Provincial Grand Master's Report 7th May, 2008
Provincial Grand Master
| R.W. Bro. Peter Connolly |
R.W. Bro. Peter Connolly was formerly a Captain in the Territorial Army, Royal Corps of Signals. He was appointed Assistant Provincial Grand Master in 1993, promoted to Deputy Provincial Grand Master in 2005 and invested as Provincial Grand Master on 18th January 2007. |
Previous Provincial Grand Masters
| 1910 The Hon. Sir Anthony Stanley G.B.E., C.B., M.V.O. |
| 1920 George A. Harradon |
| 1935 Major Allen Maitland Pooley, T.D. |
| 1947 Shepherd Eastwood |
| 1967 Colonel J. Munroe Gornall, T.D., D.L. |
| 1973 Kenneth Maxwell Stoddart, K.C.V.O., A.E., D.L., LL.D., J.P. |
| 1983 James Reginald Leggate, D.S.O. |
| 1988 John Escott |
| 1991 Dr. Brian Bennett Ratcliffe |
| 1993 Anthony Walton, G.M.R.A.C. |
Provincial Grand Master's Report
Provincial Grand Lodge, Fleetwood, 7th May, 2008
I start again by welcoming you all to Provincial Grand Lodge this afternoon – and particularly our Distinguished Guests from other Provinces. They have been introduced to you individually and I am not going to re-call them all again. However, I must make mention of RW Bro. Peter Halls-Dickerson, PrGM for Middlesex, whom I have met on a number of occasions but who is visiting us here in West Lancs for the first time. RWBro. Peter I know that you live in Surrey and with your AssPGM have made a substantial journey to be with us. We appreciate your company.
Since our last Provincial Meeting, two of our Distinguished Guests have been appointed Provincial Grand Masters. I am delighted to welcome RWBro. James Truswell, as the new PGM for West Yorkshire; and also RWBro. Kenneth Wilson, as new PGM for Cumberland & Westmorland.
Brethren members of West Lancashire have visited all of the Provinces represented here today, and hope our guests enjoy themselves here at Fleetwood as much as we have done with them. Your Provincial Executive is helped in the administration of the Province by my Special Representatives. They have responsibility for the well-being of our Mark and RAM lodges in different geographical areas.
I wish to introduce to you : VWBro. Colin Moxey, VWBro. Thomas Jackson, VWBro. Keith Dowell, VWBro. Peter Owen, VWBro. Sidney Hale, WBro. Brian Davey, WBro. Christopher McNab, WBro. Kenneth Alker and WBro. Eric Drinkwater.
Brethren we thank you for the work you do to make our Province function efficiently.
I am pleased that RWBro. Colin Penty Wright, our Craft PGM & GS is with us. On your behalf Brethren, I congratulate him on his most successful year as the GJW of our Grand Mark Lodge. Sadly this will be the last time here as Craft PGM and we wish him a happy retirement from this Office.
You will be interested to know Brethren, that our Craft PGM designate Bro. Peter Hosker and our DGS Bro. Stephen Reid are both Mark Masons; they have sent their apologies as they are engaged on other business today.
I now ask if you will restrain your applause until I have mentioned all the other senior Brethren. I am delighted to be accompanied by 3 APGMs in the Craft – VWBro. M H Hill, WBro. Geoffrey Bloch – whom I look forward to investing later in this meeting – and WBro. Edward Caulfield.
We extend an equally hearty welcome to other senior members of our Craft Province – who are assisting with our ceremonial work on the floor of the Lodge and in this connection we thank particularly WBro. Thomas Blackburn Past Dep PGM, WBro Peter Saunders Past APGM, VWBro Jack Forsyth and VWBro Bill Merry.
I welcome WBro Ieuan Michael Davies and VWBro Raymond Martland Ass’s to PrGPrs together with VWBro The Reverend Harry Callaghan, WBro Peter Wadsworth Past APrGMs.
Brethren we are privileged that many Heads of other Masonic Orders have joined us today :
V.Ill David Mills. Insp. Gen. Dist S W Lancs in the Anc & Acc Rite [Rose Croix]
R.Ill.Comp. Glyn Davies. [Past APrGM] Dist GM. For G. Council, Royal & Select Masters.
RWBro. Thomas Jackson. Dist. G. Prefect for the All Mas Deg, who is also G. Sup for the HRA KT Priests.
Bro. Alexander Sharp. PGM of the Royal Order of Scotland for Co. Palatine of Lancaster & Chester.
R.WyBro. Ian Taylor. [Our AGDC]. Prov Grand Supreme Ruler, Order Of the Secret Monitor.
RWBro. Frederick Hargreaves. Dep GMM Worshipful Society of Freemasons [etc] – The Operatives.
RWyFrater Colin Williams. Chief Adept Soc. Ros. In Anglia.
I thank them all for their support.
Brethren it is inevitable that, on an occasion such as this, my Address contains many Thank You’s – firstly to the Secs, Trs and DCs of each Mark Lodge for THEIR hard work on a local basis. I thank the retiring SW – WBro. Roy Skidmore, his colleague WBro Geoffrey Bury, the Junior Warden and EVERY member of the Provincial Team who have supported me on our 8 Team Visits + this year a renaming ceremony and the Blackpool Festival – an average of 32 active Team members per visit.
Three senior and very long serving Brethren are retiring today. They are VWBro. Stanley Smith, PrGTyler; VWBro. Walter Balmer, PrGChaplain and WBro. Kenneth Tickle, PrGAlmoner. If I were to give you details of all the offices and appointments they have each held we would be here until the soup was being served. Between them they have given 47 years of service – just in their current offices! I would have liked to have spoken about each of their talented and professional contributions individually. Each has given exceptional service and set the highest standards for their successors to follow. Everybody in this hall joins me in thanking each of you and wishing you a happy retirement.
VWBro. Stanley Smith you were appointed by RWBro. James Leggatt in 1986 and have served no less than 5 PGMs. I present you with this Certificate of Commendation and thank you.
VWBro. Walter Balmer I present this Prov Certificate of Commendation to you to mark your service since being appointed by RWBro. John Escott in 1989 and I thank you for the many splendid orations and long service you have given as our Chaplain.
WBro. Kenneth Tickle your expertise first as our Charity Steward, and since 1999 as our Almoner is legendary. There are a number of Brethren in our Province who have particular reason to be grateful to you and I present this Pr Cert of Commendation on behalf of the whole Province.
I express my gratitude to the secretariat of the Province, especially WBro. Fred Hargreaves in his first year as Secretary; and congratulate him on his forthcoming appointment to Junior Overseer. Together with WBro. Arthur Robinson his Deputy and VWBro Stanley Sim his Assistant – whom I particularly thank for his beautiful lettering on all our certificates.
I am always proud of our ceremonial work which is of the highest standard. I thank WBro. Terry Maybury our DC and WBro Ian Nairn, his Deputy for masterminding our Prov GL as well as Team Visits and other Prov occasions.
Brethren COMMUNICATIONS are an important part of our fellowship in the Mark Degree and we have seen a medium newly revived for us – our West Lancs Mark website. I thank Bro. Colin Shannon for putting the nuts and bolts in place and WBro. Chris Furmston for putting meat on the bone. WBro. Chris is manning our website publicity stand in the foyer and if you have not visited it already, I hope you will do so between the end of the meeting and dinner. The future success of our website DOES NOT depend on the people I have mentioned – so much as YOU Brethren. Apart from reports on Provincial and charitable occasions, we want to feature a brief history of each Lodge, its successes, it characters, its new members. WMs and Secretaries and any other brother present today – please click on to the Webmaster button to put in your local reports.
Of course our Provincial Newsletter is still a very important medium and will summarise these events. I thank WBro John Ogden for his continued hard work in producing it together with his new Deputy Bro. Geoff Waters; both of whom have put reports on our website as well.
Last year Brethren I mentioned my concern at some Lodge circulars showing little work, other than the election of officers or something like that. In the absence of a candidate I do think a Lodge should either demonstrate the Degree or have a talk to maintain our brethrens interest. Bro. Fred Lomax has been appointed to build up an index of lecturers who can help you. We hope to advise secretaries of this at the start of the next masonic season. For the last 38 years the Blackpool & District Association has put on a Festival for the 7 Mark Lodges in the area. This year we had a fascinating demonstration of the ancient Albany Tracing Board. If a number of Lodges in other areas could get together, I am sure the Blackpool brethren could be persuaded to repeat it – and further Mark fellowship in your area.
Brethren you will recall at the Royal Albert Hall 150th celebrations our Grand Mark Charity announced the mobile osteo scan scheme. This became frustrated by changes in Government funding for scans. I am pleased to tell you that the balance of £3 million has now been awarded between 13 NHS Trusts who bid for individual schemes to improve osteo care in their regions. The National Osteoporosis Society have announced that they are “extremely grateful” to GLMM.
In a moment I shall have the pleasure of appointing or promoting Brethren in this Provincial Grand Lodge. Time does not permit me to say more than a few brief words to each of you individually. I now congratulate each and every one of you who is to be invested and charge you to promote Mark Masonry in particular, not forgetting your own Craft Lodges, with which we are indissolubly linked.
Brethren, I thank you for your kind attention to my remarks.