Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire
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Frederick Charles Mepham

The Eulogy given at his funeral service on 22 September 2008,
by the
RW Provincial Grand Master / MEG Superintendent,
Jack Price.

WBro Frederick Charles Mepham, a Past Senior Grand Deacon of the United Grand Lodge of England, a Past Assistant Grand Sojourner of the Supreme Grand Chapter of England. Formerly, an Assistant Provincial Grand Master and an Assistant to the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent, in and of the Province of East Lancashire.

That brief paragraph conveys to those of us who were honoured to be Masonic colleagues of Fred, his high standing within our Order. To those of you ladies and gentlemen who are unaware of Freemasonry, you may, perhaps, comprehend from the titles I have mentioned that he was a man of distinction.

That is in effect where I begin. I don’t wish to obtrude into what the Reverend Canon may wish to say in his address but suffice to say, Fred was born in Hastings just about as far south as one can get and by a long convoluted route, via Croydon, Cornwall, London, the Royal Air Force and West Africa, he finally arrived in Manchester where he met and, in 1978, married the love of his life Sheila.

He had become a Freemason whilst in Warri, Nigeria and his great attachment to Masonry was to become a significant part of his activities for the rest of his life. He has held many of us spellbound with his talks about Freemasonry in Nigeria, leaving his audiences both fascinated and asking for more.

He was much loved and admired by all who knew him; he had many interests – Amateur Dramatics, Sport - especially tennis, Literature, Music, Opera, Ballet and the Arts.     Interwoven through all of these interests, was his great love and commitment to Masonry, specifically in Manchester and East Lancashire.

His quiet gentle manner, the twinkle in his eye, his ready smile, his enormous depth of knowledge and his skills as a communicator, pointed him out as someone special.
These qualities were recognised and culminated in him being appointed to very high office within the Province of East Lancashire and in which capacity he served for many years in an exemplary manner.

All of the congregation here today will have many and diverse reasons to fondly remember Fred as a Churchman, colleague, neighbour or friend. Those of us who are Freemasons will remember him with love and affection as a dear Friend, Brother and Companion, who served our Order and the wider community unstintingly and whose adherence to high principles provides an example worthy of emulation by all who knew him.

We say a temporary ‘farewell’ to Fred, assuring Sheila of our continued love, respect and support  for her.  

For my part, I am proud to record the admiration of thousands of Freemasons in East Lancashire who will treasure his memory and I am very glad that I had the pleasure of knowing him. We, his brethren, are so grateful that the Great Architect gave such a fine man to share his life with us.