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Garston Group News
Promotion surprise at centenary meeting
There was a big surprise for WBro Thomas B Hughes when Trinity Lodge met to celebrate its centenary.........<more>
Jan Molby at Garston dinner
Former Liverpool striker Jan Molby was the guest speaker at a Sportsman’s Dinner in Garston Masonic Hall...............<more>
Bill will be Province’s oldest WM
William Benjamin Jones will become the oldest Worshipful Master in the Province of West Lancashire when he is installed into the Chair.........<more>
Ancient Union & Princes Lodge presentation
On Thursday 29th March 2007 the Ancient Union and Princes Lodge 203 in the Garston Group presented a cheque for £2,000..............<more>
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Promotion surprise at centenary meeting
There was a big surprise for WBro Thomas B Hughes when Trinity Lodge met to celebrate its centenary – he was promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden by the Provincial Grand Master.
Trinity Lodge was formed as a result of an amalgamation of three Lodges but Empire Lodge was granted its Charter in 1907. The Consecration only took place in 1908. The first meeting place was the Bear’s Paw Hotel in Liverpool but eventually the Lodge moved to Hope Street which was its home for many years.
Empire Lodge is the Daughter Lodge of Prince of Wales Lodge No 1035 and was formed, as were many Lodges in that era, as a result of a lengthy wait for members to attain the position of Worshipful Master.
Unfortunately, as a result of the fire at Hope Street, all the Lodge records were lost except the Warrant which was in the Temple, the first bylaws and the Register of Members which were probably at the home of the then Secretary. All but five of the founders were from Prince of Wales Lodge (20), two from Ancient Briton No 1675, one from Perseverance No 2714, one from Sincerity No 292 and one from 2433.
On 14 November 1911 Richard Seddon was initiated into Empire Lodge. He was born in New Zealand to a father who was from St.Helens. His father was the Prime Minister of New Zealand and Richard was killed in action in 1916 after only 13 days in active service in France.
During the middle of the last century Empire Lodge was known as a keen crown green bowlers’ Lodge and for similar reasons to those for the formation of Empire Lodge a new Bowlers’ Lodge was formed. Sir Francis Drake Lodge was our Daughter Lodge but it amalgamated with Tower Lodge recently to become Tower of Sir Francis Drake Lodge.
Records show that over the past 97 years we have had 440 members but unfortunately at amalgamation we were down to 14.
Fortunately, we moved to Garston in 1998 as a result of which we eventually met members of two struggling Lodges - Royal George No 4119 and Mossley Hill No 7963. After lengthy discussions the three amalgamated on 5 April 2005 and the ceremony was presided over by the then Deputy Provincial Grand Master, VWBro Tom Blackburn with the Provincial Team. Empire Lodge was the prevailing Lodge and it agreed to a new name to reflect the three-way amalgamation. The whole process was carried out very democratically and has resulted in a very happy Lodge.
Since the amalgamation we have lost a few members but in the main we have integrated very well and are enjoying our Freemasonry again. Lodge meetings are well attended, festive boards are much more pleasant and our social functions have been resurrected and are extremely well supported. More importantly we have recently initiated a new candidate and he is the first Master Mason in Trinity Lodge. We are hoping that it will not be too long before we have another candidate. We are also pleased to have had several joining members since we were amalgamated.
The members of the former Empire Lodge are extremely grateful that the amalgamation process went so smoothly and realise that without our partners we probably would not be celebrating our centenary.
The Lodge celebrated its Centenary at Garston and welcomed the full Provincial Team lead by the Provincial Grand Master, Bro Colin Penty Wright, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master VWBro.Brian Gillbanks, and Assistant Provincial Grand Master David K.McCormick along with the Group Chairman, Sydney D. Ford.
There was a full house with almost 100 present and the ceremony by the Acting Provincial Officers was magnificent and something which all those present will remember for many years to come.
Before the Provincial Grand Master closed Provincial Grand Lodge he conferred the rank of PPrSGW on WBro Thomas B Hughes the senior member of the former Empire Lodge. WBro Hughes was delighted to receive this unexpected promotion and also that he had been honoured on this unique occasion.
Before the Lodge was closed, the Worshipful Master, Howard R.Griffiths, PAGDC, presented a cheque from the brethren of Trinity Lodge No 3257, in the sum of £3,257.00 together with other smaller cheques, all payable to the 2010 Festival. This, together with the amounts the Lodge had previously donated, entitled it to a Grand Patron Certificate which was presented to the Worshipful Master by the Provincial Grand Master.
This Centenary was the last one to be attended by RWBro.Colin Penty Wright as Provincial Grand Master and by David McCormick as the Assistant responsible for the Garston Group of Lodges and when thanking all for their attendance the Worshipful Master also wished them a long and happy retirement from their current high offices and the hope that it would not be too long before the Lodge would see them as visitors again.
Pictured at the Trinity Lodge Centenary meeting are Brian Gillbanks, Colin Penty Wright, Howard Griffiths and David McCormick.
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Jan Molby at Garston dinner
Former Liverpool striker Jan Molby was the guest speaker at a Sportsman’s Dinner in Garston Masonic Hall.
The evening was a great success with more than £1,000 being raised. The money was donated to the 46th Liverpool Boys’ Brigade to pay for the transport costs for their camp and to St Michael’s in the Hamlet Church to contribute to their new sound system.
Garston Masonic Hall chairman Geoff Bush Hall is pictured with Jan Molby
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Bill will be Province’s oldest WM
William Benjamin Jones will become the oldest Worshipful Master in the Province of West Lancashire when he is installed into the Chair of the Garston Lodge of Installed Masters No 9403 on 14 May.
Bill, who was initiated into Freemasonry in the Lodge of Harmony No 220 in 1952 will be 97 when he becomes Worshipful Master of the Lodge of which he was Chairman of the Founders.
Bill was born in Liverpool on 26 January 1911. He was the eldest of five children. His father was an engineer, an occupation to which Bill aspired from boyhood.
Bill went to his local Tiber Street school until he left at the age of 14 to take up a position in the jewellery trade. He had a penchant for repairing watches and that was probably because of the ‘engineer’ within him trying to get out. He was so determined to become an engineer that, while he was working in the jewellery trade, he began going to night school to obtain the necessary qualifications for an apprenticeship.
After two years’ hard work he was successful in securing the position of apprentice mechanical engineer at the Bryant and May Matchworks in Speke and he was to remain with this company until his retirement many years later.
The realisation of his dream to become an engineer was not without its setbacks. Had it not been for his dogged determination, he may well have found himself as a Clerk in Holy Orders or an officer in His Majesty’s Forces. Not that there is anything wrong with those occupations; they were just not what Bill wanted.
The possibility of him joining the Church arose from his boyhood membership of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Choir (though he never actually sang in the cathedral itself because it was still being built). He was offered a scholarship by St Margaret’s Church and two elders of that church visited his parents to discuss it. While Bill was not disinclined to follow that path as a career, he knew it was not what he really wanted and his father understood and respected his decision to decline.
He was, however, most disinclined to follow a career as an army officer and his rejection of that suggestion during an interview with the Principal of Liverpool College led to a swift end to any possible association with that establishment.
Bill has fond memories of his days as a chorister and he remembers, in particular, the stonemasons and craftsmen working on the Anglican Cathedral. He was fascinated by their skills and by the beauty of the leaded lights and stained glass windows he saw being made. Despite his decision not to join the clergy, his association with the church and his acquired religious knowledge stood him in good stead for the years he held the office of Chaplain in his Lodge. His moving recital of Ecclesiastes is a feature in a lodge ceremony and he was honoured to be asked to recite those passages at the funerals of two men, with whom he enjoyed a long friendship in the Lodge of Harmony.
So, Bill took up his engineering apprenticeship at the Matchworks and was successful in obtaining his National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering and was later admitted as a Member of the Institute of Plant Engineers. Bill very much enjoyed his life at the Matchworks and it was there he met the office secretary, Annie Verbena, who was later to become his wife.
Bill was introduced to Freemasonry at the age of 24 and was proposed and seconded by two work colleagues in 1935 and was initiated into the Lodge of Harmony No 220.
Before the outbreak of the Second World War, during the period known as the ‘phoney war’, both Bill and his wife were heavily involved in Civil Defence and were trained in Air Raid Precaution roles. As Bill was in a reserved occupation and also happened to work at a Matchworks adjacent to an airport, his training was to be put to good use on many an occasion.
Bill’s engineering skills were not wasted either. The huge field at the rear of the Matchworks was commandeered on behalf of the USAF and used to reassemble American aircraft that had been shipped over in parts.
Bill’s most cherished moment of the war years was the birth of his daughter, Enid which he celebrated with Czechoslovakian airmen at 4am during an air raid. Enid grew up to become a physiotherapist and Bill’s son, Peter, is a chartered electrical engineer. Bill has three grandsons.
Bill was installed as WM of the Lodge of Harmony in 1952 and a short time later the Lodge resolved to pay him an allowance of 1 guinea so that he could dine with the Provincial Grand Master at Hope Street.
Bill rose rapidly ‘through the ranks’ at the Matchworks and it was not too long before senior management invited him to transcend from the hands-on engineering he loved to more senior managerial work. For the sake of advancement and in the interests of his family, Bill’s engineering took a back seat and he was groomed, more and more, for senior management. His job took him all over the country and although he continued his membership of the Lodge of Harmony, his frequent absences meant it was impossible for him to attend as much as he would have liked. His dedication and hard work for Bryant and May was rewarded with his ultimate position as general manager at the Matchworks and he was admitted as an Associated Member of the Institute of Works Managers shortly after.
As major shareholders in the Garston Masonic Hall, the Lodge of Harmony was fortunate to be able to call on Bill’s managerial skills and experience and for many years he was to serve on the board as a director and as its chairman.
Bill has demonstrated a huge commitment to Freemasonry in Garston; not just to his own Lodge but also to all Lodges and Chapters that meet in the hall. Bill’s service to Freemason was first recognised by the Province in 1985 when he was made a Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon and then he became a Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 1992. Bill was honoured with the high rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden in 2000.
Bill was also the Chairman of the Founders of the Garston Lodge of Installed Masters. He is a member of the Chapter of Harmony and holds the high Royal Arch rank of PPrGSN having first been appoint PPrPGSoj in 1992.
Some years ago, just before she passed away, his dear wife, Annie, told him that he should marry again and continue to devote himself to his Freemasonry. Bill did devote himself to his Masonry but he knew he could never replace Annie and he never married again
Bill is often asked how he keeps himself so young. He knows his family have been blessed with longevity in their genes because they have all lived to ripe old ages but he also believes by walking to and from the hall every day, he keeps him fit
As Bill says, for as long as he keeps waking up in the morning, he will continue to do what he can for his Lodge, for Garston Masonic Hall and for all who meet there.
Bill Jones is pictured with Assistant Provincial Grand Master David K McCormick.
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Ancient Union and Princes Lodge 203 present a cheque
On Thursday 29th March 2007 the Ancient Union and Princes Lodge 203 in the Garston Group presented a cheque for £2,000.00p for the supply and fitting of Televisions to the Marie Curie Hospice in Woolton Villiage.
They have also donated over £14,800 to the NMSF 2010 festival appeal
The photo shows Group Chairman W Bro Sydney Ford presenting the cheque to the Hospice Manager Ms Diane Barker, also present were the Group Vice Chairman WBro Howard Griffith and the Lodge Worshipful Master Bro Neill Langan.
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