A short narrative by
Worshipful Brother Roger Crow, P.PrJGD, (Worcestershire), England.
I am not too sure how
Worshipful Brother Ian Chase of the Prince of Wales Lodge 1705, Gosport in the
Province of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, England came up with the idea but
after he was elected Master Elect of his Lodge, being a glutton for punishment
this was to be his 2nd time as Worshipful Master and currently he
is the MEZ of a Chapter he researched just how many Prince of Wales Lodges
that there are worldwide.
He then wrote to all the
Secretaries of these lodges inviting the Master or his representative along to
his Installation into the chair of King Solomon which was due to take place at
the lodge rooms in Gosport, Hampshire, England on Thursday 23rd
October 08.
It was certainly a mammoth
task that he set himself and no doubt of course for the other brethren of his
lodge.
His letter was received by
the Royal Prince of Wales Lodge 1555 EC and discussed at our 8th
Committee meeting of 2008.
At that time I was planning
a trip to the UK in order to visit my family and friends and this visitation
would fit nicely into my plans. As it turned out both myself and Worshipful
Brother Russell Daniels, P.Pr.JGW, Cumberland and Westmorland, England and
P,Dist.JGW, Eastern Archipelago were given the honour by the Worshipful
Master to represent our lodge at this Installation meeting in the UK.
I had travelled from
Penang, Malaysia and Worshipful Brother Russell from his home in Windermere,
Cumbria, England a journey itself of some considerable time and distance.
The hospitality shown by
the Brethren of the Prince of Wales lodge 1705 was first class: Worshipful
Brother Chase had a very busy night ahead of him but still found the time to
put one of the visitors up at a room in his house and to pick up other guests
arriving at the local airport and railway station, conveying them to their
respective hotels.
‘The gathering of the
Clans’ saw a large number of representatives from the following Prince of
Wales Lodges’ in attendance.
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 222. |
Bray, Ireland. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 246. |
Renfrew, Scotland. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 951. |
Stow on the Wold,
England. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 959. |
Ipswich, England. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 1003. |
Jersey, Channel Isles. |
Royal Prince of Wales
Lodge No 1555. |
Penang, Malaysia. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 2520. |
Newcastle Upon Tyne,
England. |
Prince of Wales Lodge
No 4845. |
Sutton, England. |
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There is a Prince of Wales
Lodge in Canada which is not under the English Constitution: they too where
also invited but sadly could not attend. They did however, send their
apologies with sincere and fraternal greetings wishing all the brethren well.
It was a splendid ceremony
carried out by all the Brethren in true Masonic style befitting the occasion.
The Temple was full, which itself must have been daunting to those brethren
taking part in the night’s proceedings. 171 brethren signed the Tyler’s Book.
After the ceremony the
usual photographs were taken and at this point Worshipful Brother Russell and
I were able to present two of the Royal Prince of Wales Lodge 1555 EC
Bannerettes to Worshipful Brother Ian Chase and the Prince of Wales Lodge
1705.
The ceremony having been
conducted in a loyally Masonic manner I am pleased to say that this continued
at the festive board where over 180 Brethren and invited Brethren dined on a
traditional English fayre of soup followed by roast beef with, of course,
Yorkshire pudding and seasonal vegetables of the day, cheese cake for dessert
followed by coffee, cheese board and biscuits.
All this was ‘washed down’
by good quality ale and wine. The bar, catering staff and waitresses had a
very busy night but were well up to the task.
On the night the Alms
collection amounted to £181(GBP). And the raffle raised the sum of £941(GBP)
all in the course of charity.
I and Worshipful Brother
Daniels and all the other visiting Brethren were genuinely welcomed, treated
like good friends and given every possible assistance that was needed.
We thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves and are honoured that we were able to represent our lodge, the Royal
Prince of Wales 1555 EC, at such an impressive Masonic occasion.
Worshipful Brother Ian
Chase has invited at his expense, any brethren from the Royal Prince of Wales
Lodge 1555 EC who are in the UK and able to attend at a Prince of Wales Lodge
1705 lodge meeting: look them up on their own web site. Brethren, if you can,
take up this big-hearted offer you will not be disappointed.
Visitors? We are all
friends in Freemasonry.
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