John Bonomy OBE, as managing director of his family business prior to his appointment as Provincial Grand Master for East Kent in 1992, was well experienced in running a complex organisation, dealing with employees and the public. Taken aback by the discovery, on his appointment, that some lodges in the Province had never been visited by the Provincial Grand Master, he resolved to visit every lodge and Royal Arch chapter in his Province – 247 lodges and chapters in all. He is a ‘hands-on’ chief executive, who also finds the time to serve on the United Grand Lodge’s Board of General Purposes, Audit Committee, General Council, and the Panel for Clemency.

He explained that the role of a Provincial Grand Master has changed over the last twenty-five years or so, away from that of a distant figurehead, a man with many prominent public roles whom the average Freemason would never expect to meet. But now the role is much more involved with the membership in the manner of a managing director of a large company. In fact, he noted, the majority of modern Provincial Grand Masters now come from a business background. But it wasn’t easy; he was still working in business full-time when he was appointed, and in addition he was serving both as a Magistrate and as Chairman of the Kent Magistrates’ Court Committee. In fact it was for this work that he was awarded his OBE in 1995.
    ‘How did you manage to deal with the varying demands of these careers?’ I asked, thinking how difficult it seemed to fit my own tasks into a twenty-four hour day. He paused and laughed.
    ‘You look back and you wonder, don’t you. But I was very fortunate. I had a well organised administration at my business. But of course, you are burning the candle at both ends; you are in early in the mornings before you can do your masonic tasks that day; you work the weekends and you just have to fit it in. And its not just Freemasonry; there are other interests in life which take up your time as well.’
    ‘An understanding wife?’ I suggested. He chuckled and replied, ‘I don’t think that anyone can be a good Freemason unless their wife supports them. I just don’t see how you can carry out your responsibilities as a Freemason if you don’t have your wife and family involved. I have had super support from my wife and kids. I have two daughters, now both married; my son has been married a couple of years and is in his early thirties. He joined my mother Lodge five years ago and is Junior Warden at the moment.’

The Modern World and Freemasonry.

    ‘What is the point of Freemasonry in a modern world?’ I asked bluntly. He met my remark head-on. ‘I think the point of Freemasonry is that it has certain standards which it expects its members to abide by; and those standards have always attracted me. I think probably one of the biggest tasks we have today is to keep the value of those standards high in the minds of the generations that are coming on. The problem is that the interpretation of things change as the generations come and go but I think that Freemasonry has this balance of serving the community, living a respectable life, and being loyal to your friends and your country.’
    ‘I think that these aims are as good today as they were three hundred years ago. And that’s the thing we should try to impress on people who show an interest in joining the Craft, because sometimes the pursuit of membership takes priority, rather than ensuring that the individual knows exactly what we stand for.’ ‘Men can come into masonry just a bit too young. I think, on balance, it is better if people are a bit more mature before they come in - with stability in their job and family.’
    I mentioned the decline in membership, adding that Freemasonry was not the only organisation suffering a drop in membership. He agreed. ‘I don’t think there is an organisation in the country which has been able to sustain its membership over the last ten years or so. The Churches… certainly Rotary; when I first joined they had a maximum number of eighty. That same Rotary Club today is struggling in the thirties. People are too busy. They can’t find the time.’

Service to the Community

    ‘Freemasonry must retain a sense of service, of pride in our own locality to improve the lot of man.’ John Bonomy was insistent that one of the factors affecting Freemasonry negatively today was the decline of this sense of civic fraternity.
    ‘We need more coordination between our Festival system and our local needs. At the moment there is often a competition between the two. I tell our Freemasons that while our first priority must be to support the masonic charities, we must also get a higher profile locally. We must support our masonic charities because of the work they are doing and the need which is placed on them. When we’ve done that, then whatever is left over, please get involved locally and do what you can.’
    ‘My advice is – please get more involved in your community. I constantly emphasize that our profile with the local community is important. It is surprising how insulated the average Freemason is from what’s going on around him. The times we have said, "Well, bring it to our attention . . . . " We would like to know if something is happening; if there is a need for some money from Province, then tell us.’
    ‘My gut feeling about Freemasons is that they do care. If you can rally them to a cause that is worthwhile they will respond. I always think that people do that better the smaller the unit is. That’s why the Lodge unit is so crucial to us all. Activating those Lodges is the future, making them more meaningful in the community.’
    If you wanted to give one piece of advice to Freemasons what would it be? ‘That Lodges get more involved in the Community. If I wanted to go out with one statement when I retire from this job, that wouldn’t be a bad one.’

Educating Freemasons

    When the Province of East Kent was created around thirty years ago it inherited the Library and Museum from the old Province of Kent and over the years efforts have been made to augment its primary purpose of displaying historical masonic artefacts and memorabilia. The result has been that the Kent Masonic Library and Museum Trust are active workers in the field of masonic education, producing focused and targeted material for publicity and information.
    Masonic meetings are not solely social events. There are few people who are not affected by their initiation. In this manner they gain an immediate emotional and intellectual appreciation of the importance of masonic ritual. ‘But how can this be augmented within the Craft?’ I asked. ‘How much explanation should masons have of the rituals they conduct and how deep should those explanations go? What do you think is practicable? Should we present explanations in simple sections or should we try to stretch Freemasons?’ He paused before replying, ‘Brethren need more explanation of the rituals than they are getting. This business of One, Two, Three, repetitively through the masonic season is not in my opinion a good menu for holding their attention.’
    He said that he would like to see more senior members tasked with explaining why things are done or giving an interpretation of them. The average individual wouldn’t go searching for this information – you have to find ways of presenting the information to him. One way is by means of lectures, but he noted also the opportunity afforded by Lodges of Instruction for the passing on of explanations touching the meaning of the things we do, an opportunity not often – or ever - used to advantage. Perhaps, he suggested, an entire meeting of a Lodge of Instruction could be regularly dedicated to exploring the meaning and interpretation of the ritual, rather than rehearsing it.

The Side Degrees

    John Bonomy is also a strong supporter of the side degrees in Freemasonry: he has found time to get involved in Mark, Royal Ark Mariner, Rose Croix, Royal and Select Masters, Red Cross of Constantine, Knights Templar, Knights Templar Priest and the Allied Degrees; and he holds Grand honours in all.
    ‘One of the things which has rather surprised others when I became the PGM is that I have maintained my interest in those other degrees. I purposely made it my business to keep my membership of them going and I think that supporting them has made us more united in East Kent because of this cross fertilization which has taken place.’
    ‘And finally, do you think that Freemasonry is in good health?’ I asked. ‘Well, I think it is in better shape now than it has probably been in the last thirty years. I really do think that we are on the right path. We’re being more open, we’re being more proactive. And, if we can reverse the present membership trend, I see a very rosy future for us.’