter Marlborough PProvJGD, Watford, Herts.

Sir,
    As a serving police officer I am well aware of moves to ‘out’ all masons in the service. Since joining the Craft (10 months ago) I’ve made no secret of my affiliation, not to say I force it down peoples’ throats, I just wear a ring. If people ask, I tell them. Yes, I get my leg pulled from time to time but I stand my ground and argue my case.
    To promote openness, we must start close to home : ourselves. If we follow masonic doctrine in our private lives then surely we set a good example to those around us. The majority of brethren live by the code and set a good example to all, so why not declare ourselves? - you only need broad shoulders and a reasoned argument for the argumentative. The misguided idea that promotion comes from being in the Craft has only come from our reluctance to declare ourselves, leaving the stigma unchallenged. We all know that people are afraid of the unknown, so let’s help them put a face to the mystique.
    Karl Thurogood. Aldwyn Lodge 5712.

Sir,
    Thank you once again for an excellent publication - you are going from strength to strength! That is, as long as you can persuade the Grand Secretary of Mark Masons’ to correct the apalling misconception that Freemasonry is “probably a leisure industry”! Probably? At least he’s not sure, which gives us some hope for a saner approach to our own spirituality. Not content with that he put down a young mason in his lodge by saying : “I think he’d been expecting to find the Philosopher’s Stone, or the meaning of life..”
    Those are exactly the things many young Freemasons are looking for. Time and again, young chaps in our Craft are saying “Is that it?” The only hope I can see is with Bro Julian Rees’ “contemplation on equality, rightness and higher aspirations” which, I hope Bro Lewis would agree, is on a different planet from “leisure industry”.
    John Gough. Croydon.

Sir,
    As a newly initiated mason, I should like lodges respectfully to consider the following idea. Appoint Mentors to ‘take in hand’ Entered Apprentices, with a clearly thought-out plan of instruction consistent with the high levels of expectation from brethren which go with the privileges of the Craft. Here is a guide based on what occurred to my mind after initiation : Aims and Objectives of the Craft; ‘Talk-through’ the initiation ceremony (including the meaning of the dress and accoutrements); the importance of the Lodge of Instruction; the work of Grand Charity; the history of the Lodge; the meaning of the Tracing Board; an explanation of Allegory (‘veiled in allegory’ &c.); the apparent parallel of religion and the Craft; general guidance on things to look out for.
    I’m sure this would make the Entered Apprentice feel much more a part of the Fraternity and make his continued interest more likely.
    Allen Roochove. Westgate on Sea, Kent.

Sir,
    I wholeheartedly support the writer of the news story ‘YNER Takes Tough Stance on Openness’ in the winter issue. In the small town of Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria we likewise operate an ‘open door’ policy for the good of the community. Here the Masonic Hall is regarded as a public amenity, much in demand by the WI, luncheon clubs, slimming clubs, dancing classes, wedding receptions and public meetings, to name but a few. We seek no recompense from charity organisations. A service for all is held annually in the parish church, followed by a magnificent buffet and afternoon tea provided by our ladies in the Masonic Hall. In recognition of the Hall’s amenity value, the local district council has approved a grant towards disabled toilet facilities. A similar situation prevails at Alston’s Masonic Hall and these experiences show our efforts towards ‘openness’ in Cumbria, serving to break down the barriers of misguided prejudice.
    Arthur Stamper. PPJW 3481. Penrith, Cumbria.

Sir,
    As a London mason who moved into the Yorkshire North East Riding Province, I find the article Yorkshire North East Riding Takes a Tough Stance on Openness unconvincing. We are told that “interested younger people now know where to get accurate information.” But does that only apply to ‘younger people’? After witnessing exceptional activity from a Provincial deputation of six ‘official’ Officers, I wrote to the Provincial Grand Secretary asking questions about the administration and procedures of a Province with which I was unfamiliar. The Provincial Grand Secretary refused to answer any of the points I had politely and respectfully put before him. Indeed, when I was obliged to refer the matters to the Grand Secretary, I was instructed “you are not, repeat not, to make contact with Bro Higham.” We are told in Freemasonry Today that “it is terribly hard for anyone who is pompous and self-important to stay that way”, yet the Provincial Secretary writes “as a final warning (that) any further attempts to involve outside agencies in the internal affairs of this Province (YNER) must infallably result in serious disciplinary action against the Lodge and its members.”
    So just how ‘tough on openness’ is Freemasonry in Yorkshire North East Riding?
    W Bro FH Shepherd LGR, PPGChOrg (Herts.) York.

Women Masons

Sir,
    I refer to the words of TA Kavanagh in the last issue : “I have not read any rule which says a mason has to be male”. I find it incredible that a brother who has been elevated to high masonic rank can have no memory of when he was a Master Elect, at which time he gave his unqualified assent to all the Ancient Charges of a Freemason. In section 3 of the Book of Constitutions, it is stated that “The persons made Masons or admitted members of a Lodge must be good and true men, freeborn, and of mature and discreet age and sound judgement, no bond-men, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report.”
    Paul Clayton, Liskeard, Cornwall.

Sir,
    I feel that this whole consideration of women in Freemasonry would destroy it. A few years ago I belonged to a mens’ professional group which enjoyed a friendly, relaxed atmosphere with natural banter and no inhibition. But along came a woman who insisted on membership, took the group to court for equal rights and managed to become a member. Great for her, but every male member resigned and the group no longer exists. Likewise with a mens’ skittles team where we used to relax away from our wives on a Friday evening. Along came a woman who insisted it was her right to join, and now we no longer enjoy skittles; the younger male members are always trying to impress the lady with their skill and prowess, and fighting for her attention whilst the older members don’t feel able to relax and have an occasional whinge about ‘her indoors’ in case they get snapped at by our female representative. Women have the Womens’ Institute, Mothers Union, Young Wives, Womens’ Golf &c. Please leave one organisation where we can escape from them for a while. (PS My wife has just read this and she totally agrees with me).
    Malcolm Sadler, Horton, Somerset.

Sir,
    We are a men-only organisation; that is a fundamental part of our Constitution. However, in the 20th century it is becoming difficult to argue for the need for exclusion on the grounds of sex, and what is more important, it is getting difficult to recruit members of the post war generation because their wives feel excluded. Previous generations have been able to act in a more autocratic way without having to have the agreement of their wives, but things have changed. There is an order of women Freemasons who meet all the landmarks. Whilst I do not want women in the lodge, there is no reason why we cannot communicate with them about masonic business, particularly as they have adopted word for word our ceremonies.
    Martin Fowkes, Sutton Coldfield.

Sir,
    Having spoken to some Brethren who read my letter on Women Masons, there seems to be some misunderstanding. I do not wish to change our Constitution to include Ladies but I would like to see Co-Freemasonry given recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England, thus enabling our Brethren to visit Co-Masonic Meetings if they wish to do so, and their male members to visit our lodges.
    T.A. Kavanagh, PProvAGDC. Swansea. (not PAGDC as printed in the last issue).

Fit to Talk

Sir,
    I read with interest the letter from Sydney Linton in the last issue suggesting that each Provincial Grand Lodge circulate a list of brethren able to give lectures on nights when lodges do not have candidates.
    In the Province of Yorkshire West Riding, we have been doing this since April 1989 and the list (now in its 11th revision) names just over 150 brethren who have given talks to their lodges or chapters and are willing to give them to other lodges and chapters when properly called upon. Lists are available to Masters and Secretaries for a small fee (printing & postage) and some 88 have been sent out up to now. Perhaps Bro Julian Rees, the author of the excellent article in the Autumn edition, would like to take note of this.
    Geoff Beacham. PJGD. Ilkley, West Yorkshire.

Was Shakespeare a Freemason?

Sir,
    “William Shakespeare was not only a Freemason, he was the Father and Founder of the Fraternity, the Writer of the Rutuals.” This is a quote from Shakespeare : Creator of Freemasonry by Alfred Dodd PM (Rider & Co. c.1937) which contains innumerable examples of the kind quoted by Peter Dawkins in the last issue (p.38). I was most interested by the Capital Letter Code theory. If Peter Dawkins has come independently to the conclusion that Shakespeare shows knowledge of a password, there may be something in the theory. Dodd reaches the same conclusion (and in almost the same words!) There are such a large number of possible masonic references in Dodd’s book that if the Bard did not write the ritual, then perhaps the writers of the ritual borrowed from Shakespeare. Which came first - the chicken or the egg?
    Keith Tallon. Blackheath, London.

Sir,
    I regret to see masonic scholarship is going back to the ‘dark ages’ of the last century. The article presents a case for Shakespeare being a mason but without any evidence whatsoever, based on a flimsy interpretation of selected parts of Shakespeare’s text. No reference is made to the fact that the use and meaning of words changes with time, nor of the fact that much of the masonic style of language is not based on today’s usage but that of 2-300 years ago. At best the article demonstrates that English usage in the 16th century had some common aspects with that of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
    John Belton. Mellor Lodge 3844.

Sir,
    A study of Shakespeare’s Sonnets shows many of them to contain coded political and other messages, some of which with strongly masonic references. There are various other examples of the use of codes and ciphers directly relevant to masonic history, to which I make reference in a lecture which has been given to a number of Sussex lodges. If any of your readers have information regarding such matters I would be glad to hear from them, as I am currently compiling an expanded paper on the subject.
    Colin Bissell PPrGSwdB. Eastbourne, E.Sussex.

Templars

Sir,
    In Issue One (July 1997) I noticed Michael Baigent’s gallant attempt to keep alive the ‘Templars in Scotland’ and ‘Templars-to-Masons’ myths. Gallant, well-written, but unconvincing as usual, in an area where the total absence of serious evidence reduces one to mere conjecture. Grave slabs - we’ve already seen dozens. Engraved with soldiers of course when the deceased was a soldier, but never in a garb which fits the Templar garb. With swords too, but in those times practically everyone but clerics and peasants proudly carried a sword and wanted it engraved on their tomb-stone. We have all seen indistinct representations of what could be anything (most look like shears or bags), which certain people interpreted as squares and compasses. Floreated cross-shaped carvings such as the one shown by Michael Baigent also abound, which certain people (but NOT Michael Baigent) didn’t shrink from calling ‘representations of the Holy Grail’ and commercialised in reproduction. A nice article, imaginative, well-written, but totally unconvincing in an otherwise excellent magazine.
    Michael L Segall. IPM, Lodge of Research John Scot Erigena No 1000, Paris.

Sir,
    Re ‘The Mystery of the Royston Cave’ by Sanda Miller (Winter 1998). Some thoughts. The carvings imply only nobility were allowed to use this special cave. Could the upended horse mean simply an unseated knight, resulting in injury and the need for healing? Was the cave a hospital for Templars, or a prison? I refer now to fungi, living in damp or moist places. Like bacteria, they lack chlorophyll, living either as parasites or saprophytes. Some are beneficial; moulds flavour some cheeses. Penicillium notatum provides antibiotics. Penicillium is present in Roquefort cheese, kept in caves at Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in France. It is claimed that its delicate maturity can only be attained in the caves and attempts to reproduce the conditions artificially have failed. In short, the cultivation of the culture penicillium might have been attempted in the chalky Royston Cave by the Templar and Hospitaller movements, copied from the French. We can think of Knights Templar fighting the Crusades, being injured, hospitalised and then returned to battle after being healed. Was this Roquefort cheese an early form of penicillin, discovered by chance and kept secret? Hence perhaps the old saying : all the difference between chalk and cheese?
    R W Wood. Surgical Chiropodist. Wistaston, Crewe, Cheshire.

Unusual Meeting Place

Sir,
    What pleasant memories you brought back to me with the photograph of Freemasons’ Hall, Kota Kinabulu, shown in the winter issue. In that very building, in August 1961, I was initiated into Lodge Kinabulu No 7047 EC, and a little later, exalted in Chapter Sabah No 789 SC. At that time, the country was called North Borneo and the capital, Jesselton. In 1963, North Borneo became part of East Malaysia and was renamed Sabah, with the principal city given the title Kota Kinabulu, thus honouring the names originally chosen for my chapter and lodge there.
    H Stubbs PPSGD (East Lancs.)

Sir,
    I recently returned from a splendid holiday in Bulgaria to find that I had brought back a 2000 LEV banknote (worth about 75p). The banknote displays a square and compasses in the Fellow Craft attitude, along with digging implements which could be associated with Royal Arch. I’d be interested to know how these came to appear on a Bulgarian banknote.
    Peter Chapman PProvAGDC (Cheshire).

Carpet Wanted

Sir,
    My lodge is celebrating its 75th anniversary but its most regular and faithful attendant at lodge meetings, the carpet, is in terminal ritual decline. It is a felt carpet, as old as the lodge, and we would like to replace it with new or second-hand. To date we have established that felt carpets are no longer made and Axminster expensive and vulnerable when stored. We are seriously considering carpet tiles on a portable dance-floor as we have to clear the Temple away at the end of each meeting.
    Can any lodge or Brother help with a carpet, or contacts, anywhere in the world, from whom it might be possible to have a carpet made?
    S C Cann. Director of Ceremonies. Imperial College Lodge. Dorking, Surrey.

Lessons of Conflict

Sir,
    In your Winter 1998 edition, you carry a photograph of RW Bro James Hopkins from The Grand Lodge of the State of New York.
    I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife on a tour of the Imperial War Museum aircraft display at Duxford in Cambridgeshire organised by Sulgrave Lodge No 9462. He told me that he had been a rear gunner on a Flying Fortress based at Gratfton Underwood in Northamptonshire. During World War II, I was a schoolboy in nearby Kettering. I told him how I would wake at 0600 hrs to aircraft engines being warmed up and then, two hours later, my family would watch the bombers flying into formation for their raids in Europe. We always counted the numbers flying out. In the early evening we would count them as they returned, saying a prayer for those who did not return, hoping they had bailed out and were still alive.
    Bro James flew 12 successful missions but on the 13th his aircraft was severely damaged. Ordered to bail out, he spent the rest of the war in captivity. Three of the crew died. We studied the Roll of Honour to find their names and remembered them for the part they played in defending the world from oppression.
    It was a moving experience to meet, through the Craft, a brother who had played a part in my life over 50 years ago. For Bro James, my family would have said a prayer on the day he did not return to base and it was answered as he was saved.
    Brian Smith. Past PGM (Northants. and Hunts.) Kettering, Northants.

Sir,
    Having come across the enclosed during my years in office in Lodge Malaya No 5213 EC. I have always carried a copy in my note-case and have had much interest in it, both from inside and outside the Craft.
    A Speech, delivered by a Dutch Brother, H. T. Groenendyk RWM of Lodge Matarem, Jog Jakarta in Java on 22 August 1945 at Nakom Chai on the Burma Siam Railway, at a Service of Thanksgiving following the Japanese surrender.
    “...I thank you, Worshipful Brethren and the other English-speaking Brethren for your kind invitation to meet you in this place in order that we may kneel down in humility and deference to the GAOTU by whose wisdom and power we have been led through the darkness of these years to the light of this day of freedom.
    For more than three years we have lived together in good harmony, in good comradeship, in good brotherhood. We have eaten the same poor food, suffered the same hardships, the same humilities, the same ill-treatment. We have endured the same slavery, cheered each other up wherever there was an occasion, dressed each others’ wounds, buried our dead in the same plain graves.
    Now that the war is over and we will soon go home, everyone to his own country, that which has been obtained must not be lost. What has been obtained must be preserved in the new world in which we are going to live and work. Frontiers will become vague, transport will become quicker than ever before. In such a close world, close co-operation of all Freemasons must become a necessity. Let us work together as long as the tools are in our hands, toil together to the glory of the GA in his Light, for the benefit, the welfare and the spiritual prosperity of mankind”.
    CR Perrin. Stithians, Truro.