Yorkshire Mason Issue 35 ( Summer 2024)
YM Summer 2024
THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024 1
YorkshireM son
Published by the Masonic Province of Yorkshire, North and East Ridings
Summer 2024 Issue 35
Provincial Grand Lodge 2024:
Festival 29 Launch
Major Grant to Footprints
2 THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024
Welcome to Issue 35 of
Yorkshire Mason with the
latest roundup of news and
stories from our Province.
What a few months it has been!
Innovations at Provincial Grand
Lodge, where families were
admitted to watch the investitures,
was a particular highlight to savour
as we enter the traditional summer
closed period. A warm welcome to
our new Assistant PGMs, Martin
Eggermont and Steve Cox, and we
wish them well in their new roles. To
all those appointed, re-appointed
and promoted, our hearty
congratulations. Visit our website for
a chance to purchase a picture of
your investiture in support of
Festival29.
And of course Festival 2029 has
officially launched. The Province has
entered fundraising mode for 5
years to support the Masonic
Charitable Foundation, and Lodges,
Chapters and brethren will be
brainstorming wonderful ideas to
raise money. Good luck to one and
all!
Reporting all these great news and
events has resulted in this issue
being, at 40 pages, the largest
under my editorship. Please keep
the news and stories coming.
Chris Ansell
Craft and Chapter
Festival launch
Grant to Footprints in the Community
Malton Museum exhibits
Hitting the Airwaves at Zetland FM
Provincial Grand Lodge 2024
Isaac's special day
15
The Festival in context
16
Invictus Exaltee
20
Jewels of Malta
23
Cornerstone Lodge Consecration
24
Wisdom of Solomon
30
Daily Advancements
31
Salebeia Chapter
31
Captain Cook Double
32
Website Calendar
34
Daylight Lodges
36
Grand Officers Mess
37
Universities Scheme Conference
37
Service
Grant to Footsteps
Kirwan Awards 2024
19
Air Ambulance donation
27
Bridlington Scanner
27
Leopold Lodge
27
Middlesbrough Charity Night
28
Zetland Ladies Club
29
Beresford Peirse support TLC
38
Ferrum Donation
38
St Nicholas West Way Open Arms
38
Hessle Defibrillator
39
Running for the Festival
39
Members
Sykes Lodge: a brotherly surprise
Field Promotion for Derek Edwards
60 years service award for Brian Wall
20
50 years service award for Clive Dunn
22
Articles for publication in Yorkshire Mason and/or on our
website may be submitted to:
Chris Ansell, Provincial Communications Officer
c/o Yorkshire Mason, PO Box 235, Redcar, TS10 9BP
By email: comms@yorkshirenerfreemasons.org.uk
Articles can also be submitted directly on our website:
https://yorkshirenerfreemasons.org.uk/resources/submit-an-
article
We can only accept high quality digital images. Low quality
images will be rejected.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright ownership of all materials submitted must rest with
the submitter, who by submission grants the Province a
perpetual free non exclusive licence to publish it in any format
or medium. Specific acknowledgements for images and text
utilised may be published with articles on request.
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Issue 35 Contents
THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024 3
'And they're off....'
Festival 2029 has been
officially launched at
Provincial Grand Lodge.
Representatives from the MCF Les
Hutchinson (MCF CEO) and Howard Wilson
(trustee) were invited to update the audience
on what assistance the MCF gives within and
outside of Freemasonry in general and then
specifically what support the Province had
received, which was considerable and
continues to help numerous masons, their
families, local charities and communities to a
total of circa £3.1M since the end of Festival 18
which raised £1.8M. See page 16 of this issue.
Although no firm figure was set for the
festival by the Provincial Grand Master, he
urged everybody to get involved and raise as
much as possible, and suggested that lodges
not only include their members in the
fundraising activities, but also the wider
masonic family in terms of wives, partners,
family and friends to assist with their
endeavours. A challenge that was not missed
by those family and friends who had
attended the meeting to watch their family
members receiving honours.
The Provincial Grand Master stressed that one
of the easiest ways to support festival was to
sign up for the continuous giving at £10 per
month, something that many in the Province
have already done with around £300K already
pledged.
The launch was a huge success with many
signing up for continuous giving on launch
day and lots of merchandise sold: circa £2.5K.
In total around £19K was raised and pledged
on the day. Many thanks to all and good luck
with your fundraising.
Dave Wood
4 THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024
Struggling and isolated local children and
families receive help and support from
Yorkshire N&E Ridings Freemasons
Around 600 local children and their
families struggling with poverty and
isolation will be given the support they
need thanks to a £60,000 grant from
Yorkshire, North & East Ridings
Freemasons to the Footprints in the
Community charity.
Footprints in the Community supports children and
families living in Redcar and Cleveland to help
reduce poverty and isolation and improve health and
well-being. This is achieved through a number of
different projects including Foodbank, The Shed,
and a Community Café. The charity currently
operates ten different projects, four of which are
centred around children and families.
These include:
First Steps – the provision of baby equipment and
clothing to families struggling to provide for their
children
Lunch Box – craft, games and activities along with a
free packed lunch to children during the summer
school holidays
The Book Club – provision of new books to children
who are struggling with their reading, along with
various events and book readings to encourage the
love of reading
Bridging the Gap – linking pre-school children to
elderly residents within a local nursing home.
THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024 5
Redcar and Cleveland is ranked as the 62nd most
deprived local authority area (out of 317 local
authority areas) in England in the 2019 Indices of
Deprivation. Children born into low-income
households often struggle to maintain progress as
similar age groups in more affluent areas. In Redcar
and Cleveland only 13 out of every 20 children
starting school are achieving their developmental
milestones.
The grant from Yorkshire, North & East Ridings
Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable
Foundation, funded by Freemasons, their families
and friends, from across England and Wales.
Ruth Fox, Chief Executive Officer at Footprints in the
Community, said:
“We’re very grateful to Yorkshire North & East Ridings
Freemasons for their generous grant. We work with
children from some of the poorest households in the
country, many of whom are in urgent need of
assistance, whether it’s baby clothes, Summer
holiday lunches or help with reading. Thanks to the
Freemasons we can give many more children and
families the help they need.”
Assistant Provincial Grand Master Martin Eggermont
said:
“I’m really pleased we’ve been able to help
Footprints in the Community with their hugely
important projects, giving much needed help to
struggling and isolated local children and families.
This wonderful charity gives crucial support where
it’s most required to some of the most vulnerable
people in our community.”
Left: The Footprints team with YNER Freemasons: L to R: Des
McKenzie; Marij McLay - Family Projects Coordinator; Ruth Fox –
Footprints CEO; Christine McIlvenny -Volunteer; Sue Riley - First
Steps Warehouse Coordinator Volunteer; Chris Ansell; Martin
Eggermont; Janet Green – Volunteer.
Right Top: Martin Eggermont and Footprints CEO Ruth Fox;
Right Centre: Martin Eggermont, Marij McLay and Chris Ansell;
Right Bottom: Des, Ruth, Martin, Marij and Chris
Photographs: John Rees
6 THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024
Assistant Provincial Grand Master Martin
Eggermont and Comms Officer Chris Ansell were
guests on Zetland FM's Morning Mix on 15 May.
Zetland FM broadcasts from the Redcar Beacon to
the local community with a mix of music, news
and topical conversation.
Host Dave Robson chatted with Martin and Chris
about what it means to be a Freemason, as well as
the recent major grant awarded to the Footprints in
the Community Charity (p xx of this issue).
You can listen to the broadcast online. Go to https://
www.mixcloud.com/zetlandfm/zetland-fm-
morning-mix-wednesday-15-may-2024/ , with the
interview beginning 2h 23m into the recording.
Taking to the Airwaves
Camalodunum Lodge No 660 was invited
to take up some display space in the
Malton Museum for its reopening at Easter.
The display is a mixture of Masonic items, as
well as descriptions, to explain a little about
Masonry and address some of the questions
which members of the public might have in
their minds.
As well as the display there are QR codes
leading to pages on the Camalodunum
website to give more information. An
initiative of previous WM, Fred Thornton, the
display was planned out with a display case
designed by WBro Jeremy Powell and WBro
John Cole who built it in his home
workshop, then painted by WBro Nick Gill.
The whole display has been added to the Camalodunum Lodge No 660 website, with pictures, accessible
from the home page.
The display is due to be available for six months and is hoped that it will, in some small way, help to inform
and perhaps dispel some of the myths that have grown up around masonry.
Freemasonry on display at Malton Museum
THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024 7
Freemasonry on display at Malton Museum
At a recent meeting of Myton Lodge the
PGM David Chambers conferred a "field
promotion" on the I P M, W Bro Derek
Edwards, appointing him P P G Standard
Bearer to mark Derek’s fortitude in
completing a successful year in the Chair
despite suffering from MND.
In a first for the Lodge, the PGM made the
presentation before the luncheon in the
presence of the Ladies and other visitors.
Field Promotion for Derek
Sykes Lodge 1040 held their regular meeting in
Driffield to carry out an impressive 3rd Degree
ceremony for Bro John Pouger, but the evening
started with a special surprise for WBro Michael
Beckett.
A "cunning plan" was hatched with the WM and
Secretary and Michael's brother John, who is also a
mason living in Ipswich.
John was planning to visit his brother without him
knowing so Michael, a member of Sykes Lodge in
Driffield, was asked to stand in as ADC at the last
minute as part of the plan.
There was a report of a latecomer “a lost soul “ at
the door of the lodge and Michael was dispatched
to see who sought admission. Imagine the shock
when he opened the door to see John his brother
standing there!
A fantastic night for the both the Becketts and for
the rest of Sykes lodge, with a joining member and
2 candidates proposed, with another waiting in the
wings.
Brother surprises brother at Sykes
8 THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024
Provincial Grand Lodge 2024
The annual meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge and launch of Festival '29
was held at York Racecourse on 11 May 2024. In a memorable event the
Provincial Grand Master addressed the Convocation.
"Ladies, Distinguished Guests and Brethren
It is obvious that different audiences demand a
different message and let’s face it you can’t get a
less traditional audience than we have today for
our Provincial meeting. This is a meeting when we
can come together to celebrate and recognise the
achievement and contribution of so many, over 120
in fact, and to highlight one or two things for the
future.
When I took over this role in 2022, I said that
change would be the order of the day and change
there has been and further change there will be.
I am sure you will all be familiar with the analogy
between organisations, especially those which
have a long history like Freemasonry, and super
tankers where, when you want to change direction,
you have to signal your intention well in advance.
So, things are changing, quicker than they were
but still not at warp speed, a phrase that Star
Trecker’s will be familiar with. But, as a Province, we
will continue to champion change to ensure that
we enjoy our Freemasonry, and that our families
are an integral part of that enjoyment.
United Grand Lodge is pursuing a change of
direction and pace at a rate not seen before and
this Province is certainly up with the curve and in
instances ahead of it. What I won’t do today, given
our audience, is to spell out all those changes,
some of which are merely internal administrative
matters, but I will pick out some which I hope are
of relevance to all here today.
The most obvious is to make it truly clear that we
are a Masonic family. Masons, whether men or
women, and there will be some of our visitors who
are members of the Order of Women’s
Freemasonry or Freemasonry for Women,
inevitably go off to their meetings alone, the
important thing we must remember, is that
behind us all are those that support our
membership, a fact which is very evident today.
One of the emphases which has emerged over the
years is that Freemasonry must be fun. If it isn’t
why would any of us want to do it.
THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024 9
Part of having fun is being able to share your
enjoyment with others. I think I can reasonably
assume that, whilst you may not yet be rolling in
the aisles, it is fun to be a part of today, even if only
to marvel at the bling and for some to speculate on
what the big sword is for, but I will come to that
later!
You have heard from Les Hutchinson CEO of the
Masonic Charitable Foundation and Howard
Wilson Chairman of the MCF Fund Raising
Committee, about its role and how its considerable
resources support both Masonic and non-Masonic
activities.
This is relevant so please let me just stick with my
theme of families and Freemasonry for a
moment.
It is a fact that not everyone is dealt a good hand in
life, or even if you started out with one that
something doesn’t come along to spoil it. Illness,
loss of a partner, loss of income and other
adversities can affect us all. These events are
unpredictable and devastating and when they
happen is when family becomes important. I want
you to leave here today in the knowledge that your
family extends beyond what you may currently
think of as “family” to include your Masonic family.
So please go home with new friends and a bigger
family than when you arrived.
A momentous change of emphasis for any
Province is the launch of a festival, and today we
launch ours– so in that time worn phrase, I now
declare Festival 2029 duly open. This will run until
May 2029, during which time we will raise as much
as we can for the Masonic Charitable Foundation
to enable it to support our members and their
families, as they have done in the past and will
continue to do in the future.
Something that I was very aware of when I joined
Freemasonry, fifty years ago this December as it
happens, was that a festival wasn’t just about
members coming together to raise funds but
families as well. When a Brother pledges his
contributions, hopefully on a continuous giving
basis, he is entitled to become a steward of the
festival and sport a jewel. Historically in other
Provinces, family members were invited to
contribute and secure a brooch of the same
design, and we are exploring doing this at the
moment. If as a family member you feel able to
10 THE YORKSHIRE MASON SUMMER 2024
pitch in and contribute, as we say in part of our
ritual your donations “will be thankfully received
and faithfully applied.” We hope it won’t be
necessary of course, but it might just be that it is
you or your family that come to rely on MCF at
some point.
You will I am sure find it of interest that since our
last Festival, which raised £1.8 million, the Province
has benefited to the tune of some £3million, which
shows just how much we need to fully support
MCF. In 2022 – 2023 alone we have received 114
grants to support our Masonic community
amounting to £305,000 whilst twenty-five local
charities have received £106,000. We rely on MCF
to “see us right,” along with charities within the
Province which we support, so now it’s time to “do
right by MCF.” It’s called payback time!
Other things that we have been doing to involve
families include the celebration of a Brother’s 50
year, or perhaps 60 or 70-year, membership.
Lodges have increasingly turned these events into
a family one where, in something akin to the old
television programme of “This is Your Life,” the
“victim” is quizzed on his life and times and often,
under interrogation, reveals facts and stories which
amuse, enthral and at times astound! This is a
growing occurrence and much like today we open
our doors and have fun with our families.
You might also have accompanied someone today
who has “nipped out for a quick blood test.” Not
something that you might have thought was a
regular occurrence at a Masonic meeting but,
courtesy of our own Provincial Charity, for the last
few years, we have made available a PSA test
facility. Today some 120 plus Brethren have
attended for screening and, whilst we hope that all
are found to be in good shape and “in the green”, if
there are any that could benefit from further
investigation then our efforts will have been
worthwhile.
Something else that I do need to trumpet for all to
hear is the recent creation of a new Lodge, the
Cornerstone Lodge, which has been created with
those in mind who have recently become
Freemasons. The Province is grateful to Tony
Stevenson for taking up the cudgels over the last
eighteen months to help bring the new Lodge to
fruition and to Steve Walker whose brainchild it
was to create a focus for new and young
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