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Peter John Hosker was born on 17 May, 1940 in Preston, and has lived and worked for virtually the whole of his life in the city. He attended Kirkham Grammar School from 1951 to 1958 before going on to read law at Manchester University from 1958 to 1961, earning an Honours Degree in Law. At school, Peter never managed to win an academic prize, but in his last year, he received a prize for the boy who had done most for the sport of the school. In fact, his record for the 110 metres high hurdles remained unbeaten for more than 40 years.

Having trained in Manchester for three years, he qualified as a solicitor in 1964, returning to Preston where he practised as a corporate and commercial solicitor in private practice. He was senior partner of Napthens for many years, and retired from private practice in 2003.

In 1995, he was appointed as a Tribunal Chairman in the Lord Chancellor’s Appeals Service. In 2008, this was transferred into the Tribunals Judiciary, thereby creating a new Tribunals System. As a result, Peter became a Tribunal Judge in the Social Entitlement Chamber and he considers this appointment to have been a great honour, coming after 14 years of tribunal service. Peter has recently completed his term of office and has retired.

In 2000, the AvenCentral Partnership (www.avencentral.org.uk), based in the City of Preston, was tasked with the responsibility of managing, over a period of seven years (extended to eight years), a Single Regeneration Budget Fund of £20 million, awarded by the North West Development Agency. With public and private gearing this was increased to more than £50 million, and represents the largest single regeneration programme within the City of Preston.The regeneration programme came to an end on 31 March, 2008, having focussed on the strategic objectives of education, business, health, community, crime and the environment and employment. Peter has been the Chairman of the AvenCentral Partnership and has led it from the outset. This has been an entirely voluntary appointment. He has devoted a considerable amount of his skill and expertise, and also his time and energy, in making sure that the strategic objectives are effectively achieved for the benefit of the community. Peter is pleased to have had the opportunity of leading the AvenCentral Partnership – a Freemason working in and for the benefit of the community.

Peter is a Select Vestryman of the Churches of St John the Evangelist and St George the Martyr in Preston (the Church of St John is now a Minster). He has served as Chairman of The Selct Vestry of Preston Charity Limited, the charity wing of the Select Vestry. These are important churches in Preston for a number of reasons, not least of which is that they are used for many important civic purposes. The Select Vestry has made significant contributions of time and money to the fund-raising campaign, Parish Prospect Preston, to develop its ministry, its buildings and its mission to 30,000 people who come into the parish every day. This has also given Peter another avenue of service in and for the benefit of the community.

Peter was the Founder President of the Rotary Club of Preston Amounderness in 1977, and through Rotary, as a Past President, he continues to be further committed to working in and for the community, and undertaking charitable work. Indeed, a few years ago, he was given a very special award when he was named a “Paul Harris Fellow” by The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given by him for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world.

He is a Vice-Patron of Deafway, and has also served as a trustee of British Red Cross in Lancashire.

In 1976 Peter became a Governor and Trustee of the Kirkham Educational Foundation, a registered charity, and Kirkham Grammar School. Kirkham Grammar School is a very large independent, mixed, day and boarding school, with a senior school, junior school, a nursery, and a boarding house. He served as Chairman of Governors for nine years in total, spread over two terms. He was also vice-chairman for a significant number of years. He has now retired from the Board of Governors, having given more than 30 years of service.

In 2006, he was appointed as a non-Executive Director of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust, and he has helped the Trust to obtain Foundation Trust Status. The Foundation Trust has a staff of approximately 4,000 and serves a population of about 330,000 residents of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre and the 12 million holiday makers who visit every year.The hospital has been the subject of three television programmes entitled Blackpool Medics. Although he recently retired as a non-executive director, he continues to help the trust as an associate director with particular reference to employment issues

Peter and his wife Julie have two children, Joanne and Richard and three grandchildren. Joanne and her husband Neil live in Grindleton, Clitheroe, and have three children, namely Alexa, Lois and Sasha. Richard lives with Kelly in San Diego, where he runs his own antique furniture restoration business.This he does, when he is not sailing, both seriously and for pleasure.

Julie has given long service as a trustee of Cancer Help (Preston) Limited, and a member of the Friends Fund Raising Group. Cancer Help has two cancer advice, information and day care centres in Preston and Garstang. It is self-sufficient and self-funding. Julie devoted a considerable amount of time in her work for Cancer Help, to ensure that it can offer free confidential support, advice and therapies to cancer patients and their carers from the time that they are diagnosed with cancer. Peter played a supportive role in this important work.

In 2010, Peter was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to the community in Preston. Julie and his family joined Peter at Buckingham Palace on 2 June 2010 when he was invested by the Queen.

Peter is an enthusiastic pianist, and in 2007 he passed his Grade 8 examination (the final grade) of the Association Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Peter was introduced to music early in his life by his father, a violinist, and his mother, a pianist. Peter remembers, as a young boy, enjoying Victorian style musical evenings arranged at home by his parents. He started to learn the piano at an early age, and additionally became a choirboy. His piano playing drifted somewhat in middle life, and he only returned to playing the piano seriously in 2001, when he decided to complete all the music grades. His favourite composer is Debussy, who died in 1918 at the early age of 56. Debussy is considered to be one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music.   

With Julie, he has travelled widely over the seven continents of the world. Their memories are extensive, and just a few special ones are mentioned below. In 1989, they were in Tiananmen Square, China, only a few days before the bloody crackdown of the demonstrations in that square. In 1994, during their sojourn to Peru and Equador, they flew to the unique and very special Galapogos Islands. In 2003, they undertook a holiday excursion to Antarctica, following in the steps of the Freemason and explorer Ernest Shackleton. In 2006, whilst in South Africa, they were moved by a visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for some 27 years. As a footnote, Peter and Julie have already planned a major trip and excursion to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia in February 2011. The centre-piece is a seven night passage along the great Mekong River from Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat, the latter being one of the greatest Buddhist sites in the whole of Asia.

Peter is a keen golfer playing at Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club. He played off a single figure handicap for many years, but his memories of long drives and single putts are distant. He also enjoys reading, preferably with a glass of good red wine to hand. He has read widely, both non-fiction and fiction. In non-fiction, he was particularly impressed with ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ written by Nelson Mandela, and with ‘The Family Story’ written by the Master of the Rolls the Rt Hon Lord Denning. Nelson Mandela changed South Africa, and Lord Denning changed the law, and in very different ways both men ‘fought’ for what they believed to be fair and right. Peter also enjoys the fictional books of Wilbur Smith, most of which are set in South Africa and Egypt.

Peter became a Freemason on 13 February, 1968, when he was initiated into the Stanley of Preston Lodge No 2600, of which he became Worshipful Master in 1979. He was proposed by Norman Hunt, a Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master, and for many years one of Peter’s partners in private practice. Peter’s father was not a Freemason, but his father-in-law was – a past member of Lilford Lodge No 3022 in Leigh.  

His talents were recognised by the Province of West Lancashire when he was appointed Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 1987 and he went on to serve as Provincial Grand Registrar in 1991. From 1990 to 1997 he served as Vice-chairman of the Preston Group, and then from 1997 to 2002 as group chairman. His appointment as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master of the Province of West Lancashire came in 2003, with responsibility for the Lancaster and District Group and the Furness and South Lakeland Group.

His first appointment to Grand Rank was in 1991 as Past Assistant Grand Registrar and in 1999 he was promoted to the rank of Past Junior Grand Deacon. Peter was further honoured by the United Grand Lodge of England in 2004 when he served as Senior Grand Deacon of England. He well remembers his year as an acting officer, particularly the thrill of working on the floor of Grand Lodge.

Peter is a member of several Lodges including Lathom Lodge, Lodge of Peace and Unity, Plantagenet Lodge of Installed Masters and Lonsdale Lodge of Installed Masters.

It was in 1982 that Peter was Exalted into Holy Royal Architect Chapter No 314 and served as First Principal in 1990. He has been a member of the Setantia Chapter of Installed First Principals and served the Chapter as Second Principal in 2000.

He was appointed as Provincial Grand Registrar of West Lancashire in 1992 and promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Grand Scribe Nehemiah in 1995. Grand Chapter honours followed in 1998 when he became a Past Grand Standard Bearer.

Peter derived much pleasure and satisfaction from his five years as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master, when he saw and experienced, at first hand, the considerable demands of running and managing this great Province of West Lancashire. One of his major contributions during those years was to use his skill and expertise as a commercial lawyer and his experience of charity law, to play a leading role in bringing together the seven West Lancashire Charities into one Charity – the West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity. One of Peter’s important aims for the future is to extend our ever growing support to those less fortunate than ourselves, and he is sure that the new Charity, as it builds upon the legacy created by the old charities, will do much to achieve that aim.

In 2008 Peter was appointed as Provincial Grand Master and Grand Superintendent for the Province of West Lancashire. On the 28 July 2008, when he was invested by Peter Lowndes, now the Pro Grand Master, he became the 16th Provincial Grand Master and the 15th Grand Superintendent for West Lancashire. In his study, Peter has a photograph on the wall, taken at his investiture, and showing Provincial Grand Lodge in all its glory, and this will be an everlasting reminder to Peter of that very special day when he was so graciously honoured.

Two years later, in 2010, another glorious occasion took place when Peter led the Province in celebrating the conclusion of the Province’s 2010 Festival for the Masonic Samaritan Fund. As the Festival President and Provincial Grand Master, Peter handed over a cheque to the fund for £5,418,004.00. At Provincial Grand Lodge, Peter thanked the members of the Province for their ‘pride, determination and generosity in raising such a magnificent total in such difficult economic times’. He added that ‘this confirmed what West Lancashire does best; thinking of those less fortunate than themselves’.

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