Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire
Bury District News

275th Birthday celebrations

The Lodge of Relief No.42 the third oldest craft lodge in England outside London celebrated its 275th birthday on the 18th September 2008.

This milestone event was attended by both the Provincial and Deputy Provincial Grand Masters and other Provincial Grand Officers of the year. The celebrations were held at Bury Masonic Hall with 100 masons in attendance.

The Lodge was founded in 1733 and the Provincial Grand Master, RW Bro Jack Price presented the Worshipful Master John Wood with an illuminated certificate from the Province to celebrate and mark this occasion.

Also in attendance to support the celebrations was the Worshipful Mayor of Bury W.Bro Peter Ashworth a past master of Knowsley Lodge who is pictured with the Provincial Grand Master Jack Price and the Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Relief No.42 John Wood.

100 Years In Freemasonry

No it is not a misprint -  Wednesday 1th May 2008 saw two Bury Freemasons celebrate 50 years each in Freemasonry on the same night.

W.Bro Norman Lowe PProvGSwdB  and W.Bro Alan Garvey PProvSGW both of Prince Edwin Lodge No 128 were presented with their certificates and badges to celebrate this milestone by W.Bro Philip Mountford APGM at the Masonic Hall in Bury at a double birthday celebration attended by 100 local Freemasons.

Pictured from the left are Bro Brian Tunstall WM of Prince Edwin Lodge, W.Bros Norman Lowe, Philip Mountford APGM and Alan Garvey

Record Number of Local Charities benefit at Charity Giving Night

18 Local charities attended a charity giving night held by the local Freemasons of Radcliffe and Bury on Tuesday 22nd April at Radcliffe Masonic Hall.
£18,000 had been raised over the past year and this has all been distributed to local non Masonic charities. This figure had increased by 10% over the previous year’s donations and representatives of the receiving charities came along to the giving night to explain to the local masons and their families where the money raised would be spent and what further assistance they needed for next year.
The Masonic District of Bury and Radcliffe hoped that it would be able to raise even more funds for local good causes by next year’s giving night - which is now an annual event.
The charities attending were – Rainbow Family Trust and Frances House, The Christie Hospital, Bury Hospice, Alzheimer’s Society, Bury Cancer Support Group, Med Equip 4 Kids, The Abbeyfield Society, Broughton House Salford, RNLI, Hurdles, Tickled Pink Breast Cancer Support, Derion House Children’s Hospice, Bleak Holt Animal Sanctuary, Macmillan Nurses Cancer Support, Marie Currie, Pennine Acute Hospital Charity.


Representatives of the receiving Charities are pictured at the Giving Night.

ELMC Support Elton Primary School

Papyrean Lodge made a donation of £250 to Elton Primary School for their roof repair fund after vandals stole the lead off the roof which caused flooding of classrooms and the library after heavy rain. An application was made to the Community Fund of the ELMC which donated another £500 to the appeal. Pictured below are members of Papyrean Lodge presenting their donation to the Head Teacher and Phil Mountford APGM presenting the Deputy Head with the cheque from ELMC at the District Charity Giving Night.

  

Newly Initiated Entered Apprentice Acts As Banner Bearer

Bro John Anthony who was initiated on the 14th February 2008 was selected by his lodge, the lodge of Faith to act as the banner bearer in the ceremony to dedicate the new Lodge Banner.
The ceremony was conducted by W.Bro Philip Mountford APGM on the 13th March 2008 at Radcliffe Masonic Hall.
Bro Anthony has only been a Freemason for one month, the newest member carrying the new banner – what a wonderful sight.
The Ladies committee had raised the £2000 for the new banner which will take pride of place in the Lodge as it approaches its bicentenary in 2014.

Pictured from the left are Bro John Anthony, W.Bro Philip Mountford APGM, Bro G Layton WM  and W.Bro Roy Fairhurst.

From Generation to Generation a Traditional History!

Monday the 3rd March 2008 saw a very special and unusual installation ceremony at Cromwell Lodge (8693) in Bury. The worshipful master W.Bro Joe Lawson (PProvAGDC) relinquished the chair so that the only remaining founder of the lodge, W.Bro.  Jack F. Huddart (PJGD) could conduct the ceremony of installation.

What made this ceremony special and perhaps even unique was that the Worshipful Master elect, Grant Gurnsey, is Jack’s grandson! This was not the only surprise for Grant as his uncle, W.Bro. Keith Huddart (PProvJGW) Jack’s son, travelled the length of the country to be present and therefore complete a triumvirate of generations from the family. The family connection with freemasonry does not go as far back as Oliver Cromwell’s time but it does go back at least five generations and possibly even as far back as the 1800’s. Jack knows that his great uncle George joined St. John’s Lodge (325) in February 1920.  He was followed by Jack’s father, James Huddart and then Jack and finally Keith who was initiated, passed and raised in 1973 by Jack. Jack then became a founder member of Cromwell Lodge, which was consecrated on the 21st May 1976.

When Keith was installed in the chair of King Solomon in 1980 at St John’s, Jack took an active part in the installation ceremony. When Jack went into the WM’s chair of St. John’s for a second time, in 1987, Keith did what seemed to be tradition for this family by now and installed his father. It would appear that Grant will have to install either his Grandfather or Uncle in the not too distant future!


Pictured from the left are:
WBro Jack Huddart, Bro Grant Guernsey WM, WBro Keith Huddart ( Grants Uncle and Jacks son )

ELMC Community Fund Supports Fairfield Hospital - Bury

The District Chairman accompanied the former District Charity Steward and members of the Lodge of Merit visited the newly re-furbished play room on the children's ward at Fairfield General Hospital .  The room and all its equipment had been severely damaged by a flood earlier in the year and an appeal was launched to fund the re-equipping of the room.  Bro. Gary O'Neil, Charity Steward, Lodge of Merit 934, whose daughter had been a patient on the ward, saw the appeal and approached his Lodge for help.  The Lodge of Merit made a donation of £200 towards re-equipping the room.  Gary , assisted by W.Bro. Nicholson then approached the ELMC for further funding and a grant of £1344 was made by ELMC.  The Bury District 120 Club also donated £500 which enabled the purchase of a computer for use by the older children.  By these various routes local Freemasons made a contribution of over £2000 towards equipping and refurbishing the room.  The room is now in use and enjoyed daily by children on the ward and the attached photos show some of the equipment and toys which the donations have helped to purchase.

Pictured in the photograph are staff from the Fairfield Hospital Children's Ward and Bro Gary O'Neill and W.Bro Fred

 

50 years in Egerton Lodge No 1392

W.Bro Roger Crompton PAGSwdB, celebrated 50 years in Freemasonry on 24th January 2008. The Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Philip Mountford attended the celebrations at Bury Masonic Hall, along with over 80 other local Freemasons.

W.Bro Crompton was also presented with a birthday cake at the social board to celebrate this milestone.

Pictured below are from the left: W.Bro Howard Berry – District Chairman, W.Bro Philip Mountford APGM, W.Bro Roger Crompton PAGSwdB,
Bro Graham Thornton WM.

The Lodge of Faith at Radcliffe has waited nearly 194 years for its latest acquisition a - Lodge Banner

With the Lodge bicentenary approaching in 2014, members felt something special should be provided to mark the occasion. No sooner was the idea of the banner mooted than the Lodge Ladies Committee promised to provide one. It was handed over to the Lodge at the carol dinner in December and was on show for the first time at the installation in January.

Provision of the £2,000 banner is only the latest example of support by the ladies since it was formed over 60 years ago. As well as providing the lodge with its first Master's Chain, over the last 10 years they have regularly raised £1,000 a year to support the lodges charity giving.

The banner will be / was officially dedicated by a Provincial team at the regular lodge meeting in March.


Making it ‘bearable'

Three months after the launch of Teddies for Loving and Caring (TLC) in the Bury & Radcliffe District I went to Fairfield General to see how the scheme was working.

I talked to Sister Julie Whittle who is the specialist children's nurse based in the A& E Department at the hospital.

She told me that ‘the teddies are going down fantastic and bringing a smile to the face of many children despite the distress of being in hospital and having unpleasant things done to them'.

Sister Whittle told me about one child who had breathing difficulties where the teddy helped distract her from the distress and helped her to relax and thus ease her breathing. With another child it helped his mum to distract him whilst the nurses inserted needles to obtain a specimen of blood, making the experience that much more ‘bearable' (forgive the pun) for both the child and the mother.

The children, parents and the staff all think the teddies are marvellous and are really appreciated. A lot of children attend the A&E department at Fairfield and, according to Sister Whittle, numbers seem to have increased since the A&E Department at Burnley became a walk in centre because of children living in Rossendale coming to Bury. The red teddies were particularly popular, I thought it was because the kids were all Man United supporters but apparently not, as Sister Whittle pointed out to me it was nearly Christmas!

Since the scheme began in late August almost 800 teddies have been given to children in the A&E department at Fairfield. This averages about 50 each week which means we are going to have to work hard to sell the lapel badges that pay for the teddies at the hospital, one lapel badge sold for £2 supplies two teddies. Many Lodges, individual Brethren (and their wives) have been extremely supportive in selling the badges, one Lodge made a donation of £250 and the wife of one member donated her share of their winter fuel allowance.

However, Brethren if we are to ensure the continuation of the scheme we need to keep selling the lapel badges. We are only committed to the scheme for one year, but I don't want to be the one to have to tell the staff that we can't sustain it next year. I am confident that with your support this will not happen. But have you bought a lapel badge? Have you sold them to all your relatives, friends and colleagues? Has every member of your Lodge bought one? Why not buy five, keep one for yourself and sell the other four? If you can sell larger quantities contact me and I will supply them.

As the comments from Sister Whittle illustrate, Teddies (T) do make a difference to the loving (L) and caring (C) that the children in our local A&E department receive.

Please support TLC, it really does take the principles of Freemasonry into our local community.

For further information or to obtain lapel badges ask you Lodge Charity Steward or contact me,

Ian Hargreaves on 0161 788 8810 or casian@ntlworld.com

 

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Simon Archer
Bury District Comm Officer