MASTERCLASS CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION AT MASTERCLASS CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION AT ... Grand Officers in the persons of Group Chairman Jim ... Brethren, As I travel around the Group I

Volume 8 Issue 6 February 2012

Lancaster & District Group of Lodges and Chapters

NEWSLETTER

MASTERCLASS CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION

AT PLANTAGENET LODGE

PLANTAGENET LODGE OF INSTALLED MASTERS No 9357 put on a Masterclass of ritual at their installation meeting held at Rowley Court, Lancaster. This was really no surprise as the Installing Master was Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master Philip Gardner, who had led the lodge as Master for the past year, and who installed his succes-sor, John Bates, in truly exemplary fashion. However, the very high standard of work was by no means confined to Philip, with all the officers involved with the ceremony displaying similar levels of competence and experience one would expect from this prestigious lodge. The lodge was honoured to receive as the Principal Guest Assistant Provincial Grand Master Ian Boswell who was accompanied by our own Assistant Tony Harrison and a veritable phalanx of Grand Officers in the persons of Group Chairman Jim Wilson, Tom Holroyd, Dennis Butterfield, Peter Mason, Keith Kemp and Chris Butterfield. Philip also gave the address to the Master whilst Ian gave a faultless delivery of the address to the brethren. The address to the wardens was superbly given by group secretary Andrew Bartlett. Ian was delighted to bring to the Master and the brethren the fraternal greetings and good wishes of the Provincial Grand Master Peter Hosker. He congratulated everyone who had taken part in the proceedings and gratefully received a cheque from the lodge in the sum of £750 in favour of the West Lancashire Freema-sons’ Charity. The Festival of St John, which was enjoyed by 70 members and guests, was held in the Rowley Court banqueting suite. In the response to his toast, Ian intrigued the breth-ren with an insight into how the loyal toast may have come to include reference to the ‘Duke of Lancaster’. Continued on Page 2

Pictured right (from left to right): Philip Gardner, Ian Boswell, John Bates, Tony Harrison, Jim Wilson.

Page 2 Lancaster and District Group of Lodges and Chapters. Newsletter Volume 8 Issue 6. February 2012

CRAFT INSTALLATIONS

DATE LODGE ATTENDING MARCH

7 Wednesday Lune 4724 K S Kemp PAGDC 21 Wednesday Longridge 8077 C C Butterfield PAGDC 27 Tuesday Garstang 6633 I Higham PAGDC 28 Wednesday Carnforth 4951 J A Harrison PAGDC, APrGM

APRIL 5 Thursday Aegis 9115 J R Clipsham PJGD, APrGM 26 Thursday Knott End 8674 J S Thornber PJGD 27 Friday St Michael’s-on-Wyre 8348 W R Seddon PSGD

MAY 10 Thursday Pilling 7879 S R Martland PSGD, APrGM

ROYAL ARCH INSTALLATIONS

MARCH 5 Monday Great Eccleston 8895 F Clarke PGStdB 5 Monday Morecambe 1561 To be confirmed 8 Thursday Heysham 4108 S Reid PGSwdB, DGSupt 12 Monday Knott End 8674 S Reid PGSwdB, DGSupt

APRIL 5 Thursday Carnforth 4951 A Dunn PAGSoj, Asst to PGPs 12 Thursday Sandylands 5702 W Smith PGStdB 23 Monday Scorton 5791 I Cuerden PGStdB

Plantagenet Masterclass continued from Page One

Also at the festive board, John Bates presented his predecessor Philip Gardner with a handcrafted wooden gavel on an inscribed stand as a permanent memento of his year as Master of Plantag-enet Lodge. This comes from the time that the lodge was founded in 1990 when it was decided not to give a past-master’s jewel but instead to mark the master’s year in office with a more unique and permanent symbol. Phil Newby of Warton Lodge No 8411, known as a skilled wood-turning artesan, was therefore ap-proached and agreed to make a number of mounted miniature gavels. The original stock has recently become exhausted and Phil has again stepped in to pro-

vide replacements which will ensure the presentations continue for quite a few more years. Plantagenet Lodge is a lodge for In-stalled Masters - note that a Master becomes eligible to join as soon as he is installed into the chair of a lodge. The members enjoy a relaxing evening which often consist of very interesting and varied lectures prior to a convivial festive board. It meets three times a year: in May at Garstang, October in Morecambe and in February at Rowley Court. If you would like to more about the lodge please contact David Roberts: 01253 729673 [email protected]

Pictured left: John Bates (left) presents the commemorative gavel to Philip Gardner


JIM’S JOTTINGS REFLECTIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAIRMAN

Brethren, As I travel around the Group I am delighted to find our Lodges and Chapters in such good heart. We have had two 50th Celebrations and four Installations in February, all of which have been well-attended and happy occasions with so many of our Lodges and Chapters involving junior brethren either explaining the working tools or delivering parts of the ritual which is a fantastic confidence builder for the future, and I am sure helps to makes them feel part of the Lodge and helps in their retention. After all, these young Masons who we now all work so hard to attract are the future of our Lodges. The Group is proud that John Smith of Wyreside Lodge has been selected as CEO of our Provin-cial West Lancashire Freemasons Charity and we wish him every success in his important new role and offer him the continued support of this Group and I do thank those Lodges and Chapters who continue to give financial support to the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity, which is your Charity, and the only Masonic Charity in the Province of West Lancashire. In this Group in 2011 we received just under £47,000 so as you can see we do receive back far more than we put in, and I also stand by my suggestion last year that you consider splitting your donations with your Masonic Hall in order that they are well-maintained and acceptable places to meet. There are ways of achieving this which can be discussed with you, and our Local and Regional Charity Stewards Geoff Bury and Barry Robinson are always available to assist you on any charitable matters. Some Lodges seem to be arranging Gentlemen to Dine evenings without contacting our Group Membership Officer Chris Brown. He is trained in what can or cannot be told to prospec-tive members and we have ample evidence of the success rate of converting these Gentlemen to Candidates when he has been present. It is also very pleasing to see more and more Lodges coming forward to assist City of Lancaster Lodge with their ceremonies for the University Students. Our Group University Co-ordinator and his team are holding another open meeting at the University on the March 5, which I hope will produce more Candidates so any Lodges who have meetings where they have no Candidates please get in touch with the Secretary of City of Lancaster, Jack Baxter, to offer your services. Last month I mentioned the Group Ball to be held on the May 19. Our Group Social Secretary, Neil McGill, tells me there are only 20 tickets left so if you are thinking of attending get in touch with him right away to avoid disappointment. I hope to see all our Lodges and Chapters repre-sented at our Group Meeting on Thursday the March 29 at Rowley Court, and please bring any matters you wish to discuss with your Group Officers to the notice of our Group Secretary.

Dutch demonstration team: The Group is very fortunate to be selected by the Dutch Demonstration Team to give their ceremony of Initiation, which is understood to be very different from our own, and involves swords, stumbling blocks and a completely different Lodge layout. The whole thing will be given in English, at Morecambe Masonic Hall on Wednesday 22nd May.

Rent-a-DC Our Chairman Geoffrey Cousen is considering taking bookings, after standing in as DC at John O’Gaunt Installation. It was suggested that perhaps his com-pass had gone a bit rusty.

From the archive: Newsletter February 2002


Meet the new senior officers of the Province: 1

Howard Jones – Deputy Provincial Grand Master

Born in Liverpool on 28 January 1941 Howard attended Booker Avenue Primary School and then The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, whose old boys are known as Liobians. From the age of nine he was a chorister at Liverpool Cathedral for nearly seven years until his voice broke. He also enjoyed sport and played football and cricket for the school teams. On leaving school at the age of 16 he started work in an insur-ance company until moving to Midland Bank later to be known as HSBC. He progressed through various positions within the bank until his retirement in 1991 when he was Area Operations Man-ager for substantial parts of Lancashire and Cheshire. He was then able to use his experience in a solicitor’s practice in Kirkham and St. Annes as a part-time practice manager for five years. He was the secretary for the Liobians’ football and cricket teams for a number of years and he is a life-long supporter of Liverpool Football Club despite his father and brother supporting Everton! Howard married his wife Patricia in 1967 and they now live in Longridge, Preston. They have two children, Kevin and Lindsey. Kevin lives in Hertfordshire with his wife Penny and daughter

Olivia who will be going to university in September. Lindsey lives in Ribchester and is married to Gary. They have three children: Matthew 13, Joseph 11, and seven-year-old Phoebe. Since retiring Howard has been a church warden at St Bartholomew’s, Chipping for six years and looked after the Gift Aid for the church for more than ten years. He also became both an umpire and secretary for Chipping Cricket Club. Pat has become a successful novelist specialising in books for younger readers since her retirement as Head of Infants at the largest primary school in Preston. Pat says: “Howard has been a great support as he helps with the typing and editing, making sure my work has a professional look prior to sending it to my publisher.” He also sup-ports her at the many book signing events when she promotes her work. Howard was initiated into Freemasonry in October 1972 into King's Lodge No 3101 and he was WM in 1983 and 1995. He was also WM of Lodge Of Peace And Unity No 314 in 2008. He is also a member of Lathom Lodge No 2229 and currently one of the lodge stewards. He received his first appointment in Provincial Grand Lodge in 1991 as PrGSuptWks, and in 1996 he was promoted to Provincial Junior Grand Warden. In 2000 he was appointed to Past Grand Director of Ceremonies and in 2008 he was invested as Assistant Provincial Grand Master with responsibility for the Bootle, Garston and Gladstone Groups. In 2009 he was promoted to the rank of Past Senior Grand Deacon. He was exalted into King's Chapter No 3101 on the 12 October 1981, became first principal of Chapter of Perseverance No 155 in 1999 and of Vale Chapter No 5256 in 2004. He is currently a member of Holy Royal Architect Chapter No 314. He was appointed PPrGSN in 2006 and was appointed to Grand Chapter as PGStdB in 2011. In addition he is a member of a two other Ma-sonic Orders. Howard became Honorary Secretary of the West Lancashire Masonic Charities Fund in 1997 and was a member of the working party that managed the amalgamation of the seven charities in the Province. He has been a trustee of the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity since it was formed in 2008 and is now the chairman of the board of trustees - a post he will have to relin-quish following his appointment as Deputy Provincial Grand Master. Howard said on his appointment to Deputy Provincial Grand Master: “It is obviously a great, though unexpected honour to be Deputy Provincial Grand Master of this great Province. Howev-er, I am saddened by the circumstances that made this change necessary. I am conscious of fol-lowing in some very august footsteps and I will endeavour to maintain the high standards they have set. It is over 15 years since I was a Warden of the Province and I look forward to re-visiting those parts of it which I visited then and particularly to visiting those parts which I missed all those years ago.”


Meet the new senior officers of the Province: 2

Roy Skidmore - Assistant Provincial Grand Master

Roy was born in Harrogate on 15 November 1944 and was edu-cated at Harrogate Grammar School and later in his 20s he ob-tained a BA with the Open University. On leaving school at the age of 16 Roy joined the Air Ministry and later moved to St Annes with his parents and worked in the Premi-um Bond Office before joining the team planning the creation of National Giro in London. This was followed by work in Bootle, Lon-don and then Hove following the acquisition of the then Girobank by Alliance and Leicester. Various responsibilities included train-ing, accounts management, systems analysis, programming, for-ward planning, sales and marketing. He programmed what, at the time, was Europe’s largest financial model and by combining his marketing and computing knowledge set up a computerised mar-keting system and finally had responsibility for the bank’s data-based marketing and analysis. Roy was a director of the staff pen-sion scheme from 1989 to 1995 and a member of its investment committee. There then followed a career change to take up salaried positions in a friendly society, and various directorships. Roy had been on the management committee of a London, and later Crawley based, friendly society since 1974 acting on a voluntary and later salaried basis. In 1982 he became a trustee director, chairman of the trustee company from 1989 and company chairman from 1992. He was also the chairman of its staff pension scheme. During this period he had responsibility, through investment managers, for investing various funds ranging from £6,000,000 to £150,000,000. The organisation employed around 80 full time staff and 1,200 volunteers. He was a director and company secretary of two London-based marketing analysis companies. His involvement with friendly societies led to his membership of the board of the National Confer-ence of Friendly Societies in 1986 and he later became its president. He was the first president of the Association of Friendly Societies representing the interests of around 8,000,000 investors serving on its parliamentary and policy committee and chairing its public relations and training and development committees. Roy married Joan in 1970 and they now live in Southport. They have two children, their son Rus-sell is a member of Bootle Pilgrim Lodge and Bootle Chapter No1473. Their daughter Elyse is married and works in Bristol as a project manager. Roy was initiated into Freemasonry in May 1992 into Bootle Lodge No 1473 and he was WM in 2000. He was also Master of Pilgrim Lodge No 6207 in 2009 when, during his year in office both lodges merged forming Bootle Pilgrim Lodge No 1473. He was appointed as Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 2004. He was appointed to Past Assis-tant Grand Director of Ceremonies in April 2008. Roy was promoted to Assistant Provincial Grand Master with responsibility for the Bootle, Garston and Gladstone Groups, following the ap-pointment of Howard Jones to Deputy Provincial Grand Master. He was exalted into Bootle Chapter No 1473 on the 15 March 1996 and was first principal in 2006. He enjoys his Masonry in several other degrees and also holds Grand Rank in another order. Roy joined the team at the West Lancashire Masonic Charities Fund in 2004 as assistant secre-tary later becoming joint secretary alongside Howard Jones. In 2008 Roy became the Chief Ex-ecutive of the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity when the seven Provincial charities serving Craft and Royal Arch merged. His wife Joan, a keen genealogist, has traced his family history on his mother’s side back to the Norman Conquest and later The First Crusade in which a direct ancestor Adam d’Yrton played a memorable part; there are also family connections with Owen Glendower and Fletcher Christian. His father’s side appropriately revealed several generations of stonemasons one of whom may have worked on St Paul’s Cathedral. Spare moments are taken up restraining two boisterous Labradors.


Farming, family and heavy horses: the life and times of golden Mason John

JOHN THORNBURROW BIRKETT, of Morecambe Lodge No 1561, is very much a private man and as such gave Assistant Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison quite a task in putting together a synopsis of his life and times for the celebration of John’s 50 years as a Freemason.

Clearly Tony knew which oracles to consult be-cause he presented the assembled brethren in Morecambe Masonic Hall with an intriguing in-sight into the history of John’s family and Masonic life. Born in June, 1922, on the family farm near Ben-tham in the West Riding of Yorkshire, John moved to Swarthdale Farm, Over Kellett in 1926. At the age of four he was enrolled at the local school which meant a daily walk of some two miles each way, a journey shared initially with his elder brother who was five, and eventually with his younger brother and sister. A few years later, when John was 12, the family were on the move again to a farm on the other side of Lancaster. A farming lad through and through, John left Greaves School, Lancaster, when he was 14 and

went to work on the family farm. His work involved early mornings and very long days and included milking all the cows by hand twice a day. During this time John developed a great love of heavy horses – literally the work-horse of the farm – and he became expert at ploughing the fields with a team of Shire horses which brought him great satisfaction and furthered his love for these beautiful animals. In 1941 John went to work for his uncle on White Lund Farm which extended to some 94 acres. A few years later John met and married Gladys and when his uncle passed away they took over the farm tenancy. John and Gladys had two sons – Thomas and Keith – and a daughter Hazel who were also brought up in the ways of the farm. Sadly Gladys passed away through illness in 1965 and John met and married Enid who had a six year old daughter Sonia and with whom he enjoyed a further 25 years of marriage before Enid also passed away. On a farming trip to South Africa John met Hannah who was to become his wife and who had two sons who enjoyed working on the farm. John and Hannah went on to spend ten very happy years together including regular holidays in Tenerife. John joined the Board of the Lancaster Farmers’ Auction Mart in 1955 and served as a director for 43 years, including 25 years as Chairman. It was in February 1962 that John took his first step into Freemasonry, taking every office in the lodge before attaining the Master’s chair in December 1980. John went on to hold the offices of Assistant Director of Ceremonies and Chaplain and has al-ways enjoyed the work of the lodge, standing in when necessary for any brother unavoidably ab-sent. He is looking forward to performing a third degree ceremony this year when he will be 90 years young! He was honoured in Provincial Grand Lodge in 1990 when he received the rank of Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon and Tony Harrison congratulated him on the exemplary manner in which he has discharged his civil, moral and Masonic duties throughout his life. Presenting John with a commemorative certificate from the Provincial Grand Master, Tony extended heartiest congratulations on behalf of all the brethren and wished him good health and much happiness for the future. At the close of the ceremony the lodge secretary called upon Tony Harrison to present each member who had attained 50 years in the lodge with a commemorative lapel pin pictured above right.

Pictured from left: Group Chairman Jim Wilson, WM Bryan Cambidge, John Thornburrow Birkett,

Tony Harrison, Barrie Crossley PrDGDC


Limbless veterans’ charity gets much-needed help from local Masons

BLESMA - the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association - is the national chari-ty for limbless serving and ex-service men and women and their dependants and widows.

It is the charity that directly supports all our service men and women who lose limbs, the use of limbs or eyes or the sight of an eye in the service of our country and it is with them all whenever it is needed for the rest of their lives. All too easily overlooked in the sometimes overwhelming weight of publicity from newer charities BLESMA has been in existence for 80 years, and currently needs to raise al-

most two million pounds a year to properly meet all its objectives. Aware of this need, Robert Cairwin, Master of Lodge Amounderness No 7105, chose BLESMA as one of the charities to benefit from lodge disbursements this year. At the charity’s Elizabeth Frankland Moore residential nursing home in Blackpool, Robert present-ed a cheque in the sum of £500 to the very grateful home manager Mrs Jacqui Longden. Taking the opportunity to explain the work of the charity and to show Rob-ert and lodge secretary Ian Cuerden around the home and its superb facil-ities Jacqui was delighted to see the two lodge members visibly im-pressed not only by the home itself but by the very obvious caring atti-tude displayed by all the staff. Ian remarked: “It is not at all how one would imagine such a home to be. Its atmosphere is more akin to that of a club as certainly befits those who have been seriously injured in the service of the country.” The Blackpool home has 49 en-suite bedrooms of very high standard and currently has 26 permanent resi-dents. Facilities also exist to accom-modate visitors on respite care. The home has its own nursing and care staff who are supported by the local doctor and hospitals. A dedicated Medical Officer is always on call. Jacqui says: “We aim to make the life of our residents one of dignity, privacy and one always dis-pensed with humanity. Our residents are encouraged to fully participate in decisions for their daily living and to join our trips around the local areas. They are also encouraged to make use of the many and varied community resources available, indeed, electronic buggies and wheelchairs are available for added independence.” BLESMA also helps to rehabilitate wounded soldiers and to help them realise that there is life af-ter amputation. Limbless soldiers, recently wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, are not only taught to walk again but to sail the Atlantic, to ski down mountains and to run in the Paralympics for the country they fought for. This rehabilitation helps them to face the life ahead that can at the time seem a daunting pro-spect. If you would like further information about BLESMA and its work please contact BLESMA, 185-187 High Road, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex RM6 6NA. Telephone: 0208 590 1124. E-mail: [email protected]. The Elizabeth Frankland Moore Blesma home in Blackpool can be contacted at: 539 Lytham Road, Blackpool, Lancs FY4 1RA. Tel: 01253 343313. The very informative website for both addresses is: http://www.blesma.org

Jacqui Longden is pictured receiving the cheque from Robert Cairwin (left) and Ian Cuerden


A century of combined Masonic years gives Jim a double gold!

HAVING ALREADY CLOCKED UP 50 years in Craft Freemasonry as a member of Carnforth Lodge No 4951, Daniel James Wilson went for ‘double gold’ when he cel-ebrated 50 years as a Royal Arch Mason with Lancaster Castle Chapter No 5952 in a celebration held at Rowley Court, Lancaster.

Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals Alan Dunn told the as-sembled companions how honoured he was to preside over the celebra-tion for such a well-known and dedi-cated Freemason. Daniel James Wilson – always just known as Jim Wilson, but not relat-ed in any way (other than through Freemasonry!) to the ‘other Jim Wil-son’ the Lancaster Group chairman – was born in Penrith in August 1922. This, Jim will readily tell you was in Cumberland: not Cumber-land and Westmorland or, even worse, Cumbria! After leaving the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith he start-ed an apprenticeship in the produc-tion department of the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald.

Following the outbreak of war Jim volunteered in 1941 for the RAF as a radio mechanic with part of his service spent in Nigeria. In 1942 he married his wife, Mary, whilst on leave from the RAF. Sadly Mary passed away in 2007 but they had one son, Peter who is to married Rosemary, and Jim is now a proud grandfa-ther, great grandfather and great, great grandfather! After leaving the RAF in 1946 Jim was able to complete his apprenticeship (which in those days was of seven years duration) at the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald with the help of what was called the interrupted apprenticeship scheme which meant that the government made up the wages of such ‘adult’ apprentices to the level they would have been had they completed their ap-prenticeship without interruption. He and Mary moved to Bolton-le-Sands in 1953 when Jim took a job with Morecambe Bay Print-ers for the next two years before starting work in Preston on the Lancashire Evening Post in 1955 where he stayed until his retirement, rising through the ranks of production management to be-come Works Manager. Jim’s Masonic career started in June 1956 when he was initiated into Carnforth Lodge attaining the Master’s chair in 1969 and incredibly taking the chair again 40 years later in March 2009. In 1983 he was honoured with the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies and promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon in 2011. Exalted into the Holy Royal Arch Lancaster Castle Chapter No 5952 in December 1961 he ap-plied himself to the work of the Chapter with equal assiduity as he did in the Craft and was in-stalled as First Principal in 1971 and again in 1974. His respect and conscientious work as a Royal Arch Mason was rewarded with an appointment to Past Provincial Grand Standard Bearer in 1979 and promotions to Past Provincial Grand Sojourn-er, and Past Provincial Grand Scribe Nehemiah in 1984 and 1992 respectively. Alan Dunn took great delight in bringing the greetings and congratulations of the Provincial Grand Superintendent and in presenting Jim with a certificate in recognition of his 50 years of service to Royal Arch Freemasonry. Alan wished Jim the best of health and many more happy years in the future, on his own behalf, and on behalf, of all the assembled companions.

Pictured from left to right: Second Principal Norman Mitchell, Alan Dunn, First Principal Peter Sykes, celebrant Jim Wilson,

Third Principal Graham Liddy, and Group Chairman Jim Wilson.


‘G’ — IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK!

THOSE MASONS WHO ATTENDED THE Masonic Hall in Church Street, Lancaster, will no doubt remember the rather elaborate canopy which had at its centre a sun-burst of metal bars and the letter ‘G’ hanging beneath it. When the time came to relocate to Rowley Court the canopy was assessed as being too difficult to move and was therefore left be-hind. However, although the canopy itself would have been too difficult to relocate, it was later decided to retrieve the centre sun-burst and ‘G’ but on returning to the premises it was found to have been burgled and every-thing metal removed. Obviously such thefts are not just a recent problem! The original canopy dated from around 1959

when the Masonic Hall was dedicated, and had been made by Edward William Stokes, a mem-ber of Duke of Lancaster Lodge No 1353, and father of Ian Stokes, a current member of the lodge.

The decision not to use the canopy disappointed some lodge members and it was therefore agreed to look into providing a suitable replacement when time and finances would permit. The hall’s management and maintenance teams are now proud to announce that a new sunburst and letter ‘G’ have been fitted to the temple ceiling and hope it will be greeted with universal ac-claim by all members attending Rowley Court. The new device was designed and commissioned by Keith Heys, the leader of the Rowley Court maintenance team. When the new Rowley Court was dedicated by RW Colin Penty Wright, then Provincial Grand Mas-ter, a silver commemorative plaque, mounted on a plain piece of oak, was presented. Unfortu-nately the oak upon which the plaque was mounted split but thanks to the skilful work of Gordon Brown, an enthusiastic member of the Rowley Court ‘maintenance team’, the plaque has now been restored to its former glory and is prominently displayed on the wall of the lodge room.

Right: The magnificently restored

commemorative dedication plaque

Above: The ornate new letter ‘G’ which now adorns the lodge room ceiling

Left: Keith Heys and Michael Walling fitting the

new device into position


New Chief Executive for West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity

FOLLOWING THE APPOINTMENT of Roy Skidmore to Assistant Provincial Grand Master, John Smith has been appointed as CEO of the West Lancashire Freema-sons’ Charity with effect from 1 April this year. John was appointed as a trustee and treasurer of the West Lancashire Masonic Educational Trust in 2002 and he held those offices until the merger of the Charities in 2008. After a year’s ‘redundancy’ he became a grant executive of the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity in 2009 and has been secre-tary of the Community Grant Executive for the last two years. Born in Preston on 6 January 1955 John attended St Michael’s-on-Wyre C of E Primary School and then Baines Grammar School, Poulton le Fylde. On leaving school he pur-sued a career in accountancy, qualifying as a Chartered Ac-countant in 1979. In 1983, he and a partner purchased a local practice in Lytham and he remained a partner in that practice until retirement in 2010. During his career, John also owned a restaurant and a hotel and together with his wife Jane, a resi-dential home for the elderly. John and Jane were married in 1989 and live in Fulwood, Preston. They have two children, Thomas and Lucy who, as John says, are thankfully grown and independent. They have a home in Tenerife and spend quite a bit of time in the sun-shine each year (Masonic commitments permitting). They have recently taken to cruising and enjoyed a memorable Holy Land cruise two years ago and have just returned from the Far East where they visited Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. They are parishioners at St John the Baptist Church, Broughton, and were both sidespersons for 10 years. John is also a keen field sportsman - shooting and salmon fishing being his particular passions. John was initiated into Wyreside Lodge No 2605 on 15 April 1980. He was installed into the chair of Royal Preston Lodge No 333 in December 1992 and again in 2001. He was appointed to Pro-vincial Grand Lodge in May 2002 with the rank of PPrDGSupt of Wks. In the Royal Arch, he was exalted in Scorton Chapter No 5791 in 1983 and was first principal of Vale Chapter No 5791 in 1996. He was appointed to Provincial Grand Chapter in 2003 with the rank of PPrPGSoj and pro-moted to the rank of PPrGSN in 2009. John is also a member of a number of other Masonic Or-ders. Of his appointment, John has said: “It is a great honour to be afforded the opportunity of heading the jewel of the Masonic crown of West Lancashire. The West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity has been fortunate to enjoy the excellent offices of Roy Skidmore in its formative years and I hope to carry on the good work that he has done over the past four years. The two Principal Officers of the Charity are now both Chartered Accountants and both John Smith’s, albeit one is a Dutchman! I am looking forward to working with John and benefiting from his vast experience of the Charity. We hope to see the Charity grow even further in stature as it matures and to increase its profile even higher, not only in the Province but in the wider arena of West Lancashire in general. I am also looking forward to working with the very dedicated team of volunteers who run the of-fice, many of whom are already known to me and who I know I can rely upon for their tremendous support in the future. It will be sad to stand down from the Community Grant Executive which has been such an interesting area to work in over the past three years, but I know that it is in good hands and that my colleagues and good friends in that team will carry on the great community support which has been the hallmark of our endeavours since the formation of the charity. I am however, relishing the challenge of my new appointment and looking forward to ‘getting stuck into the job’.”


WEBDESIGNERS and WEBMASTERS

The Province of West Lancashire is seeking to acquire the services of a number of

volunteers to work alongside the Provincial Publicity Officer and Provincial Webmaster

in the design / build and ongoing maintenance of the next generation Provincial website.

The candidate would ideally have:

Experience of web design and / or creation;

Able to work as part of a team and willing to attend project meetings in a central

location once or twice a month from April to November 2012;

Able to work within a team to provide ongoing maintenance and continually develop

the website to take account of emerging technologies or features.

The work is extremely rewarding as you will be part of a team managing the Provincial

website, which is the window into Freemasonry in the largest Province in the world.

Please apply by email no later than 26 March 2012, giving details of any experience to:

Mark Holloway - Provincial Publicity Officer

[email protected]

JUST 20 TICKETS LEFT


Poulton-le-Sands welcomes Deputy Provincial Grand Master to a ‘delightful’ installation meeting

POULTON-LE-SANDS LODGE Lodge No 1051 were proud and delighted to wel-come Deputy Provincial Grand Master Howard Jones as the principal guest at their installation meeting held at More-cambe Masonic Hall. This date in Howard’s diary was originally made when he was an Assistant Provincial Grand Master and the lodge was therefore particularly honoured that he was still able to attend following his recent promotion. Howard was accompanied by Assistant Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison and Past assistant Provincial Grand Master F Philip Gard-ner, both of whom are mem-bers of Poulton-le-Sands Lodge, Group Chairman Jim

Wilson, and Grand Officers Tom Holroyd, Dennis Butterfield, Giles Berkley and Chris Butterfield. The meeting saw Donald Polson installed into the Chair of the lodge in an excellently dele-gated and executed ceremony performed by Jack Craig as installing master, Tony Harrison and Geoffrey Bury. In a ceremony of such high standard, acclaim must be particularly afforded to the three jun-ior brethren who delivered the working tools - those of the third degree by Nick Baxter, the second degree tools by Andrew Hall and those of the first degree by Steve Plevey. As the ceremony drew to a close Howard brought to the lodge the greetings of the Pro-vincial Grand Master and added his own con-gratulations on what he thought had been a delightful ceremony of installation. He was extremely grateful to receive from the lodge a cheque in the sum of £3,000 in favour of the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity which brought the disbursements made by the lodge during the year to over £4,000. The Festival of St John was held at the Lothersdale Hotel, Morecambe where almost 120 members and guests were treated to a superb banquet and an interesting and amus-ing response to the toast to his health by Howard.

Pictured from left to right: Tony Harrison, Donald Polson, Howard Jones, Jack Craig and Jim Wilson

LANCASTER & DISTRICT GROUP

OF LODGES AND CHAPTERS

GROUP WALK SATURDAY JUNE 16 2012

Hosted by Lune Lodge 4274

Members, family, friends,

children (route suitable for bikes) and dogs are all welcome

Assemble at Rowley Court, Scotforth,

Lancaster LA1 4PU at 10.00 ready to set off at 10.30

A choice of two enjoyable walks (one very

easy) along Lancaster Canal and bridleways each taking about two hours

Contact: Gary Wright 07779 282955

[email protected] to register for the walk and refreshments


Appointments to Acting Provincial Grand Rank - Craft 2012

THE GROUP CHAIRMAN is pleased to announce that the following Brethren are to be appointed to Acting Provincial Grand Rank at the meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge to be held in the Norcalympia Complex, Blackpool, on Monday, 21 May 2012. All Brethren who are Master Masons and above are encouraged to attend meetings of Provincial Grand Lodge, and your support on behalf of the newly-appointed Brethren would be most appre-ciated.

Appointments to Acting Provincial Grand Rank - Royal Arch 2012

The Group Chairman is also pleased to announce that the following Companions are to be appointed to Acting Provincial Grand Rank (Royal Arch) to be held at the Norcalympia Complex, Blackpool, on Thursday 11 April 2012. All Companions are encouraged to attend the meeting of Provincial Grand Chapter and the Ban-quet afterwards. Your support on behalf of the newly-appointed Companions would be much ap-preciated.

Above from left to right: Provincial Grand Chaplain, The Rev Graham Halsall, Lodge Amounder-ness No 7105; Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, Keith S Kemp, Heysham Lodge No 4108; Provincial Senior Grand Deacon, Nigel Parrish, Duke of Lancaster Lodge No 1353 ; Pro-vincial Assistant Grand Pursuivant, Richard J Crankshaw, Heysham Lodge No 4108.

Left: Provincial Deputy Grand Organist, WBro David K Tattersall, Runic Lodge No 6019

Right: Provincial Grand Steward, David Jackman, Vale Lodge No 5256

Left: Provincial Grand Standard Bearer, Brian F Milner, Rowley Chapter No 1051

Right: Provincial Grand Steward Keith T Heys, Lancaster Castle

Chapter No 5952


Appointments to and Promotions in Provincial Grand Rank 2012 - Craft

The Group Chairman is pleased to announce that the following brethren are to be appointed to, or receive promotions in, Provincial Grand Rank at the respective meetings of Provincial Grand Lodge in 2012:

Appointments to be made at the Meeting in the Norcalympia Complex, Blackpool - Monday 21st May 2012

First Appointments - Past Rank:

Past Provincial Deputy Grand Superintendant of Works W.Bro. R. Domville City of Lancaster Lodge No. 281

Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon W.Bro. R.J. Pye Great Eccleston Lodge No. 8895

Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon W.Bro. W.B. Bamber Pilling Lodge No. 7879 W.Bro. A.J. Boswell Morecambe Lodge No. 1561 W Bro. J.G. Earl Duke of Lancaster Lodge No.1353 W.Bro. W.N. Harwood Warton Lodge No. 8411 Bro. W.I. McLellan Knott End Lodge No. 8674 W.Bro. P.L. Turner Torrisholme Lodge No.5245

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies W Bro. M.J. Craddock Poulton-le-Sands Lodge No.1051 W.Bro. F.A. Thornton Wyreside Lodge No. 2605

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Sword Bearer W.Bro. B.L. Clarke Scorton Lodge No. 5791 W.Bro. A.J. Herron Runic Lodge No. 6019 W.Bro. I.J. Lonsdale Carnforth Lodge No. 4951

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Superintendent of Works W.Bro. B.W. Barnes Garstang Lodge No. 6633 W.Bro. I. Brook Garstang Lodge No. 6633 W.Bro. A. Long Duke of Lancaster No.1353

Promotions to be Invested at the Meeting in the Norcalympia Complex, Blackpool - Tuesday 16th October 2012

Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden W.Bro. J.E.G. Davies Great Eccleston Lodge No. 8895 W.Bro. E.S. Greenhalgh Poulton-le-Sands Lodge No.1051

Past Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works W Bro. J.C. Altham Morecambe Lodge No. 1561 W.Bro. P.J. Davies Silverdale Lodge No. 6926 W Bro. A. Flack Torrisholme Lodge No.5245 W.Bro. J.R. Nevinson Warton Lodge No. 8411 W.Bro. D.W. Roth Heysham Lodge No. 4108

Past Provincial Deputy Grand Superintendent of Works W. Bro. B.F. Milner Poulton-le-Sands Lodge No. 1051 W.Bro. L.A. Robinson Pilling Lodge No. 7879 W.Bro. M.B. Slater Longridge Lodge No. 8077

Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon W.Bro. F.H. Heath Poulton-le-Sands Lodge No. 1051 W.Bro. D. Malcolm Heysham Lodge No. 4108

All brethren who are Master Masons and above are encouraged to attend meetings of Provincial Grand Lodge. Your support on behalf of the members of this group receiving honours would be greatly appreciated.


Appointments to and Promotions in Provincial Grand Rank 2012 - Royal Arch

The Group Chairman is pleased to announce that the following companions are to be appointed to, or receive promotion in, Provincial Grand Rank at the meeting of Provincial Grand Chapter to be held at the Norcalympia Complex, Blackpool on Thursday 11 April 2012.

First Appointments - Past Rank

Past Provincial Principal Grand Sojourner E.Comp. A.R.G. Gregg Fortitude Chapter No. 281 E.Comp. S. Kershaw Scorton Chapter No. 5791 E.Comp. D.K. Tattersall Heysham No. 4108

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Sojourner E.Comp. B. Dewhurst Morecambe Chapter No. 1561 E.Comp. J.J.H. Stephenson Sandylands Chapter No. 5702

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies E.Comp. D. Barlow Vale Chapter No. 5256 E.Comp. R. Jones Lancaster Castle Chapter No. 5952 E.Comp W. Wilkinson Great Eccleston Chapter No. 8895

Promotions

Past Provincial Grand Scribe Nehemiah E.Comp. R. Bennison Great Eccleston Chapter No. 8895 E.Comp. J. Spencer Great Eccleston Chapter No. 8895

Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer E.Comp. A. Shackleton Morecambe Chapter No. 1561 E.Comp. J.N. Stanley Lancaster Castle Chapter No. 5952

Past Provincial Deputy Grand Sword Bearer E.Comp. J.R. Nevison Carnforth Chapter No. 4951

Past Provincial Assistant Grand Sojourner E.Comp. A.R. Gifford Rowley Chapter No. 1051 E.Comp. R.G.W. Smith Great Eccleston Chapter No. 8895

All companions are encouraged to attend the meeting of Provincial Grand Chapter and the Ban-quet afterwards. Your support on behalf of the members of this group receiving honours would be greatly appreciated.

WHAT IS THE ROYAL ARCH (Chapter)? Every Master Mason of four weeks’ standing is eligible (and encouraged)

to join the Royal Arch.

Although The Craft can be viewed as the sure foundation upon which Freemasonry is based, The Royal Arch takes matters further and can be seen to be the superstructure

that makes all that is presented to the candidate perfect and complete.

If a Craft Freemason restricts his journey to only the three degrees he would undoubtedly be missing that piece of the jigsaw that would render him complete!

The ceremony in the Royal Arch is colourful, thought-provoking and uplifting. Meetings are held only four times each year.

If you would like to know more, or to make an application to join, then please contact your Lodge Chapter Representative or your Lodge Secretary.


SECRETARIES

SCRIBE E’s

TREASURERS

GROUP WORKSHOP

The group has arranged two workshops:

one for Secretaries and Scribe E’s and one for Treasurers.

They will both be held on the same evening of May 28, 2012,

at the Longlands Hotel, Tewitfield, Carnforth 6.30 for 7.00 pm

The Provincial Grand Secretary Geoffrey Lee and the

Provincial Grand Treasurer David Potts have both kindly agreed to

attend the meetings and to share their own experience and knowledge

with us.

It is hoped that all our group Secretaries, Scribe E’s and Treasurers

will make every effort to attend this important event.

Further details will be available later, but please put the date in your diary

Boost for Prostate Cancer Campaign

‘PROSTATE CANCER is a much under-publicised and under-funded disease which leads to the death of over 10,000 men in the UK each year. It is almost as common as breast cancer yet receives a mere fraction of the funding. In the absence of an effective treatment, early diagno-sis is crucial in offering the best opportunity of stemming the tide of men dying from the disease or from suffering significant quality of life impairment’. This is the message that the Prostate Can-cer Research Campaign is working hard to convey to all Freemasons.

Geoff Waters, the secretary of Lonsdale Lodge of Installed Mas-ters No 9422 in the Furness and South Lakes Group, heard about the Campaign and invited Peter Pemberton of Pilling Lodge No 7879, the Campaign organiser, to give a presentation to Lonsdale members. Peter’s presentation is designed to raise awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into treatments and new methods of diagnosis. The presentation is therefore accompanied by the sale of a special lapel badge (which incorporates the square and compasses) and a very informative booklet which at Lonsdale Lodge raised more than £200 for the Campaign. Geoff, however, is also Master of Brigantes Lodge No 9734 in the Province of Cumberland and Westmorland and at their Christmas

meeting, which was attended by over 140 members guests and ladies, the lodge held a raffle with the proceeds being disbursed to charities chosen by the Master’s wife, Laura. This year the main charity thus chosen was the Prostate Cancer Research Campaign and Geoff was delighted to present Peter with a magnificent cheque in the sum of £530. Geoff says: “Peter’s message is an important one for us all and Brigantes Lodge is very pleased to be able to support the Campaign. I would encourage any lodge to lend their support to this initi-ative and possibly ask Peter to come along and give his presentation.” Peter Pemberton can be contacted on 01772 865057 or by e-mail: [email protected]

Geoff, left, presents the cheque to Peter


Stephen takes the Chair at Wyreside INSTALLING MASTER David Ainsworth placed his successor, Stephen McClintock, into the Chair of Wyreside Lodge No 2605 in an excellent ceremony at Wyrebank, Garstang, that brought much acclaim from the assembled brethren. The lodge was delighted to welcome the Lancaster and District Group Chairman Jim Wilson as the representative of the Provin-cial Grand Master, together with Grand Of-ficers William A J Thompson, Peter Greathead and James E Woods. The address to the Master was delivered by John (Jack) Stackhouse; that to the war-dens by John Smith and the address to the brethren by the representative Jim Wilson. All were given in exemplary fashion. The working tools of the second degree were given by the lodge assistant director of ceremonies Andrew Cookson in fine style but it was the explanations of the working tools of the first and third degrees by junior brethren Daniel Crossley and Da-vid Wright respectively which brought high commendation from all present. At the conclusion of the ceremony Jim Wilson brought the fraternal greetings of the Provincial Grand Master Peter Hosker, and was delighted to add his own congratulations to the installing master and all the officers who had taken part in such a superb ceremony. Jim was also ex-tremely pleased to receive notification of charity donations made by the lodge which exceeded £2,200 and included £1,500 for the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity, £300 for the Different Strokes organisation and £300 for the Garstang Masonic Fellowship.

Pictured from left to right: Jim Wilson, Stephen McClintock, David Ainsworth and Group Vice-chairman

Martin Baxendale

Support for Rosemere from Amounderness

LODGE AMOUNDERNESS No 7105 has generously supported the Rosemere Can-cer Foundation at Royal Preston Hospital in its annual disbursements to charity and good causes which had also included £1,000 for the West Lancashire Freema-sons’ Charity.

The Worshipful Master, Robert Cairwin was pleased to present a cheque in the sum of £500 to a very grateful Laura Stephenson the area fund-raising co-ordinator for the Preston and Fylde ar-ea. Laura has earmarked the donation to help towards establishing a new dedicated cancer patient infor-mation bureau at the Cancer Centre in Preston Hospital. It is planned that the new bureau will offer an ac-cessible multimedia facility through which patients and their families can obtain information about all aspects of their cancer journey - from benefits and

specialist insurance cover to the possible side-effects of their treatment and dietary advice. “More and more patients diagnosed with cancer struggle with issues that they never even consid-ered at the initial diagnosis. The new unit will help with the questions that people might have about practical situations they find themselves in and will give them peace of mind that they can find support when they need it,” said Laura.

Laura is pictured receiving the cheque from Robert Cairwin (left) and Jim Bennett


Morecambe Masons take Tenerife by storm RECENT ‘Z FACTOR’ contestants Peter Jackson and Roy Norman of Morecambe Lodge No 1561 took Playa de Las Americas by storm with their appearance in that international venue for up and coming stars the Hop and Grapes Lounge Bar. It is not surprising that their performance was so highly acclaimed by the discern-ing audience, many of whom had trav-elled from the four quarters of the UK. This honey-pot for British tourists is de-scribed by the Las Americas tourist board as “offering streets full of pubs, fish and chip restaurants and pizza par-lours - it’s like being at home for Brits who like the best night places and enjoy the days taking a sleep at the beach”. Our boys to a T! Pictured: Roy (left) and Peter

THE WORLD BURNS CLUB puts at the top of its list of key elements for a success-ful Burns Supper - Guests!

Heysham Lodge No 4108 certainly more than fulfilled this requirement at their Burns Night Festive Board held at the Masonic Hall, Morecambe, with Masons from across the whole group - including no less than ten Masters in Office and a fraternal visit by More-cambe Lodge No 1561 - coming together to enjoy an evening dedicated to ‘The Bard’.

In the lodge meeting the throng of assembled Masons were treated to a fascinating and interesting presentation by Frank Hogarth of St Michael’s-on-Wyre Lodge No 8348 entitled ‘Robert Burns the Mason’. The supper commenced with the tradition-al piping in of the haggis by Jim Cowie - with the ‘great chieftain o’ the puddin-race’ being borne aloft by Gordon Hurst - before Jim gave a full rendition of the address to the haggis. The ‘Selkirk Grace’ was said, of course, before everyone tucked in to a feast worthy of any Clan Chieftain! The evening raised a magnificent sum of £673 for charity.

Above: McPiper Jim Cowie. Right: McAlan Flack Below left: McGordon Hurst Below right: McAddress to the haggis

Heysham McMaster McAlan Lapworth

Above: McFred Frobisher

Below: McPaul Thompson

Left: The McMasters’ table Right: The McHeysham

Clan Chiefs from left: McMichael Brown, McAlan

Lapworth, McTorquil McLeod (Torquil’s a REAL Mc!)

Heysham Lodge celebrates The Bard in style

Documents

MASTERCLASS CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION AT MASTERCLASS CEREMONY OF INSTALLATION AT ... Grand Officers in the persons of Group Chairman Jim ... Brethren, As I travel around the Group I