Pro First Grand Principal Peter Lowndes explains the importance of the Royal Arch in the completion of pure ancient masonry


Since the Royal Arch Masons 2013 Bicentenary Appeal for the Royal College of Surgeons was launched last November, close to £200,000 has been donated. As we move towards the bicentenary in 2013, I encourage you in your fundraising endeavours to continue to request presentations from a Royal College team. These presentations could be at your annual Provincial meetings, for example, so that the companions in your Province can fully understand the important work that the research fellows can undertake as a result of our continued support.

The First Grand Principal summed up the importance of the appeal with great clarity when he wrote, ‘This campaign gives us an excellent opportunity to contribute further towards something that is helping to save lives and improve the quality of life for us, our children and grandchildren.’

While the appeal is a highly visible external contribution from the Royal Arch, there are other areas that we all ought, as members of the order, to be looking at to give the Royal Arch a higher profile. For example, it is critical that we encourage new members towards exaltation as this will be the completion of the pure ancient masonry that they have discovered during the ceremonies of initiation, passing and raising in the Craft – most particularly the latter. I like to use the analogy of a four-part TV drama: what is the point of watching the first three episodes and then ignoring the fourth when all is revealed?

ENSURING maximum involvement
This is not just about keeping member numbers up, it is also about making sure there is enough work at each meeting to keep the members’ skills honed. Remember, of course, to share the work out as much as possible so as to achieve the maximum involvement of the companions in your chapter. That way companions will become far more interested in the beauty of the ceremonies as well as keeping up their interest.

We have two important weapons in our communication armoury: our house magazine, Freemasonry Today, and the new members’ website launched in September. The strap line refers to the magazine as The Official Journal of the United Grand Lodge of England but the editorial policy is predominantly to cover stories and news about both the Craft and the Royal Arch. This is also the case with the website, which will be timely in getting news to you. The editor of Freemasonry Today is keen to receive more stories on the Royal Arch for consideration and possible inclusion. The Provincial Information Officers also have a key role to play here and are well briefed on the process for submission for both the magazine and the website.

We are now starting to work on the new website for the Royal Arch to bring it both up-to-date and in line with all the other communications initiatives that have been recently launched. Grand Scribe Ezra, as Grand Secretary, is chairing a working party on mentoring in the Craft with the aim of seeing what elements of this are relevant to import to the Royal Arch.

Royal Arch representatives are already in many of our lodges and one of the key decisions is in determining when it is the right time to brief the newly joined mason on the Royal Arch – to have him understand the importance of the Royal Arch in the completion of pure ancient masonry. But is this best done after they have been raised and how does their mentor brief them? And how does the mentor or Royal Arch representative gain the right level of knowledge to correctly brief them in the first place? These are some of the conundrums that the working party are grappling with. Fundamental is establishing the relevance to prospective candidates of the order that all who have already been exalted enjoy.

Deputy Grand Master Jonathan Spence believes that it is vital to show the rest of the world why Freemasonry is enjoyable


I would like to share with you some thoughts on some essential aspects of ‘pure antient masonry’. I am prompted to do this after listening to an interview given by the Grand Chaplain to the BBC in May in which it became clear there are still substantial misunderstandings about the Craft, when frankly there ought not to be.

We need to be absolutely clear when we discuss our pure ancient masonry that we belong to a secular organisation, that is to say a non-religious organisation. This was a point made very eloquently by the Grand Chaplain in his interview. It is, however, a secular organisation that is supportive of religion: it is an absolute requirement for all our members to believe in a supreme being. As the late and sadly missed Dean Neil Collings so eloquently put it, this gives ‘a context and background to the individual’s way of life as they seek to live it’.

Freemasonry itself, as we all know, is neither a substitute for nor an alternative to religion. It certainly does not deal in spirituality – it does not have any sacraments or, indeed, offer or claim to offer any type of salvation. Freemasonry, in fact, absolutely fails to meet any of the tests of what it is to be a religion. The fact that men from different faiths can meet easily in harmony and friendship, without compromising their particular religious beliefs, demonstrates that one of the greatest strengths of the Craft, dating from its earliest beginnings, is that of tolerance. Therefore, to ensure this tolerance remains untroubled, discussions of religion, like discussions of politics, are strictly prohibited.

Encouraging our Ideals
Organised Freemasonry, from its beginnings in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries – which was a time of religious intolerance – was always concerned with teaching and encouraging morality. Our forefathers were very aware of human nature and its flaws, particularly those of self-absorption and selfishness. The Craft sought to encourage men to be loyal to their country, to obey the law, to try to be better behaved, to consider their relations with others and to make themselves more extensively serviceable to their fellow men – that is to say their wider communities. In other words, to pursue a moral life. The ceremonies were used as the main means of teaching and illustrating the principles of the Craft: they were, and still very much are, a dramatic and effective set of morality plays.

The Craft, as a secular organisation, remains just as concerned today to encourage these ideals. In today’s language, we can articulate the fundamental principles to which our members subscribe as integrity, honesty, fairness, kindness and tolerance. These are principles that we should be very proud of and we should not hesitate to articulate them, when appropriate opportunities present themselves, to our family, friends and, indeed, the wider community in which we live. We should also make it very clear that we very much enjoy ourselves and what we do. I have no doubt that our principles will appeal to those who are not masons if they are aware of them.

The future of the Craft is dependent on attracting and retaining good quality candidates. Our principles should be attractive to many men of good reputation and integrity. The other side of this coin is that we should therefore be careful in our choice of candidates. This is something every new Freemason is told in the charge after initiation and for a very good reason – unsuitable candidates are likely to damage the Craft in general as well as their own lodges in particular.

Every one of us has an important part to play in articulating clearly what the Craft is and encouraging appropriately qualified candidates to be members. To support this, our strategic communications direction, together with the results from the working party on mentoring, will go a long way to help us to speak openly and in an informed way about Freemasonry. Our success will help to ensure Freemasonry’s long-term future.

Britannia Lodge, No. 139, in Yorkshire, West Riding, has marked its 250th anniversary with a £10,000 donation to the city’s only hospice, St Luke’s

Lodge Master Roger Farris, pictured above at the lodge’s anniversary celebrations, declared, ‘One of the principal philosophies of Freemasonry is charitable work in the community and we were delighted to be able to support St Luke’s as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.’ Una Moran, director of St Luke’s fundraising, echoed Roger’s sentiments, ‘The Freemasons have been great supporters of St Luke’s and this donation is extremely important to us. It costs £700 per hour every day of the year to simply maintain the service we provide and a donation like this means so much to our work now and in the future.’

There are around 900 Freemasons in Sheffield and 26 different lodges, but Britannia Lodge, No. 139, is the city’s oldest. ‘Freemasons do a tremendous amount of good work and offer their brethren real camaraderie. I hope Britannia Lodge will celebrate its 500th anniversary,’ resolved Roger.

Director of Special Projects John Hamill wonders if resources spent on maintaining masonic buildings would be better used elsewhere

Recently I was accused of betraying my principles as a historian and supporter of the preservation of our masonic heritage. I had had the temerity to suggest that, sadly, there were times when we had to be hard-headed and pragmatic, particularly so when it comes to the huge heritage of masonic buildings.

In the context of the long history of the Craft, the idea of purpose-built lodge rooms and halls is a relative innovation. Originally, lodges, and even the two eighteenth-century English Grand Lodges, met in private rooms in inns and taverns. There were, of course, exceptions. In 1775, the premier Grand Lodge built the first Freemasons’ Hall in Great Queen Street, London. The oldest purpose-built Provincial Hall – still in use by the lodge that built it – appeared in Sunderland in 1778. In the early nineteenth-century, halls appeared as far apart as Bath and Newcastle upon Tyne but none survived the economic problems of the 1830s and 1840s.

The great period of masonic building was in mid-Victorian and Edwardian times. Freemasonry was rapidly expanding, and was seen by the public as a respectable association. To the growing middle and professional classes, who were the core membership of the Craft at that time, inns and taverns were not respectable places and so began the move to having specific premises limited to masonic activity.

The development of masonic buildings mirrored what was happening in ecclesiastical and civic circles, with the building of huge parish and free churches and palatial town halls. Just as they were expressions of Victorian religious and civic pride so the new masonic halls were an expression of the integrity and stability of the brethren who built them. Many of them were built in the new districts of the expanding towns and cities and reflected Freemasonry’s position as one of the pillars of the local community.

Life, however, moves on and changes. In the fifty years after the Second World War this country experienced the greatest economic and social upheaval since the industrial revolution. One of the effects in urban areas was that the former prosperous districts became subject to dereliction and decay as businesses and industries failed or downsized and moved out. The masonic halls became almost like islands in a sea of dereliction – islands which no one wanted to visit, especially on a dark winter’s night.

Combined with a contracting membership regularly asked to dig deeper into their pockets to cover ever rising costs and what at first had seemed a glorious heritage soon became an increasingly heavier millstone around the necks of those who used them.

To my mind, the purpose of Freemasonry is to bring together men from disparate backgrounds and traditions, to instil in them the principles and tenets of the Craft and to explore what we have in common and build on that commonality for the good of society as a whole. It is not the purpose of Freemasonry to act as a sort of National Trust to preserve a heritage of buildings which, while they have served the Craft over a long period, are no longer fit for purpose. The time, energy and finance which is spent in trying to preserve them could be put to much better masonic effect.

The major concern for the Craft in recent years has been attracting and retaining new members. The fall in membership appears to be bottoming out and in some areas there are real signs of growth. I would argue that the next major area of concern will be the problem of our heritage of property. In some areas it is being addressed and schemes have evolved – like the events business at London’s Freemasons’ Hall – to share masonic buildings with others to bring in additional income. But there will be times when hard decisions have to be taken, and on those occasions it is the head that should rule rather than the heart.

Letter to the Editor - FreemasonryToday No.17 - Spring 2012   Sir, I was extremely interested to read the ‘Historical Millstones’ reflection by John Hamill in the Winter 2011 issue of Freemasonry Today. This is a subject on which I have long held strong convictions. I wholeheartedly support his thoughts. There is, in addition to John’s comments, one aspect that I have put forward many times in the past. Smaller, more local masonic meeting halls lend themselves to involving Freemasons in the communities in which they reside, which are the sources of their Entered Apprentices. The doors of small, local masonic halls should be opened to the local community to demonstrate that Freemasons are part of it and that their halls are not places to be frowned upon. Indeed, the very idea of a masonic centre militates against the concept of openness. If communities of non-masons continually see men in black suits with black cases driving or walking into large, sometimes forbidding, old buildings with large gates closing behind them, often in the dark, it becomes the breeding ground for the unfounded suspicions that have hounded our meetings for many years. In my experience, limited as it is, it is the small, local halls which prove to have few if any financial problems, and the masonic centres that do. Masonic centres can be an excellent means of providing a home for a large number of lodges. But if the upkeep is beyond the means of the membership who use the building, then it seems very pertinent to actively consider using a small local hall, as was the case for most lodges 100 to 150 years ago. Martin Dowrick Fernhill Lodge, No. 7707 New Milton, Hampshire and Isle of Wight

The Library and Museum of Freemasonry welcomes a pistol for the first time into its collection

The collections in the Library and Museum at 60 Great Queen Street have been accumulated over nearly two hundred years since the 1830s. New items are always being added, including centenary jewels, founders or Past Master’s jewels and newly published books.

Although tens of thousands of objects are already held, just occasionally a new type of object finds its way into the collection. Earlier this summer, the Library and Museum acquired its first masonic gun. Made around 1800, the pocket-sized flintlock pistol with a walnut grip is engraved with masonic symbols including a plumb rule, level, globe, Volume of Sacred Law and a sunburst. It also has two names on it – Sikes and Melford – which may relate to the maker or it could refer to the retailer and a place. Research to confirm these details is continuing.

Flintlock pistols were used as self-defence weapons and as a military arm. Although a pistol may seem at odds with the masonic idea of brotherly love, Freemasons of the time decorated a wide range of personal items including watches and snuff boxes to show pride in their membership. The decorated pistol, now on display in the Library and Museum, is a further example of such customisation.

A survey reveals that people feel they are being treated with respect and dignity in Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution care homes

High-quality care provision is a key priority for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution, with the organisation conducting annual surveys at its care homes to assess the satisfaction levels of people who use its services. This year’s survey asked both residents and relatives a series of questions on different aspects of service provision and life within their care home, in order to create a full picture of the effectiveness and quality, as well as to highlight which areas require improvement.

Feeling at Home
The care home section of the survey sought to ascertain how satisfied people were with their living accommodation. Overall, residents responded positively, with 91% of residents saying that they liked their room and more than 90% stating that their room was private and that they felt safe and secure. Similar responses were also evident in the survey of relatives, with over 70% stating that their relative or friend settled in well at their chosen care home.

When residents were asked about their experience of the catering provision, the answers indicated that there was room for improvement, especially around the enjoyment, quality and choice of food.

Encouragingly, in the staff section of the survey it was found that 93% of residents felt that staff were polite to them and were helpful, and that staff listened to them – 90% and 80% respectively. These results show that the people living in RMBI homes are treated with dignity and respect, an ethos that is core to the RMBI. Moreover, 88% of relatives and friends also felt that the staff at the care homes had a positive attitude to the residents and that the management team were easily accessible. Also, we were very pleased to learn that 93% of relatives were very satisfied with the responsiveness of staff to matters that concerned them.

ACTIVELY CARING
Activities play an important role in the care homes and the scores in this area were above average. A high proportion of residents (76%) said that they knew what activities were going on in the care home and 57% felt that there were things to do throughout the day.

When asked about help and support, responses were positive, with 81% saying they felt that they could talk to someone about their concerns. Eighty per cent felt that the staff involved them in the way they are cared for, which is a huge increase to a similar question that was asked in previous years when less than 50% of residents agreed with this statement.

These improved results can be attributed to the considerable work that has taken place on the care planning process at all RMBI homes. The way in which the care plans are now completed is more person-centred, and 85% of relatives and friends of residents also stated that they were involved in the planning and delivery of the care provided.

A high 73% of relatives felt that their relative/friend had the opportunity to live life as fully as possible in the care home environment and again 73% said that they were satisfied with the way their relative or friend was being cared for. Very encouragingly, the results found that 91% of residents and relatives said that they would recommend their RMBI home to someone else.

The satisfaction surveys are an important part of the RMBI’s quality assurance programme and the results have been helpful in capturing the experiences of people who use RMBI services and that of their relatives. The RMBI will continue to evaluate the results from the satisfaction surveys and will work with its care home management teams to make sure that any areas that have been identified for improvement are thoroughly addressed, and robust plans to make sure that these developments take place are implemented.

Freemasons and their families gathered on the Devon coast, together with local dignitaries and members of the public, to attend the largest ever Annual General Meeting and General Court held by the RMTGB.

In recent years, the RMTGB has held its AGM in various Provinces away from London. As a result, an increasing number of Freemasons and members of the public have been able to hear about the life-changing charitable support that the RMTGB is able to provide.

This year’s meeting was held at the Langstone Cliff Hotel in Dawlish under the chairmanship of Michael Penny, Provincial Grand Master for Devonshire. The RMTGB’s President and Chief Executive, together with members of Council and staff, explained the work of the charity to over 200 guests, including the Lord Lieutenant of Devon and the Lord Mayor of Exeter.

The presentations highlighted how the RMTGB’s annual expenditure, which this year amounted to over £9 million, makes a positive and lasting difference to more than 1,800 children and grandchildren of masonic families, all of whom have suffered a distress such as the death of a parent or have been adversely affected by unemployment or redundancy.

Talking about Talent
The RMTGB’s TalentAid scheme, which this year celebrates a decade of providing support to those who are exceptionally gifted in music, sport and the performing arts, was also highlighted at the meeting.

During an interlude in proceedings, Clio Williams, a former beneficiary of the scheme, delivered an operatic performance to demonstrate the very high level of ability that TalentAid encourages and supports.

The RMTGB’s ongoing support for those with no connection to the Craft was also promoted at the meeting, including the Choral Bursary and Stepping Stones schemes, as well as the in-kind support provided to the separate charity Lifelites. This charitable organisation supplies valuable entertainment and educational technology to children’s hospices.

Funding schemes to help transform the lives of disadvantaged children

This year, the RMTGB has allocated £100,000 to its grant-making scheme, Stepping Stones. The scheme awards grants to non-masonic charities that are working to improve the lives and well-being of some of the most disadvantaged children and young people in England and Wales.

Already, the Stepping Stones scheme has awarded £50,000 to three charities. One of these is the British Schools Exploring Society’s outreach programme, which enables those from deprived backgrounds to participate in life-changing expeditions.

Another is the Young Lives Foundation, which provides mentoring support to guide young people through times of distress, and finally Motability, which helps to enable disabled young people like Thomas (pictured) to become more independent.

Thomas is 11 and has cerebral palsy – he cannot walk unaided and uses a wheelchair. ‘Now that we have a car that takes Thomas’s electric wheelchair, I don’t know how I ever coped without one,’ Thomas’s mother explains. ‘Our car and adaptations have had the biggest positive impact on our ability to live our lives more easily than any kind of help we have had before.’


For further information about the RMTGB’s Stepping Stones scheme, together with details of the full range of support available, please visit www.rmtgb.org

The MSF always enjoys visitors and was very pleased to recently welcome two beneficiaries who made the trip to show their gratitude to the staff for the support they had received throughout their critical surgical procedures.

Noel O’Shea, accompanied by colleagues from Summum Bonum Lodge, No. 3665, in Middlesex, presented a cheque from the lodge as a thank you for the grant he had received to fund hip replacement surgery in 2008.

Before returning to Nigeria, Eddie Obianwu also journeyed to the MSF to thank them for the assistance he received for surgery to amputate his left leg and the subsequent provision of a prosthetic limb. He was accompanied by members of his family and his District Grand Master, Chief Moses O Taiga.

How the Masonic Samaritan Fund is now supporting vital areas of medical research

Working in close co-operation with the Grand Charity, the MSF Trustees consider requests for grants in support of medical research. Fight for Sight, Action on Hearing Loss and Alzheimer’s Research UK have all been recent successful applicants and were each awarded grants.

The MSF receives many grant applications from individuals seeking treatment for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), one of the most common forms of visual disability. Fight for Sight has supported research at the Institute of Ophthalmology and the grant from the MSF will fund a PhD student for three years as part of ongoing research into understanding the mechanisms of the development of AMD.

Action on Hearing Loss, formerly the RNID, has been awarded a grant to fund a pioneering project led by Dr Walter Marcotti at the University of Sheffield. The research will increase understanding of progressive age-related hearing loss.

A further grant has been provided to Alzheimer’s Research UK. The grant will help support two years of pioneering research to develop a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s. Simon Lovestone, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at King’s College, London, is leading the study and said, ‘Our aim is to develop a simple blood test that can be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s even before any symptoms show.’

The Scouts can look forward to increased membership thanks to a generous donation from the Grand Charity

In 2008, the Grand Charity donated £500,000 to The Scout Association with the aim of helping to encourage more young people to join the movement. Given over a five-year period, the donation would provide young people with opportunities for personal development and the chance to get involved with many exciting activities, as well as forging closer links between lodges and Scout Groups.

Since 2008, the grant has been used to support local Scouting, providing areas with start-up and activity grants, as well as much-needed equipment such as books and games. It is estimated that the Grand Charity’s grant has so far enabled 500,000 young people to receive new materials and equipment.

There are certain regions where young people want to join Scouting Groups, but insufficient resources and adult provision means that they have been unable to take part. However, thanks to the Grand Charity’s start-up grants, funding has been allocated to expand 250 new Scouting Groups each year and so far more than 3,500 young people have been able to join.

Success so far
Cambridgeshire is one such region that has recently been assisted with Grand Charity-sponsored start-up grants. ‘I hope that this funding will be available to other counties for similar projects and that they have the same or even higher levels of success,’ said Richard Hames, Cambridgeshire District Commissioner. ‘Twenty new members in a Beaver Colony with the associated leaders will grow into Cub and Scout sections, allowing even more people to join the Beavers. As these new sections become established and the first members work their way through the movement, the total number of people this money
can assist could be very considerable.’

As well as introducing more young people to Scouting, there has also been a desire to bring lodges and Scout Groups together. In Norfolk, Scouts are organising a weekend event for local Freemasons where it is hoped that up to 500 people will be able to attend. The aim of the event is to showcase local Scouting activities, as well as providing an opportunity for Freemasons and Scouts to learn more about one another. Many lodges already support their local Scout Group through help with volunteering or the loan of premises and outside spaces, and this grant is helping to further strengthen those ties.

If you would like to find out how you can get in touch with your local Scout Group, please contact The Scout Association on 0845 300 1818

With the Relief Chest Scheme celebrating its 25th anniversary, Freemasonry Today looks at how the scheme makes giving easier for Freemasons around the UK

Launched in 1986, the Relief Chest Scheme provides administrative support for the fundraising activities of masonic units. The Freemasons’ Grand Charity operates the scheme for free, enabling masonic organisations to manage their charitable donations more efficiently by offering individual chests that can be used to accumulate funds for charitable purposes. The scheme maximises the value of charitable donations by pooling funds to ensure that they earn the best possible rate of interest and by claiming Gift Aid relief on all qualifying donations. By taking on this administrative function the scheme saves valuable time and resources involved in lodge fundraising.

The scheme is particularly useful to Provinces running charitable fundraising campaigns, including festivals, with Provinces able to request that the Relief Chest Scheme open special chests. ‘Following our very successful 2010 RMBI Festival, we decided to maintain the culture of regular charitable giving by making use of the Relief Chest Scheme, which had not been previously used by our Province,’ explains Eric Heaviside, Durham Provincial Grand Master. ‘The scheme is a very efficient way to generate funds, as it not only makes giving regularly easy but also provides the opportunity for tax recovery via the Gift Aid allowances. All of this is professionally managed by the Relief Chest Department in The Freemasons’ Grand Charity office in London.’

With over four thousand chests, the scheme is helping Freemasons give charitable support to the people who need it most. Grahame Elliott, President of The Freemasons’ Grand Charity, explains how the scheme has evolved over the years, ‘When the idea for the Relief Chest Scheme was announced in September 1985, it was hoped that it would provide a simple and effective way for lodges to give to charity. Lodges would be able to give practical proof of an ever-increasing attachment to the first two of the grand principles on which our order is founded – brotherly love and relief. Twenty-five years later, it is clear to me that the scheme has successfully met these aims, evolving as an excellent way of helping lodges to spend less time on the administrative work involved in processing donations, giving them more time to spend on other important activities.’

With over £14 million donated to charitable causes via the Scheme in 2010, it is hoped that this success will continue, assisting the masonic community in its charitable giving for many years to come.

To find out more, go to www.grandcharity.org

Provincial supporters Provincial Grand Masters from around the UK give their experiences of working with the Relief Chest... ‘We opened our Relief Chest in the name of the Provincial Benevolent Association principally to take advantage of the Gift Aid tax reclaim facility. In addition, by utilising the expertise of the team we have been able to develop a much more efficient and thorough analysis of donations. The Province looks forward to our continuing association with the Relief Chest team and thanks them for their ongoing advice and assistance.’ Rodney Wolverson Cambridgeshire Provincial Grand Master ‘Relief Chests have proved an immense boon to London charity stewards and treasurers in easing the administration of charitable giving. For our big appeals – the RMBI, the CyberKnife and the Supreme Grand Chapter’s 2013 Appeal – the support given by the Relief Chest team is vital.’ Russell Race Metropolitan Grand Master ‘The record-breaking success of the 2011 Essex Festival for the Grand Charity was not only due to the generosity of the brethren, but also to the support we received from the Relief Chest Scheme. The scheme’s online reports and personal support made the tracking of donations, interest accumulated and Gift Aid recovery a seamless operation for our administration. That information enabled us to keep the lodges and brethren informed of their totals.’ John Webb Essex Provincial Grand Master Relief chest breakdown Who can receive a donation from a Relief Chest? • Charities registered with the Charity Commission • Any organisation holding charitable status • Any individual in financial distress The benefits provided by the Relief Chest Scheme: • Interest added to your donation: A favourable interest rate is earned on funds held for each Chest and no tax is payable on interest earned • Tax relief: The Gift Aid Scheme means HMRC gives 25p for every £1 donated to a Chest, where eligible • Easy depositing: Make donations by direct debit, cheque and the Gift Aid Envelope Scheme • Ease of donating to charities: Once a donation is authorised, the payment is made by the Relief Chest Scheme • Free: There’s no direct cost to Relief Chest holders • Easily accessible reports: Annual statements are provided, plus interim statements and subscribers’ lists are available upon request • Additional help for Festival Relief Chests: Comprehensive performance projection reports and free customised stationery are available

Roger Marjoribanks looks to his family tree to follow the masonic life of Stewart Marjoribanks and his role in the creation of New Zealand as we know it today

In New Zealand, many of Wellington’s citizens will be aware of a perfectly ordinary road called Majoribanks Street running out of town from Courtenay Place. They may perhaps know that it should correctly be spelled Marjoribanks and pronounced Marchbanks. However, they are less likely to know that it commemorates a man who, although having never visited the island country in the Pacific, may truly be numbered among the founding fathers of the nation.

Stewart Marjoribanks was the third of five sons of Edward Marjoribanks of Lees, just north of the Scottish border with England, all of whom distinguished themselves in their various fields. The eldest brother, John, remained in Scotland, became Lord Provost of Edinburgh (twice), an MP and Depute Grand Master of Scotland. Campbell, Stewart and Edward all came to London around the turn of the century, while James became a judge in India.

Campbell twice became chairman of the East India Company, Stewart a most successful owner of a fleet of merchantmen and Edward a senior partner in Coutts & Co. Bank. It is, incidentally, perhaps in the family friendship with Thomas Coutts that the key to their extraordinary and sudden prominence lies. They were in any case a very talented group, but a helping hand never comes amiss.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to pin down Stewart’s early career to precise dates, but a letter from 1820 mentions that in that year he was expecting to be returned unopposed as MP for Hythe. This election conferred on him the ancient title of ‘Baron of the Cinque Ports’ (founded originally to defend the coast from the French) and the right to bear the canopy at the coronation of George IV while girt with a sword (which is still in possession of Watford Lodge).

Involved and Influential
Stewart’s masonic career began in February 1811, when he was initiated into the Lodge of Friendship, No. 6, a ‘Moderns’ lodge of great prestige meeting in Bond Street. Although the final achievement of the union was still a couple of years in the future, concrete steps were already being taken, in which members of this lodge took a leading part. Stewart made his masonic reputation as a member of this lodge, for he became Senior Grand Warden in 1823, the year before joining the equally prestigious Royal Alpha Lodge. This is traditionally the lodge of the Grand Master and in due course Stewart served as Deputy Master to the Duke of Sussex.

Much more is known about Stewart’s membership of Bamborough Lodge, No. 580, which he joined in 1830, and which was eventually renamed and numbered as Watford Lodge, No. 404. Here he is well remembered as an assiduous, authoritative and kindly member, and can be recalled physically through his portrait by John Lennell, which still hangs in the Temple in the west. He came to Watford when he and Campbell bought Bushey Grove House as their country seat. Stewart joined the Royal Arch in Cyrus Chapter, No. 21, in 1813 and became a founder of the Chapter of Friendship, No. 3 (now No. 6), in 1824, in which year he became Assistant Grand Sojourner (AGSoj).

As a member of Watford Lodge, Stewart was a distinctly big fish in a moderate pond. He apparently introduced a number of well-known men to the lodge, culminating in the agreement of the Duke of Sussex to become an Honorary Member. He was Worshipful Master for two consecutive years from 1835 to 1836 (the lodge numbered some seventy-one masons) and was elected again in 1841, although ill health appears to have prevented his installation. He is said to have been regular in attendance except when his Parliamentary duties kept him away, though with advancing years he was unable to play a very active part after turning seventy. He married a lodge widow, Lady Rendlesham, but the union produced no children. He appears to have been a popular and effective member of the lodge and promoter of its interests.

Expanding Apace
It is worth remembering that Stewart’s masonic career coincides with the first generation of the United Grand Lodge of England after the resolution of the schism between the Moderns and the Ancients which had so marred the half century previous to 1813. The Duke of Sussex, as Most Worshipful Grand Master, must have felt that Stewart, with his easy personality and well-reputed integrity, was an ideal friend and support.

Meanwhile, Stewart’s business expanded apace from his premises in King’s Arms Yard. At first it appears that he traded mainly with India and China, which fitted in well with the interests of his brother Campbell and Thomas Coutts; but before long he turned to the Australia run (he invested substantially in the Australian Agricultural Company) and the growing interest in New Zealand through the New Zealand Company. We have evidence from one of his captains  – Cole of the ‘Mellish’ in 1822 – that he was very much looked up to as a model for emulation, while in 1826 his captains clubbed together to present him with a gift of silver plate ‘in view of his much appreciated way of conducting himself towards them’.

As far as New Zealand was concerned, Stewart was very much the right man in the right place at the right time. He was well placed to win government contracts for the transport of troops and stores, but his major role seems to have been in implementing the official policy of encouraging emigration after the Treaty of Waitangi by transporting potential settlers of all classes, especially from Scotland. Here he was assisted by his distant cousin Alexander Marjoribanks of that ilk, chief of the family – it was not then recognised as a clan. Alexander’s prestige stood a great deal higher than his character warranted, but he did take ship to New Zealand and then on to New South Wales in 1840-41 and wrote very readable books about both colonies. To judge by the volume of Scottish settlers, the publicity gained was well worthwhile.

Round Peg in a Round Hole
As it happens, one of the ship’s officers kept a diary of the first leg of this trip and most entertaining it is – he makes clear that he is torn between respect for Alexander’s rank and contempt for his unworthy behaviour. He records with disapproval Alexander’s marriage on board to his maid and it is notable that no such marriage is officially recorded anywhere, nor did the lady proceed to New South Wales.

Bearing in mind the savagery of the Mãori wars that followed, one could be in two minds about the effects of Stewart’s work on New Zealand. However, the impression is of a diligent, conscientious and kindly businessman, ‘a round peg in a round hole’. As the 1840s progressed, ill health drove him into virtual retirement. Campbell had died in 1840 but Stewart lived on to the age of eighty-seven. Childless, he left Bushey Grove House to his nephew Edward (my great-grandfather), who promptly bankrupted himself by destroying it and building a monstrosity
in its place. And the explanation of the spelling and pronunciation of Majoribanks Street? A mystery, lost in the mists of history. Even the Marjoribankses themselves have no convincing explanation.

Mark Dennis, curator of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry at Freemasons’ Hall, explains to Luke Turton why his job is all about challenging assumptions


Why did you join the Library and Museum of Freemasonry?
I answered the advert in Museums Journal, which is how qualified curators find their jobs. It was visiting the museum before I applied that made me want the post – as someone with a prior interest and specialism in uniforms and regalia, these fantastic collections were something I really wanted to explore. As a non-mason it has been a fascinating journey into the heart of Freemasonry and towards realising what it means to its members and the outside world. I previously worked as curator for HM Customs and Excise so dealing with an organisation that people are prone to misunderstand or have strong views about came naturally.

How have the collections changed since you started working here?
We’ve been looking for the more commonplace. If it’s rare and it’s precious, we’ve probably got six, but if it’s average, we probably haven’t got one because it wouldn’t have occurred to a mason to give it to the Grand Lodge. When we got here, there wasn’t a case showing basic Craft regalia because the assumption was that everyone knows what it looks like – but the public don’t. That process of openness continues today. When I got here, we wouldn’t have had a case on women’s Freemasonry, yet a few years ago we had an entire exhibition on a female grand lodge centenary.

Have the visitors changed over the years?
Things are shifting. We get a younger and more diverse audience who are genuinely curious and don’t have preconceptions. It’s all about making people think about their views on Freemasonry. With all the regalia and ritual, they might find what Freemasons do mysterious, but go back sixty years before the welfare state and every working man, as well as many women, were in friendly societies – it was the only way you got sick pay or death benefits. All these societies had regalia and ritual, so did the trade unions. The profile of the Freemasons and of this Grand Lodge in particular is the last visible bit of what used to be completely understood before the Second World War.

What is the Library and Museum trying to achieve?
The museum was originally designed for Freemasons to advance in their knowledge. The museum therefore presumed visitors knew what was going on. However, in recent years we and our predecessors have been working through the material culture of Freemasonry, using it to build up a picture of masonic life on an exhibition-by-exhibition basis. We’ve done things on masonic dining and sociability; the relationship between Freemasonry and religion; women in Freemasonry; and additional degrees – some Freemasons don’t realise there are twenty additional masonic orders that you can join so there’s the spotters’ guide up on the wall. We don’t have an agenda but we do want people to realise the depth, richness and complexity of the subject matter. We’ve also designed it so that if you are a Freemason, you can use the displays to talk to family members or potential candidates. This is the museum of the Grand Lodge and we should never forget that it is primarily for the members.

How do you decide what to put on display?
For the exhibitions, we look for facets that people wouldn’t know about. I wouldn’t show anything that spoiled the surprise of any of the rituals – for example, an object that is used. However, we are looking to be comprehensive in terms of lodges that come under the United Grand Lodge of England. We want something from every single lodge in the constitution, be it ephemera, lodge history or a jewel.

We have a display of Henry Muggeridge, who was a very famous Victorian mason, and we have the jewel worn by his proposer, his handwritten notes when he was in his eighties and everything in between. We collect people not things. They have a financial value but they’re also irreplaceable historically. We have a gavel made from a rifle captured in battle (pictured above right) and used in masonic meetings in the combat zone, and jewels made in a lodge held in a Japanese internment camp in the Second World War. How do you put a price on those? If the building’s burning down, none of us will head for the gold and silver, we’ll all go for the one-off pieces that tell a story.

How much restoration work do you carry out?
We don’t take things in poor condition unless they’re absolutely vital for the story – we’re not miracle workers. We are working through our collections and looking at things that need conservation, like books and fabrics, but we’re here to archive, we’re a service industry. We do publish academic papers, but primarily we are here to make people aware of the collections, wake people up to the fact that it’s here and hope they ask us questions so that we can start digging around. It’s the same in the lodges – if it weren’t for the fact that lodge archivists have been keeping records and writing histories for the past two hundred and fifty years, so much would have been lost. The things in our museum now are a unique resource.

Where else could I find Freemasonry artefacts?
Apart from the provincial masonic museums, the display of Freemasonry in the UK is next to nil – I think museums are afraid of it and that they might get it wrong. What keeps me here is that, as a curator, I’m doing something that no one else is. It can get a bit lonely but it’s fascinating. We want to point out that the world is moving, that people do have an interest in fraternity in the broadest sense, as well as in Freemasonry, and that maybe the time is coming for it to be displayed in other collections. Museums out there are missing a trick.

Do you show how Freemasonry is interpreted throughout the world?
The main thing is to pick out a core message of the Grand Lodge, like brotherly love, and then find out more about the stories that relate to that core. However, under the surface of what we do there is historical tension when looking at global Freemasonry in all its diversity, against how it was originally created in the UK. While it’s a very adaptable organisation in the UK, especially if you look at how its changed in the last few years, it has still kept its core beliefs of no politics or religion. When this changes around the world, is it still Freemasonry? The public have no idea about regularity or recognition, for them if someone calls themselves a Freemason, that’s what they are. But it’s not that simple, it’s a sensitivity that we’re working on and is an interesting line to walk.

What do you like about your job?
I came here for three years and I’ve been here for twelve. I said I’d leave when I get bored and that hasn’t happened yet. The joy of this collection is that it makes people really think and, as curator, it’s at the root of what I do: to wake people up and make them consider why it is that they hold certain ideas and beliefs.

Anthony Sayer may have been chosen as the first Grand Master of Grand Lodge in 1717, but little is known about his life. Steven Smith questions why, and wonders whether historians have deliberately ignored him

Little is known about Anthony Sayer for the simple reason that there has been a lack of research into the first Grand Master. One explanation for this may be that he has been regarded as an ordinary person with low social standing, and has therefore been deemed of little importance. However, this approach flies in the very face of the essence of Freemasonry as we are all brothers, equally entitled to our regard.

Anthony Sayer was elected to be the first Grand Master on a majority show of hands by the members of the four lodges (some say six lodges and others add some ‘unattached’ older brethren) that met at the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house in St. Paul’s Church Yard, on 24 June 1717. The lodges had previously met at the Apple Tree Tavern, in Covent Garden in 1716 and agreed to form a Grand Lodge.

Dr James Anderson in the first Constitutions of 1723 records that at that meeting it was resolved to choose ‘a Grand Master from among themselves, till they should have the honour of a noble brother at their head’. Anderson goes on to refer to Sayer as ‘Mr Anthony Sayer, Gentleman’. This lack of further information regarding who he was and what he did has led to speculation that Sayer was of no real financial means. It certainly suggests that he was not a person with any connection to the aristocracy and therefore of low social standing.

Falling into disrepute
The matter is further clouded by the fact that Sayer had to call on the charitable assistance of the Grand Lodge. This is recorded on a number of occasions in the minutes of Grand Lodge, as is the extent to which he was assisted in some cases. Sayer’s reasons for asking for assistance are not known but it may be that he had simply reached the lowest spoke of fortune’s wheel. It is also recorded that he was charged with clandestine and irregular practice in relation to the Craft, but it was later found that his actions were only irregular, and he was admonished accordingly.

Sayer ended up acting as Tyler of his lodge up to his death after leaving the Grand Master’s chair, and in the interim was also Senior Grand Warden and Warden of his own lodge. This is considered a great demotion by some commentators, with detractors claiming that he was a ‘nobody’ who could not maintain his standing in the Craft and was in fact bettered by those who followed him.

other side of the coin
If these facts are interpreted in the true spirit of Freemasonry, with an open and charitable mind, the converse view could be true. It could be argued that Sayer was held in such high estimation among his brethren and fellows that he was elected on merit by the majority of brethren present as the best person for the job. At the very least, if this were not the case, it might be said that he graciously volunteered for what was undoubtedly an important and difficult role, overseeing the new concept of uniting lodges under one umbrella – a concept which has subsequently survived the wreck of mighty empires and the destroying hand of time.

Another view that may be considered is the humility of Sayer. When he was in need of assistance, he was not too proud to ask for it. Similarly, neither did his ego stand in the way of him acting as Tyler when previously he had been Grand Master. His misfortune did not cause him to turn away from the Craft and it could be argued that Sayer should be held up as a role model for Freemasons today.

When he left this life for the Grand Lodge above in late 1741, Sayer was buried in St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden in January 1742. Standing as a further indication of the esteem in which he was held by his peers, a newspaper article recorded the event as follows: ‘A few days since died, aged about 70 years, Mr. Anthony Sayer, who was Grand Master of the most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in 1717. His corpse was followed by a great number of Gentlemen of that Honorable Society of the best Quality, from the Shakespears Head Tavern in the Piazza in Covent Garden and decently interr’d in Covent-Garden church.’

There may be several reasons why Sayer’s lineage cannot be traced, not least of which is that records of the era have not all survived, therefore forcing researchers to come to a dead end. However, it has been deduced that the family name ‘Sayer’ was quite common in southern England at the time, but the Christian name ‘Anthony’ was less so, and might be considered more continental in flavour.

It could well be that Sayer was not born in this country. Many people of the time were immigrants who upon settling here changed their names. Notably two people, who are also buried in St. Paul’s Church, come into this category: Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) and Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680). Gibbons, a famous sculptor in wood, was born and educated in Holland while Sir Peter Lely was born in Holland and was originally named Pieter van der Faes. He was portrait painter to the court of King Charles II. Both became naturalised citizens of England and both were consummate craftsmen, with Gibbons shown in a portrait painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) holding a pair of compasses and contemplating the proportions of a classical bust depicted in death mode.

There may yet be facts that can still be discovered about Sayer. Perhaps researchers might look at the wider course of European history for this, rather than stay within the confines of English masonic history. Perhaps we need to start again with the facts we have and look at them with an open mind and in a new light; to tread paths of research that have not yet
been taken. This approach may eventually unearth the real ‘Mr Anthony Sayer, Gentleman’, which, with the 300th year of Grand Lodge fast approaching, is perhaps long overdue. Most importantly, we ought not to forget the values we seek to uphold as part of our Craft and remember what the true reasons for being a Freemason are.


Steven Smith is a member of the West Essex Round Table Lodge, No. 9310

With a proud tradition stretching back almost 200 years, HMS Trincomalee is on the crest of a new learning wave, as Euan Houstoun, a descendant of a past captain, explains

It would be an enormous task to make up the story that has made HMS Trincomalee the icon of the celebrated ‘wooden walls’ of the Nelson era. The ship’s survival has been remarkable, coming back from the brink of extinction on numerous occasions. The second oldest ship afloat in the world, what has kept her hull above water for so long has been the fact that young people from across the UK continue to have the chance to learn about her proud and exciting history.

As national educational priorities change, it is essential that HMS Trincomalee changes with them. Thanks to the support of local development authorities, Freemasons and the hard work of the HMS Trincomalee Trust, the ship has been able to offer schools opportunities for learning outside the classroom in a unique and stimulating environment.

Built for the Admiralty in the East India Company dockyard at Bombay in 1817, HMS Trincomalee was constructed of Malabar teak and named after the superb natural harbour in eastern Ceylon that provided British control of the Indian Ocean from 1795. By 1862, social and technological changes gradually transformed the Royal Navy and for the next fifteen years HMS Trincomalee was to assume a drill ship role at Hartlepool, where the training of reservists afloat was seen as the key to retaining and refreshing skills. However, by 1897 the end was in sight with the ship being offered for breaking.

Out of the woodwork came Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb, a sea training enthusiast who took loan of HMS Trincomalee from the Royal Navy, and renamed her after his earlier vessel, Lord Nelson’s Foudroyant. Cobb took the ship to Falmouth and Milford Haven where young people, often from poor families, were given experience of life on board. In 1932, the ship transferred to Portsmouth and during the Second World War it was commissioned to train new entry recruits known as the ‘Bounty Boys’.

With a trust formed to promote the training and experience for young people all over the country, the ship became a beacon in the busy harbour for years, sharing water with modern-day warships. By the 1980s, however, curriculum and career changes resulted in fewer young people visiting the ship. A shortage of funds also meant that there was a severe lack of maintenance. Consequently, the structure of the ship continued to deteriorate and in 1986 the trust had to face the prospect that the ship may have made its final voyage.

Captain David Smith, chairman of the trust, came up with an alternative plan to restore the ship. After exhaustive negotiations, it was agreed that she should abandon her home in Portsmouth and move back to her former location at Hartlepool, where the regeneration and renaissance of the town could be centred on the ship. Crucially, this was also an area where there was a skilled workforce who could undertake a restoration of this magnitude. Transported by submersible barge to Hartlepool in 1987, the restoration process began in 1990 thanks largely to grants from Teesside Development Corporation and other generous supporters.

With the ship regaining its original name in Hartlepool, the restoration of HMS Trincomalee took eleven years from 1990 to 2001. The facts are staggering – the trust raised £10.5 million for the work; the process subsumed more than three quarters of a million man-hours of skilled employment; and about £8 million was fed into the local economy through wages and purchases. Not a bad achievement for a small charitable trust. Most important of all perhaps, was the outcome that more than 60 per cent of the original fabric of the ship survives today, making it one of the most important ships in the UK.

Like any survivor, HMS Trincomalee must move with the times and maintain relevance. The trust is therefore determined to upgrade the educational resources and materials for teachers and pupils across all key stages of the National Curriculum. With the support of the Freemasons, it has been able to make an exciting start to this work, and already all-new materials to stimulate writing skills at key stage 2, which covers the seven to eleven-year-old age group, have been developed.

Built for war and for a twenty-five-year life expectancy, HMS Trincomalee has already achieved a lifespan of over one hundred and ninety four years thanks to those who have nurtured her over the decades. As well as developing new educational resources, a team of educators and trustees is coordinating a broad and balanced approach to the historical relevance of HMS Trincomalee to the maritime and social history of Britain. The priority remains to create financial sustainability in order to continue the essential maintenance and conservation of HMS Trincomalee, ensuring that she is open year-round for the public’s education and enjoyment.

To find out more, go to www.hms-trincomalee.co.uk

 

Letter to the Editor - FreemasonryToday No.17 - Spring 2012 Sir, I want say how much I enjoy reading your magazine each month, and particularly the last edition, containing the article about HMS Trincomalee.   As a schoolboy in the early 1960s, I was among a fortunate group from Bolton Grammar School who were ‘billeted’ on the ship for two weeks during the summer holidays. The ship was called the TS Foudroyant at the time and was moored in Gosport harbour. Although afloat, most of her masts had been removed and she had little rigging. We young adventurers quickly adopted her as our home, and enjoyed the novelty of sleeping in hammocks and eating at galley tables suspended under the deck. Our youthful exuberance was kept in check by a formidable bosun called ‘Sharky’, who would pipe us to and from our activities and terrify any boy who tarried. Apart from scrubbing decks and polishing brasses, we had daily PE and games. The highlight for me was sailing a dinghy out into the Solent past the gargantuan hull of decommissioned aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. It makes my heart glad that such an historic vessel will be appreciated by another generation of children, and Hartlepool is now on my list of must-see destinations! Steven Grimshaw Cuerden Lodge, No. 6018 Leyland, West Lancashire

Grand Secretary Nigel Brown explains why the new Freemasonry Today website is all about improving communication among members

Since the mid-1990s, the internet has had an increasing impact on culture and commerce; as the majority of our members now communicate electronically with the rest of the world, their expectation is to be able to do just that with their lodges and with us. With that in mind, I am reminded of the challenges we face in aligning ourselves to that expectation.

Two constant drivers to our thinking are: first, how best to ensure our members are kept informed and feel included; second, how best to communicate with the non-masonic community so that we put the correct information about us out there. In 2009, the main UGLE website was relaunched to provide information about the Craft for the non-mason. That site has proved to be a great success, with an average of thirty thousand visitors a month over the last six months; 58% via search engines; 25% via referral sites and the rest through direct traffic.

Benefiting members
However, this site, though very useful to existing members, was not designed for them specifically. On that understanding, the Board of General Purposes decided to have a second site developed, dedicated to the membership. It is this members’ site that we have had great pleasure in officially launching in 2011. The platform is the old Freemasonry Today magazine site and we have maintained that website address: www.freemasonrytoday.com. The benefits of this site are that it is article-based, and it will include many more stories and features than we have space for in the printed magazine. In particular, it allows us to be timely with getting news to you and our response to real time events.

An attractive feature of the website is that all members can submit articles for potential inclusion and an especially useful aspect is that it will allow us to conduct surveys and polls among the membership, gauging their opinions on selected topics. Additionally, the current issue of each magazine will be available to view as a digital copy on the site.

We realise that many members, especially the younger ones, prefer to read the magazine digitally, rather than receive the printed copy. With this in mind, we have now added a digital subscription facility so that members who wish to, will receive an email alert when each new edition is available on the site. This digital subscription is also available to non-members.

We are extremely pleased with the number of lodges now launching their own websites and seeking an UGLE charter mark – a mark of Grand Lodge approval. The sheer number of lodges applying for a charter mark has meant that we have a backlog, as we carefully check each one for technical and masonic compliance. To overcome this, we have updated the UGLE guidelines for lodge websites to better reflect the ever-changing online landscape.

We live in very exciting times and I hope that you find the new members’ website both useful and interesting as it continues to evolve over the many years to come.

Balancing the demands of homework while performing in a West End show, Blaze and his mother Sarah have their work cut out for them. Sophie Radice finds out how Case Almoner Humphrey Ball is helping the 11-year-old fulfil his dreams


Arriving at the South London home of Sarah Porter, I find her deep in conversation with Freemason Humphrey Ball. Since he was appointed the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys’ (RMTGB) Case Almoner for Sarah and her son Blaze just over a year ago, Humphrey has developed a strong relationship with this small family. Today, he has spent an hour talking over 11-year-old Blaze’s educational progress, working out the best approach to allay Sarah’s worries, even offering to go with her to visit his school to discuss concerns with his teachers.

‘What’s the point of just doing the bare minimum?’ asks Humphrey. ‘You might as well not do the job at all if you are just going to do a little bit here and there. I’d rather help Sarah and Blaze as much as I possibly can, even if it is just acting as a sounding board. At the moment we are working out the best plan of action to try and really improve Blaze’s weakest subjects at school.’

Foundations of the Trust
The primary aim of the RMTGB is to help children and young people with a masonic connection to overcome the barriers of poverty and to support their education when their family has suffered distress resulting in financial hardship.

The origins of the RMTGB go back as far as 1788 when Chevalier Ruspini established a school for the daughters of deceased and distressed Freemasons. A scheme for clothing and educating the sons of indigent Freemasons was introduced 10 years later in 1798. In 1982, the separate girls’ and boys’ charities were merged together into the Trust to create a single entity.

Sarah’s son Blaze is the grandson of a Freemason, and his father left home when he was a small baby. Last year he was awarded a full scholarship by a prestigious performing arts school. While this was an amazing feat for Blaze to accomplish, his mother, who suffers from ill health and is unable to work, was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to afford the additional costs, including his daily travel and school uniform.

The RMTGB therefore provided the extra support needed to cover these costs as well as an additional maintenance allowance. This allowance can pay for things such as school trips, extra lessons, sports equipment, travel costs and telephone and internet charges – all of which will help to benefit and improve the child’s or children’s daily lives.

BLAZE AND THE FREEMASONS
Sarah first heard about the Trust through her father, and was thrilled when she found out that the RMTGB was willing to help support Blaze through secondary school. ‘It was very touching to me that my father wanted Blaze to benefit from the Freemasons because I know that it is something that has always been an important part of his life. I wouldn’t have known about this charitable side of the Freemasons if my dad hadn’t told me about it and it has made our relationship as father and daughter closer. The support and generosity of the Freemasons and the RMTGB has really brought us together as a family because we both have the same goal – wanting the very best for Blaze. I didn’t want him to miss out because of our circumstances.’

Sarah and Humphrey are extremely proud of Blaze and it is not hard to understand why. Blaze’s raw talent and passion for performing saw him winning his first West End role in 2009, initially playing a member of Fagin’s gang and then the Artful Dodger in Oliver! at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Earlier this year he featured in a short film called The Adopted Child, which is to be shown at Cannes Film Festival and he also performed alongside boy band The Wanted and singer Leona Lewis at the launch of Kinect – Microsoft’s motion-sensing game controller – at the Natural History Museum.

REAL RISING STAR
Blaze is currently one of the stars of the West End show Thriller Live touring the UK, playing the young Michael Jackson. With his talent attracting attention, Blaze was recently asked to partake in a short interview on a Dublin radio station and perform two Michael Jackson songs. As Sarah and Humphrey proudly replay a recording of the radio show, it is  clear that Blaze is a complete natural, answering questions with ease, cracking jokes and singing beautifully. Blaze’s real interest is in dance, although his acting and singing skills make him perfect for musical theatre. Humphrey smiles as he listens to the interview and describes him as a ‘real rising star’.

Humphrey was initiated into the St Botolph’s Lodge, No. 2020, in 1984, and became Master in 1991. He was also Master in Honor Deo Lodge, No. 3562, in London in 1999, Master in Temple Manor Lodge, No. 8397, in Bromley in 2001 and 2003, and Master in John Carpenter Lodge, No. 1997, in London in 2005. He is additionally an Almoner in a number of lodges and chapters and is a visiting brother in London.

Humphrey had a serious stroke on 10 October 2008 and had to relearn walking, talking, speaking, reading and writing. However, he has been so determined to regain all of these skills that if he hadn’t mentioned the stroke, it would be hard to spot. His speech is full of the easy banter and wit that reveals his background as an export manager, salesman and businessman. When he was nominated to be a Case Almoner by the local lodge just over a year ago, because Sarah and Blaze lived relatively near to him, he jumped at the chance.

POSITIVE EFFECTS ALL ROUND
Elaborating on his decision to become a Case Almoner, Humphrey explains, ‘My work used to involve interacting with people all day and was a very sociable, lively and self-motivated sort of profession. I have a great deal of energy and am always out and about with the other charitable work I do for the Freemasons, but there was something about being personally involved with a family and being able to liaise between Sarah and the RMTGB that really appealed to me. I enjoy seeing first-hand the positive effects and benefits of this kind of Freemasons’ charitable support.’

Sarah is feeling anxious about the prospect of being a single mother in Blaze’s teenage years. She is very grateful for what she sees as the steadying influence of Humphrey and the RMTGB. ‘Just knowing that there are people who care about what he does and the way he responds to his opportunities is very important, rather than it just being me who is telling him what to do. This past year has far exceeded my expectations and it has been such a help to me to have Humphrey to talk to about Blaze’s progress. Humphrey has had a lot of life experience and met so many people and seen so many situations that his opinion and support is very valuable. I feel it is like having a second father.’

What does a Case Almoner do? The role of Case Almoner is particularly sensitive and it is important that they are both patient and good listeners. By the very nature of the RMTGB’s work, family circumstances will often be distressing and difficult and there may have been a recent bereavement, marriage break-up or illness that the family is coming to terms with. The Almoner’s relationship with the family will last until the child finishes their education or until their circumstances improve. The Almoner acts as a link between the RMTGB and the family. They will not only help the family complete the necessary forms and assist the RMTGB in making the right decisions regarding how to best support each child but will also highlight proposed changes to the educational circumstances that might affect  their eligibility for support or the level at which support should be provided. CORRECT ASSESSMENT Each year there is a Statement of Financial Position form sent directly to the family. One of the Almoner’s duties will be to visit the family to collect the form and to check that it has been completed correctly and to forward it to the RMTGB. This is vital to make sure that the RMTGB can calculate what support, if any, the family is eligible for during the next academic year and ensures the children or child receive the correct level of support to suit their needs. The Almoners will also regularly communicate with the RMTGB about beneficiaries’ academic or personal achievements and other good news stories.

Peter Reeves, his son James, both of Wembley Lodge, No. 2914, Middlesex, and son-in-law Mark Best of Bishopsway Lodge, No. 6061, London, scaled the 4,409ft Ben Nevis, 3,200ft Scafell Pike and 3,500ft Mount Snowdon, on consecutive days in July.

Peter Reeves commented, ‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but being able to donate a worthwhile sum of money to Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support made it all worthwhile.’

James Reeves, a former soldier and Iraq veteran, set the pace up the mountains. ‘After the third one, the soles of my feet felt as if they had been beaten with a baseball bat,’ laughed climbing companion Mark, after completing the three peak challenge.

To donate, please go to www.justgiving.com/Pete-Reeves or www.justgiving.com/Mark-Best1.

Isaac Newton University Lodge, No. 859, decided that celebration of its 150-year history should be spread over much of 2011. Beginning in January, there was the first delivery of the 2011 Prestonian Lecture, as the lecturer was their Immediate Past Master, Dr James Campbell, a Senior Fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge.

In March, brethren from Apollo University Lodge No. 359 (Oxford) and Loge Robert de Sorbon (Paris) attended a meeting at Freemasons’ Hall, Cambridge, followed at the June meeting with a friends and family garden party. The celebration of the anniversary was held in July, at which the principal guest was the Deputy Grand Master, Jonathan Spence.

The prime purpose of the meeting was to make the substantial charitable donations that the lodge had decided should be the main way in which it celebrated its anniversary year.

The lodge has donated £1,000 for each year of its existence, with £50,000 going to the Grand Charity through the Provincial Festival, £50,000 to other masonic charities and £50,000 to a number of non-masonic charities drawn from suggestions and requests from lodge members.

Past Masters of the lodge presented cheques to the Assistant Grand Master, David Williamson, the Metropolitan Grand Master, Russell Race, and to the Presidents of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institute (RMBI), Masonic Samaritan Fund (MSF) and the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys (RMTGB).

The Provincial Grand Master received the cheque for his Festival on behalf of the Grand Charity.

To celebrate his 70th birthday, Norfolk mason Robin Rush made the bold decision to cycle 1,100 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats for the Provincial 2016 Festival for The Freemasons’ Grand Charity.

Robin was the oldest among a group of 20 completing the course, and his grandchildren were able to follow his progress online as he had
a tracker attached to his bike. A former Master of Boileau Lodge, No. 6862, Robin raised more than £7,000. He is used to gruelling challenges, being a long-distance runner, and normally takes part in an endurance race at least once a year for charity.

Alison Cattermoule is a member of one of the two regular female Grand Lodges in England, The Order of Women Freemasons.

Like many learning ritual, Alison had reflected that while it is relatively easy to practice the spoken part, it is difficult to rehearse the movement in the lodge, so she came up with the perambulation board. Measuring 26 by 17.5 inches, the board helps visualise movement in the lodge room with 42 labelled brethren ‘counters’. These show the emblems of office, together with counters for the tracing boards, pedestal changes and working tools. Alison is selling the sets at £28.50 each, with a £2 donation going to residential care homes run by The Order of Women Freemasons. Contact Alison on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 020 7702 1429.

There was a particularly appropriate surprise for the 60th birthday of Past Deputy Grand Organist Brian Williams at a celebratory dinner with family and friends at a local restaurant.

Unknown to him, Jersey Provincial Grand Master Kenneth Rondel – a guest at the dinner – had secretly commissioned two cakes to be made in the same dimensions as Brian’s full dress regalia. The cakes were made by Mrs Natalie Jordan and took nine hours to create – an extraordinary effort as the cakes looked so much like the real thing.

On 16 May 2011 one of the most far-flung lodges in the English Constitution realised its dream of more than a century – to establish a Royal Arch Chapter.

In 1872, the Lodge of Harmony, No. 1411, was consecrated in ValparaÍso, Chile. It is the only English Lodge meeting on the west coast of all the Americas and comes under the immediate supervision of our District for South America Southern Division. It was formed with the agreement of the Grand Lodge of Chile, then just 10 years old, and has always had happy relations with that body and its lodges.

There was no tradition of Royal Arch Masonry in Chile, where Master Masons who wished to extend their masonic experience joined the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of 33 degrees. That changed last year when the Grand Lodge of Chile agreed to its three lodges being able to work the Royal Arch. The Lodge of Harmony immediately contacted one of their initiates, now resident in England, Nicholas Bosanquet, Grand Sword Bearer and a former Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies, and asked him to liaise with Grand Chapter on their behalf.

Nicholas contacted the then Deputy Metropolitan Grand Superintendent for London, Charles Grace, who put him in touch with Wandle Chapter, No. 2699. This Chapter was in the sad position of being about to close only two years short of achieving their centenary. The Wandle companions were delighted that their Chapter would be able to continue, rather than dying, albeit many thousands of miles from London. They readily agreed to be taken over, and on 15 February 2011, 15 companions from South America Southern Division became joining members of Wandle Chapter. The first meeting was held in ValparaÍso, with great celebrations, on 16 May.

President of the Board of General Purposes Anthony Wilson made a statement concerning Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) at the September Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge.

Having previously expressed concern over the turbulence within GLNF, the President said the situation has subsequently deteriorated. ‘There appears to be no sign of it improving,’ he confirmed. ‘We cannot ignore the lack of harmony. Nor can we overlook the fact that a significant proportion of the membership of the GLNF apparently no longer recognise the leadership of its Grand Master.’

While the present situation continues, the recommendation of the Board is that relations with the GLNF be suspended. ‘I should emphasise that the suspension of relations does not force any of the brethren who are currently also members of lodges under the GLNF to resign from those lodges,’ he added. Anthony Wilson did, however, draw attention to the possibility that for so long as the GLNF is recognised by UGLE as the sovereign Grand Lodge, any UGLE brethren who are also members of a French lodge that formally repudiates that jurisdiction (even temporary) may find that Rule 176 in the Book of Constitutions requires them to make a choice, in the future, between severing their links with that lodge and remaining members of the Craft in the UGLE constitution.


The full statement by Anthony Wilson, President of the Board of General Purposes, can be found here.

Thanks to the generosity of Freemasons in the Nottingham area, more than 200 children with disabilities were able to enjoy all the fun of the fair.

Members came from three lodges – Edwalton Lodge, No. 8214, and St Giles Lodge, No. 4316, both from Nottingham, and the Showman’s Lodge, No. 9826, from Loughborough. They worked with The Showmen’s Guild to make this fun day a reality.

Gordon Cowieson of Edwalton Lodge said, ‘The Showmen’s Guild has been really generous once again in opening up the fairground at Bramcote Hills Park a day early in support of children with special needs. In addition to experiencing the rides, the children also get to enjoy the usual hot dogs, beefburgers, candyfloss and ice cream.’

Peter Barratt, also of Edwalton Lodge, added, ‘The lodges involved raise funds throughout the year to cover the cost of running the event and then give generously of their time on the day to make sure it is a safe and enjoyable occasion for all.’

A key supporter of the event was the Nottingham masonic charity Teddies for Loving Care (TLC), which gave a donation towards running costs. TLC also had a stall at the fairground and ensured that every child who attended left with their own teddy bear. Also enjoying the day were the Provincial Grand Master for Nottinghamshire, Robin Wilson, and his wife Margaret, plus the Mayor of Broxtowe.

Red Balloon Learner Centre Group in Cambridge has received a major grant of £25,000 from The Freemasons’ Grand Charity to fund training for staff at its centres for severely bullied children.

Rodney Wolverson, Provincial Grand Master for Cambridgeshire, presented the cheque to Dr Carrie Herbert, chief executive of Red Balloon Learner Centres. Red Balloon centres are currently found in Cambridge, Merseyside, Norwich, Preston, London and Warwick. In addition, Red Balloon of the Air – a virtual balloon – is available for those children who cannot reach a centre.

Each of these centres provides intensive education and care for severely bullied children who are unable to attend mainstream secondary school. The centres help restore a young person’s confidence as well as helping them cope academically and socially. They are supported in their return to mainstream school, entry to further education or employment. At the centres, the students learn how to protect themselves from bullying, recognise when it happens to others and know ways of dealing with this kind of behaviour.

Dr Herbert said, ‘We are absolutely delighted to receive this generous donation. As we grow, it is important that the teachers and staff at each of our centres and the virtual Red Balloon are trained to the highest level to ensure we provide the best recovery programme for these severely bullied children. This grant enables us to do this.’

The District Grand Lodge of Bombay celebrated its 150th anniversary earlier this year and to mark the event, Deputy Grand Master, Jonathan Spence, Grand Secretary, Nigel Brown, and Grand Director of Ceremonies, Oliver Lodge, travelled to Mumbai.

The group visited St George’s Hospital to see the work of the Think Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation supported by the District Grand Lodge of Bombay. The foundation coordinates and collects more blood than any other non-governmental organisation in Mumbai. It also runs the only structured programme for prevention of thalassaemia major, a serious genetic blood disorder where survival is dependent on lifelong blood transfusions. Vinay Shetty, vice president at the foundation, gave an address at the hospital to the English visitors, who then toured the hospital with Bombay District Grand Master Percy Driver.

An unusual method of advertising Freemasonry in the community has been organised by the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight – a runaround tuk-tuk vehicle affectionately known as Clarabelle.

The vehicle was found wasting away in a builder’s yard and after some negotiations and a good clean-up, it was fitted with a ‘Freemasonry in
the Community’ sign and driven around local shopping centres to advertise a masonic presence at the annual Bournemouth Air Festival.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight linked up with the Province of Dorset at the festival – although Bournemouth is officially in Dorset, it masonically remains in Hampshire. The two Provinces promoted Freemasonry through the Hampshire and Isle of Wight exhibition unit.

Clarabelle can look forward to future outings following the decision by Hampshire and Isle of Wight to work with the Jubilee Sailing Trust charity to help disabled sailors put on their annual pumpkin festival. The aim is to set a world record of the greatest number of scarecrows in one field.

Year 10 students from The Beaconsfield School have won £5,000 in the ihelp competition, organised by Buckinghamshire Freemasons, for running sporting activities that suit vulnerable adults in care homes in the area.

The two-hour-long games included indoor and outdoor activities such as darts, skittles, boccia, indoor archery and golf, giving both generations
a chance to chat and mingle. Provincial Grand Master Gordon Robertson said, ‘The judges were amazed at the way all the pupils at the school were inspired by ihelp to help others. They developed their ideas to fit the aims of the competition, particularly the way they worked together as a team to have fun helping others. Their efforts mirror perfectly Freemasonry’s aims of friendship, decency and charity. We started the ihelp project to show that youngsters do so much for the Bucks community. They are our future.’

The students beat Stokenchurch Scouts into second place, who won £1,000 for regenerating a local graveyard. The finals were held at the Beaconsfield Masonic Centre, and all the finalists received £250 for reaching the last stage. A total of £14,000 was available, and heats were organised at various masonic centres around the Province.

There was incredulity when a team from The British Institute of Organ Studies discovered a 19th-century organ at the Saxmundham Masonic Hall in Suffolk.

The organ was originally built for and installed in nearby Sibton Hall and the date 1830 can be seen inside it, along with the name of Leeds organ builder Joseph Greenwood. The records of Abiff Lodge, No. 2810, show that in 1935 ‘a single manual mahogany-cased pipe organ was purchased from the widow of Mr W Hall, stone mason, for the sum of £22’. The instrument is in good condition and only requires tuning occasionally. It still boasts its polished mahogany case but to restore it to its original condition, including its gold leaf-finished front pipes, would run into several thousand pounds.

St Edburg’s Lodge, No. 9233, together with other Oxfordshire Freemasons, have backed the Manor Farm Music Festival, which raises money for charities that use creativity as therapy.

The festival was held at Ardley, near Bicester in Oxfordshire, raising funds for the Brackley charity Creative Activities for the Elderly, which provides care home residents with stimulating craft activities, and Thomas’s Fund, which provides music therapy for children with life-limiting illnesses. The successful event arose out of the ladies’ day organised by St Edburg’s Lodge, and the music was an entertaining mix of folk, blues and jazz.

The centenary of Venables Chapter, No. 611, Province of Shropshire, was held at The Clive Pavilion at Ludlow Racecourse and attended by more than 100 members including Grand Superintendent Peter Taylor.

The chapter was founded and named after Rowland George Venables, who became the first Grand Superintendent for Shropshire when the Royal Arch Province was formed in 1913. The day was marked by the exaltation of Kevin Gwilliam, bringing chapter membership to 50.

First Principal David Griffin presented inscribed centenary whisky tumblers to those gathered, while a raffle raised funds for The Royal Arch Masons Bicentenary Appeal 2013 for the Royal College of Surgeons, adding to money already raised from the alms donations for the same cause.

Geoffrey Aldridge, secretary of Grenadiers Lodge, No. 66, undertook a remarkable sponsorship on behalf of the London CyberKnife Appeal.

Over four days, using just his bus pass, Geoffrey caught a succession of buses from his hometown of Aylesbury to Penzance and back again, using 25 buses and travelling around 700 miles.

Geoffrey’s journey took him to Tiverton in Devon on the first day and then onto Penzance via Exeter, Okehampton and Wadebridge. A fog bank stopped him getting to Land’s End, with the diversion sending him to Helston on the Lizard, and Penzance on the second night. Apart from having to do the St Columb Major to Truro trip in both directions, his return was via Liskeard, Plymouth, arriving in Weymouth on the third night before continuing via Bournemouth and Salisbury to return home on the evening of the fourth day.

Geoffrey has so far raised £3,500 for a machine that can treat tumours without the need for surgery at St Bart’s Hospital in the City of London.
His website is still open for contributions – please visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/GeoffAldridge.

Tony Harvey has been named as the Prestonian Lecturer for 2012. His talk will be entitled Scouting and Freemasonry: Two Parallel Organisations?

As well as being an experienced Freemason, Tony has been a national volunteer with The Scout Association for the past 25 years, working in a range of areas including the recruitment and training of adult volunteers. He is also the Provincial Grand Mentor for Derbyshire and Director of Communications for the Derbyshire Festival 2014.

For the past five years, Tony has been the point of liaison between the Kindred Lodges Association and The Scout Association, aiming to promote a better understanding of Freemasonry within Scouting and of Scouting within Freemasonry. As two organisations with similar values and shared challenges, both The Scout Association and the United Grand Lodge recognise the potential that communication between the organisations has for the future and both endorse and support the work that Tony is doing.

In his Prestonian Lecture, Tony will outline the many similarities between Scouting and Freemasonry – as well as some key differences. His research examines the relationship the founder of Scouting Robert Baden-Powell had with Freemasonry and he will also identify some of the many Freemasons who have made a positive impact on the growth of the world’s largest youth organisation.

Tony will additionally describe some of the work that Freemasons are doing to support Scouting today and explain how Freemasonry can learn from an organisation that is growing in membership.

At times entertaining, at times challenging, Tony’s Prestonian Lecture will be of interest to all Freemasons, whether they have a Scouting background or not.

To find out more about the 2012 Prestonian Lecture, or to arrange for an unofficial delivery, please visit www.prestonian2012.org.uk or email Tony Harvey on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Take a minute to look up from the pavement in the City of London and you will find historic gems that reveal a great deal about the founding of Freemasonry. Yasha Beresiner is your guide

Hello and welcome to this tour of three of the historic masonic sites in the City of London that are inextricably linked with Freemasonry and its development. We start our journey on the spot where once stood the entrance to the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house, some fifty metres north of the last step leading to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is here that the foundation of the undisputed first Grand Lodge in the world took place on 24 June 1717.

Unfortunately, and rather surprisingly, there appear to be no mementos of this historic tavern situated in what was St. Paul’s Church Yard and the only surviving item, now in the Museum of London, is the pub sign. Up until the Great Fire of London in 1666, the Goose and Gridiron was known as the Mitre. After being devastated in the blaze, it was rebuilt and renamed The Lyre, on account of the tavern’s musical associations (a musical society met on its premises), and took as its sign Apollo’s lyre surmounted by a swan. However, this image was often unrecognised and misinterpreted and a new name was born from the error: Goose and Gridiron.

battle for the blue plaque
It was in this tavern that four London lodges came together to launch Freemasonry, electing Anthony Sayer (1672-1741/2) – the ‘oldest Master Mason and then Master of a Lodge’ – as its Grand Master. It must be noted here, however, that the only source for all the information we have about the premier Grand Lodge in 1717 is from James Anderson’s reports that were published more than two decades later in 1738.

Moving on now, if you look to your right you will see, on the last column of the building you are facing, the official blue plaque commemorating the foundation of the Grand Lodge. It simply states:

Near This Site The Grand Lodge Of English FREEMASONS First Met in 1717

However, obtaining it was anything but simple. Persuading the City of London Corporation to place an official plaque within the City boundaries is no easy task. Our efforts began in 1995 with the formation of the Goose and Gridiron Society, and within twelve months the society had submitted a well-supported request to the City authorities for a plaque to commemorate the foundation of Freemasonry. Although the request was accepted, it then transpired that the building on which the plaque was to be placed was due for demolition.

Nonetheless, after eight years of perseverance, on 15 June 2005, the then Lord Mayor, Alderman Very Worshipful Brother Michael Savory, finally unveiled the blue plaque that we are now so proud of.

foundations of freemasonry
It is interesting to consider how amazed our founding forefathers would no doubt be at the spread of Freemasonry through the four quarters of the globe. You see, the four lodges did not originally meet with the aim of forming a Grand Lodge. Rather, their decision to unite stemmed from a need to strengthen each individual lodge’s membership. Indeed, in unity they found this strength and it was at the initiative of other lodges wishing to join the group that a Grand Lodge was declared and formed as a controlling body. Freemasonry has never looked back.

Follow me now please, past Paternoster Square, Goldsmiths, The Saddlers’ Hall and Guildhall Yard, and let us make our way into the passage entrance of Mason’s Avenue. Now, once we move twenty metres into the alleyway, we are standing in front of the Select Trust Building.

Let me first point out that the whole of this two- hundred-yard-long avenue has not changed in four centuries. The imitation Tudor-style buildings are recent, of course, but the shape and size of the alley has remained identical and right here, on what is now 12-15 Mason’s Avenue, stood the Hall of the Worshipful Company of Masons, one of the City of London Livery Companies with which our society is closely, and at times quite wrongly, identified.

The Masons Company has its earliest record dating to 1356 and received its Grant of Arms in 1472. By then the building on this site was already functional and it was only demolished in 1865, some four hundred years later. As a reminder of the old days, the present building, which was completed in 1980, has the beautiful stained-glass windows with masonic emblems incorporated into the design. A gilded inscription embedded into the wall serves as a further reminder. It reads:

On This Site Stood The Hall Of The Worshipful Company Of Masons A 1463 – 1865 D

While the Masons Company has no connection with our Craft, it is notable that twenty-one of the City of London Livery Companies have an associated masonic lodge consisting exclusively of members from that particular livery.

For our third and sadly last stop on this tour, let us walk the short distance to the Royal Exchange. From this vantage point you have a particularly good view of the main entrance to the Bank of England, which is popularly known as ‘The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’.

The Bank of England has been situated in this area since its inception in 1694, with three bank buildings rising on this same site since 1734. As an interesting aside, did you know that the Bank of England was the first purpose-built bank in the British Isles? Another notable, and quite surprising fact is that the Bank of England remained a private entity until the Parliament Act of 1946, after which it was finally nationalised.

soane’s speedy advancement
Returning to the building, Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was the bank’s third architect and worked on it for forty-five years (1788-1833). However, the only part of his work that still remains is ‘the curtain wall’, which is the elongated windowless screen wall that you can see along the front. This wall encloses the whole of the block, which consists of an area of three and a half acres containing the premises of the bank.

The Duke of Sussex, who was elected as the new Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, favoured Soane’s architectural work. As such, when the Duke of Sussex directed the extension of the Grand Lodge premises in Great Queen Street, one of his many dynamic and innovative activities, it was Soane who undertook and completed the task.

On 25 November 1813, an emergency meeting of the Grand Master’s Lodge, No. 1, under the Grand Lodge of the Antients, was held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand. At this meeting Soane was initiated as an Entered Apprentice, passed to the degree of a Fellowcraft and raised to the degree of a Master Mason. In addition, following the inauguration of the United Grand Lodge of England, Soane was formally appointed President of the Board of Works and given the appropriate high masonic rank of Grand Superintendent of Works – both a well-deserved and speedy advancement by any standard.

This brings us to the end of our tour in which I hope to have shown you the significance of the City of London to the history of Freemasonry, along the way unearthing a few masonic gems that you may not have known existed. Thank you very much for joining me – I hope you have enjoyed your trip and I wish you a safe journey home.

Is it possible to belong to a gang of leather-clad bikers and stay true to the principles of Freemasonry? Adrian Foster summons up the courage to meet with the Widows Sons on their own turf and find out for himself


In a bleak, concrete-walled car park at the rear of the Masonic Hall in Goldsmith Street, Nottingham, a group of leather-clad bikers are relaxing next to their silver steeds. They have not stopped off for a break on their way to a rock festival, they are in fact Freemasons who have just presented a cheque to The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal. They call themselves the Widows Sons.

For the uninitiated, the Widows Sons Masonic Bikers Association (WSMBA) is an international association that is open to Freemasons who enjoy motorcycling and have a desire to ride with their fraternal brethren. Though not a masonic order, the WSMBA serves as a recruiting drive to help raise awareness of Freemasonry while attending public motorcycling events, supporting Craft lodges and actively raising funds for charities and good causes.

Among the motley crew assembled today is Peter Younger, President of the Northumberland Chapter of the Widows Sons, together with Justin ‘Jay’ Waite and Chris Bush Jnr, Vice President and President of the National Chapter of the Widows Sons, respectively.

‘My association with them started when I was on the internet and I googled “Freemasonry and motorcycling” to see what came up,’ explains Jay. ‘I discovered a website that Widows Sons’ founder member Jon Long had set up, emailed them and we arranged to meet. I went out on a ride with them, had a really enjoyable day and saw that they were involved with a lot of good work for charity, so I asked there and then whether I could join them. Foolishly, they accepted me, so here I am today,’ he laughs.

MERGING MASONIC INTERESTS
Jay emphasises that the WSMBA is not a masonic lodge, although it has aspirations to form one in the future. ‘What we are is an association of bikers who are all Master Freemasons. We all belong to different lodges and we carry masonic insignia on our leathers and clothing. But when we attend our lodge meetings we all dress as you’d expect us to and wear our normal lodge regalia. Widows Sons has members as far afield as Land’s End and Aberdeen and it would be very difficult to get us all together in one place for meetings.’

Peter Younger reveals tentative plans to establish a bikers’ lodge and that the Northumberland Chapter of the Widows Sons is building up funds to enable this in the next two to three years. ‘We have had informal discussions at Provincial level and they have no objections to the idea. I started the Northumberland Chapter, so this could be my next project. I can see Freemasonry swinging more in the direction of shared interest lodges. The article in Freemasonry Today about the Morgan Lodge is a good example of this.’

But is the notion of bikers as Freemasons a contradiction in terms? ‘I’m sure people would think we’re worlds apart because I’m here dressed in biking leathers, not a suit,’ answers Jay. ‘But motorcycling is a fraternal pastime and in the biking world we refer to one another as brothers, and the two associations build bonds of friendship between their members. Both bikers and Freemasons do a lot of charitable work and I’m certain there are other overlaps too.’

Chris Bush agrees, adding: ‘It was my father who introduced me to motorcycling and Freemasonry. We are two of the remaining seven founding members of the Widows Sons (UK), which had its first meeting in February 2004 here in Goldsmith Street.’

Peter Younger admits that there is still work to be done in convincing some of the non-biking masonic fraternity. ‘It’s been a bit of a learning curve,’ he says. ‘If we’d tried to set up the Widows Sons fifteen years ago it might not have had the positive reception we get today. But the benefit is that it’s providing a new, younger face. Freemasonry is very good at hiding itself away – we hide behind doors that you have to knock on to get in, but if more people had a clearer idea of what we do they’d be queuing up to become masons.’

challenging traditions
Peter believes that Freemasonry needs to be far more open. ‘There’s no good reason why it can’t be – I don’t think anyone in Freemasonry would say they are ashamed of what they do. I proudly wear the square and compasses on my lapel as a Freemason and I am glad to be associated with the Widows Sons,’ he says, making the point that there are golfing, fishing and shooting societies, so why not a motorcycling society?

‘We’re ordinary people who have pastimes and hobbies just like anybody else. I once heard a great saying by Woody Allen that “tradition is the illusion of permanence”. Tradition has for too long been the scapegoat for people in Freemasonry who don’t want things to change. People hide behind tradition because they’re not willing or courageous enough to try something new. I feel we need to break that pattern and new associations should be formed. Giving a public, modern face to Freemasonry is one of the most important things Widows Sons can do.’



Force to be reckoned with
The Widows Sons chooses to raise funds for The Royal British Legion (RBL) because many of its own members are forces veterans. ‘It’s a charity that’s very close to our hearts,’ says Jay, who approached Bob Privett from the RBL’s Poppy Appeal in Nottinghamshire in 2010.

‘We raise over £500,000 each year for the Poppy Appeal and spend a similar amount on the welfare of ex-servicemen and their dependents,’ explains Bob. ‘The RBL will be spending £50m over the next ten years on a new Battle Back Centre for injured servicemen returning from military operations.’

Bob admits that The Royal British Legion tends to conjure up images of old soldiers on parade. ‘This perception leads the public to assume that we are there only for old soldiers,’ he says, ‘but already this year we have dealt with 20,000 cases from the Afghan and Iraq war zones.’

 

Letters to the Editor - FreemasonryToday No.17 - Spring 2012

Sir, May I take this opportunity to thank you for the article on the Widows Sons in the Winter 2011 edition, which made for a great read and is a positive contribution to our association. Since the article appeared we have had a number of enquiries regarding the association. Some have mentioned that they have found it difficult to find contact information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   is the email address to enquire on. Peter Younger Widows Sons Masonic Bikers Association Northumberland Chapter (www.wsmban.com)    Sir, I read with great interest of the Widows Sons Masonic Bikers Association, as I am a founder member of the Square and Compasses Scooter Club, a club similar, but not (yet) as big, as the WSMBA. We started as a Facebook group in February 2011, and currently have more than forty members. Around eight members met at Kelso Scooter Rally in May, and were kindly shown around Kelso Masonic Lodge. We ride Lambrettas and Vespas, and attend rallies all over the country. Once we are more established we intend to meet at a lodge once a year in each of our Provinces. Should any readers have an interest in classic Italian scooters, or more modern ‘twist-and-gos’, they are welcome to join our ‘Square and Compasses Scooter Club’ group on Facebook. Paul Hunter Rosemary Lodge No.6421 Newcastle upon Tyne Northumberland

 

When Freemasons’ Hall hosted the launch party for West End musical Rock of Ages, Anneke Hak slipped past the celebrities to find out what goes on behind the scenes

Jeremy Clarkson schmoozes with paparazzi on the purple carpet while Ronnie Wood’s ex-wife Jo Wood mingles with friends in the foyer. Glasses clink together, Champagne flows and loud chatter fills the room as the band takes centre stage in the Grand Temple. All the while, everyone is wholly oblivious to the fact that just one hour ago their spectacular venue, Freemasons’ Hall in London’s Great Queen Street, was a picture of organised chaos.

Having hosted some of the biggest events in the British social calendar, including London Fashion Week catwalk shows, Freemasons’ Hall isn’t afraid of glitz and glamour, it oozes it. However, the Rock of Ages launch party was a very different beast.

On 28 September, the production team had only a three-and-a-half hour slot between the departure of 700 Freemasons visiting from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire at six in the evening, and 1,000 party guests arriving at 9.30pm. In this small time frame, they had to transform the building into a venue fit to celebrate a musical that takes audiences back to the times of big bands with big egos playing big guitar solos and sporting even bigger hair. The Grand Temple in Freemasons’ Hall needed to be fitted out with a dance floor, disco ball and stage for a rock band to perform on. No mean feat, especially considering how precious the Grade II-listed building is to hundreds of thousands of Freemasons.

Helping smooth the proceedings was Lee Batty, Production Manager at Stoneman Associates. As Freemasons left the Grand Temple, Batty’s team moved in, quickly assembling their scaffolding to start the mammoth task of hoisting the lighting and glitter ball 93ft to the top of the Temple roof, before focusing their attention on the dance floor and rock band sound check. ‘We did a little bit of prep work the day before,’ Batty reveals. ‘Well, I say a little bit, we worked eight hours to programme all the lighting, and then when we got into the venue we had to go hell for leather to get it all up and working.’


Technicalities of transformation
Of course, moving scaffolding, heavy lighting and sound equipment around an 80-year-old building, and one of the finest Art Deco creations in the country, can prove challenging. ‘I’ve not worked at Freemasons’ Hall before,’ says Batty, ‘but I’ve done events in historic palaces and English Heritage properties over the years. So I’m aware that you have to look after furniture and any element of the building that’s been there for a long time – you have to be very careful.’

As a result, every little detail is thought about months in advance, and some elaborate ideas are thrown straight out. Karen Haigh, Head of Events at Freemasons’ Hall, explains, ‘There was talk about hanging some Harley Davidsons from the ceiling at one point. I feel anything is possible, so long as I know it’s going to be safe.’

As the last piece of purple carpet is laid, the Rock of Ages signs go up and the façade of the glorious building is lit from below, Matthew Quarandon, Director of Moving Venues, makes sure all of his staff are in place to welcome the guests with food and drink, and one thing he can’t help but notice is how easy-going everything is. ‘Freemasons’ Hall seems to be very liberal,’ says Quarandon, who’s used to working in old, protected properties. ‘They’re allowing us to push cages across old stone floors and serve red wine on their marble floors upstairs.’

Most excited about tonight’s event has to be Grand Secretary Nigel Brown, who praises the great job Karen Haigh does booking events for the Hall and thinks these nights are the perfect opportunity to show the public that Freemasonry isn’t about secret handshakes. ‘Can you imagine, you’re at a dinner party and the lady next to you says, “You went into Freemason’s Hall? What did you go in for? A fashion show!”’ laughs Nigel. ‘It’s breaking all these myths and, although being teased about Freemasonry doesn’t matter much, people are often making a decision based on false impressions. I think hosting these events is changing people’s preconceptions.’

SURPRISE PACKAGE
Batty admits that the mystery surrounding the organisation is a great reason to hold events like the Rock of Ages party at Freemasons’ Hall. ‘It’s nice that people come in and see it in a different light,’ he says. Karen Haigh agrees: ‘The best thing about it is that you bring a group of people that have never been in the building before and they come in and say, “Oh, wow!” It’s like opening a little package.’

So, after months of planning, which began back in June, how does it feel when it all finally comes together? ‘You get a massive buzz from the final product,’ admits Batty. ‘The response that we got when we opened the main doors to the Grand Temple was worth all the pressure.’

As the guitar amplifiers and purple carpet are packed up and glasses of half-drunk Champagne cleared away, all the hard work and preparation has paid off – the Rock of Ages launch party has been a brilliant success. So, the only question left now is when’s the next one?

Single-handedly rescuing his squadron after they were pinned down by heavy gunfire, Paddy Mayne’s life reads like a wartime page-turner. Matthew Scanlan tells the remarkable story of this SAS legend, wartime hero and Freemason


The dark days of the Second World War saw many a hero come to the fore, but none quite as remarkable as Paddy Mayne. Rugby international, commando and a founding father of the Special Air Service (SAS), Mayne was one of the most decorated Allied soldiers of the war, winning the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) four times, as well as the Croix de Guerre and Légion d’Honneur. But while his warrior exploits are comparatively well known, few people are aware that this extraordinary man was also a Freemason.

Robert Blair ‘Paddy’ Mayne was born on 11 January 1915 in Newtownards in County Down, Ireland, and showed an early love and aptitude for sport. Excelling in many areas, Mayne not only became the Irish Universities Heavyweight Champion in August 1936, but was also capped playing rugby for Ireland six times, and in 1938 was selected to play for the British Isles Touring Party of South Africa.

Mayne was already a member of the Territorial Army when the Second World War broke out in September 1939 and he soon received a commission in the Royal Artillery. In April 1940 he transferred to the Royal Ulster Rifles before volunteering for the newly formed No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, with whom he saw his first action, attacking Vichy French forces in Lebanon. For his courageous and clear-minded leadership, Mayne was mentioned in despatches. However, he soon lost interest in the Commando and in August 1941 joined a revolutionary new outfit that was being formed in North Africa by former Scots Guards officer David Stirling.

STUFF OF SCHOOLBOY LEGEND
The aim of this unit, known as L Detachment Special Air Service Brigade, was to operate behind enemy lines, obtain intelligence, disrupt Axis communication routes and attack enemy airfields. After some initial setbacks, Stirling struck upon the idea of utilising the well-established Long Range Desert Group to transport his force into action with heavily armed vehicles. It was an idea that would establish the new unit’s credibility, and later render them the stuff of schoolboy legend.

On 5 December 1941, Mayne helped to lead a successful attack on Tamet airfield near Sirte in Libya. The raiders destroyed fourteen enemy aircraft and damaged a further ten, and for his part in this audacious attack Mayne received his first DSO. But he did not rest on his laurels, and just three weeks later, as General Claude Auchinleck pushed Erwin Rommel’s forces back past Benghazi to Agedabia, Mayne and his men returned to the same airfield where they then destroyed a further twenty-seven planes.

Over the next fourteen months, as the North Africa campaign ebbed and flowed across the Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian deserts, the SAS mercilessly harried German and Italian airfields, and it is estimated that they either destroyed or immobilised upwards of four hundred enemy aircraft. Mayne reportedly destroyed around one hundred aircraft himself – more than any fighter ace during the entire war – and, on occasion, even resorted to ripping out some of the cockpit controls with his bare hands.

CLIMBING THE RANKS
In January 1943, Stirling was captured by Axis forces in southern Tunisia and soon thereafter the 1st SAS Regiment was renamed the Special Raiding Squadron (SRS), with Mayne, now a major, in command. As the North Africa campaign drew to a close, the SRS went on to play a significant role in the Allied invasion of Sicily and on 9 July 1943, in an action somewhat reminiscent of the Hollywood film The Guns of Navarone, it attacked and destroyed two Italian coastal batteries at Capo Murro di Porco to help ease a path for the landing of General Montgomery’s Eighth Army. Two days later, the SRS also spearheaded the amphibious landings mounted at the ancient Sicilian port of Augusta, forty-seven kilometres north of the cliff-top battery they had just disabled, and for his part in this action Mayne received a first bar to his DSO.

In early September 1943, the SRS pushed on and mounted an attack at Bagnara Calabra in Calabria, helping to establish a bridgehead on the Italian mainland for the Allied advance. A month later they also helped to capture the town of Termoli, although at a terrible cost to the regiment.

This capture signalled an end to Mayne’s Italian campaign, and on his return to England the SRS was subsumed into a larger SAS Brigade, with Mayne as its lieutenant colonel. The main focus of the brigade was to support the Normandy landings, what we now know as ‘D-Day’, which eventually took place on 6 June 1944. In August 1944, Mayne was dropped by parachute into occupied France where, deep behind the lines, he harassed the enemy in his inimitable way and for his actions he was awarded a second bar to his DSO.

LIFE AFTER WAR
As the Allies pushed into Germany in the spring of 1945, Mayne and the SAS worked in conjunction with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division in the capture of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. It was during these closing days of the war that Mayne single-handedly rescued a squadron of his men after they became pinned down by heavy gunfire. The incident occurred near the German town of Oldenburg and, according to several sources, Mayne rescued his men by lifting them one by one into his jeep before despatching the German gunners in a nearby farmhouse. He was recommended for the Victoria Cross, which was personally endorsed by Field Marshal Montgomery, but it was controversially downgraded and instead Mayne received a third bar to his DSO – an act seen as a grave injustice by many.

On 27 March 1945, Eklektikos Lodge, No. 542 (IC), held a ballot for Mayne to be initiated as a Freemason. Accordingly, Mayne was initiated on 25 September 1945; the lodge records modestly give his vocation as ‘Army’. After bailing out of an expedition to the South Atlantic due to serious back problems, Mayne returned to Newtownards in 1946 where he received the second and third degrees on 28 May and 24 September, respectively. An enthusiastic Freemason, two years later he joined a second Newtownards lodge, Friendship Lodge, No. 447, and served as Worshipful Master of his mother lodge in 1954.

With his war years now firmly behind him and the SAS officially disbanded, Mayne tried to settle back into the routine of domestic life but with some difficulty. Physically, he was not the man he once was, and he suffered terribly with his back. However, an intelligent and sensitive man, Mayne took up gardening, found solace in books and he greatly loved Irish culture. He regularly propped up the local bars to enjoy singing, storytelling and poetry recitals, just as he had done with his men under the desert stars in wartime, but herein also lay his Achilles heel: he loved to party, often excessively.

On the night of Tuesday 13 December 1955, after attending a regular meeting of the Friendship Lodge, Mayne continued drinking with a masonic friend in the nearby town of Bangor, before finally making his way home in the small hours. However, he never reached his destination. At about 4am he was found dead in his wrecked red Riley Roadster in Mill Street, Newtownards, having reportedly collided with a farmer’s vehicle. News of his death reverberated across Northern Ireland and, at his funeral, hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects and to see him interred in a family plot in the town’s old Movilla cemetery.

Following his passing, his masonic jewel was preserved for many years by an old school friend, before it was eventually presented to Newtownards Borough Council where it can now be seen preserved in the Mayoral Chamber of the Council Offices.


We would like to thank the Mayne family, the SAS Regimental Association and all who helped in the preparation of this article