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The Provincial Grand Masters
Annual Address to Provincial Grand Lodge - 18th April 2011 |
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Brethren - its now my great
pleasure for the fifth time to address you as your
Provincial Grand Master in Provincial Grand Lodge.
I have already welcomed on your behalf our distinguished
guests, who have come from far and wide to be with us today,
including Brethren from Lodge Brittany in France, and
expressed our delight at having such a wonderful gathering
with us sharing our special day. Their support is so very
much appreciated.
Today marks the end of another very busy and what I hope has
been a very fulfilling and happy year for you all. The
Provincial Grand Secretary has summarised many of the more
important events in his Report but there are some items that
I must mention.
Today our Senior Assistant Provincial Grand Master,
Worshipful Brother Maurice Eglinton retires, having made a
very effective contribution to the well running of the
Province in so many ways over the last 4 years. I am very
pleased to say that he will continue supporting the Province
and in particular he is to continue with his input into the
Devonshire Freemasons Year Book, a job which he undertakes
so efficiently. We wish him and Mavis well in his
retirement.
We welcome Worshipful Brother Peter Keaty PAGDC to our
Executive as an Assistant Provincial Grand Master.
Worshipful Brother Peter is well known to you as our
Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, a position he has
held with distinction over the last 4 years and we wish him
good luck in his new office
Last year we also celebrated the Installation of a new Grand
Superintendent in the Holy Royal Arch, Excellent Companion
Simon Rowe. As Members of the Craft we enjoy a naturally
close connection with the Holy Royal Arch, especially in
this Province of Devonshire and we wish Worshipful Brother
Simon a long and happy tenure in his new role.
I should add here that we are also blessed with a very good
and harmonious working relationship with the Heads of all
the Orders within our Province; we meet twice a year to
discuss matters of common interest and how we can best
support each other to make the most of our different Masonic
interests.
Now it is my pleasure to thank all those Brethren who are
retiring from Active Rank today: particularly Worshipful
Brother Peter Keaty whom I have already mentioned, and of
course our two Provincial Grand Wardens Worshipful Brother
Peter Durrant and Worshipful Brother Peter Hammond. It has
been a pleasure for the Executive to share their company and
support over the last year; I congratulate them both on a
job well done, and I also thank those active officers who
have supported us so many times over the last year.
This year sees he retirement of our Deputy Provincial Grand
Director of Ceremonies Worshipful Brother Simon Dunn, and
our Assistant Provincial Grand Chaplain, young Worshipful
Brother Charles Cornish, and I thank them both for their
contribution to the life of the Province.
How appropriate it was that W Bro Cornish’s last official
function was to deliver an Oration at his own Lodge’s
Centenary.
Let me now congratulate all those Brethren whom I have had
the great pleasure of appointing to First Appointment and
those receiving promotion this afternoon. I trust that your
new status will prove to be an encouragement to your further
service and progress in Freemasonry. Most important of all,
Brethren - enjoy it to the full!
Whilst on the subject of service you will be aware that at
the Annual Investiture at Grand Lodge next week the
following Brethren will receive their first appointment:-
1. Worshipful Brother Simon Rowe our new Grand
Superintendent will receive the active rank of Junior Grand
Deacon. That is a great honour for you, Worshipful Brother
Simon and we wish you great happiness next year in your new
office.
2. Our Provincial Grand Treasurer Worshipful Brother Peter
Bartlett will be appointed to the Rank of PAGDC.
3. Our Provincial Grand Secretary Worshipful Brother David
Lyne will be appointed to the same rank as will Worshipful
Brother Michael Walker of the Lodge of Perseverance
4. Finally Worshipful Brother Peter Lee is being appointed
to the Rank of Past Grand Standard Bearer.
The following Brethren will receive promotion:-
1. Worshipful Brother Peter Keaty to the Rank of Past Senior
Grand Deacon.
2. Worshipful Brother John Winston an Assistant Provincial
Grand Master in Somerset but a Member of our Scout Lodge in
Devon is being appointed to the Rank of Past Senior Grand
Deacon.
3. Worshipful Brother Keith Jackson of the Lodge of
Integrity is being promoted to the Rank of Past Junior Grand
Deacon.
And finally Worshipful Brother Brian Meldon the Deputy Grand
Superintendent is being promoted to the Rank of Past
Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies.
We offer our warmest congratulations to all those Brethren ;
the Annual Investiture will be a day of great celebration
for these Brethren and the Province of Devonshire.
I am very pleased to confirm that the mentoring initiative
has progressed extremely well last year. Seminars were held
throughout the Province in the early part of last year and
since then the Mentoring Team ably led by The Provincial
Grand Mentor Worshipful Brother Tony Banbury has visited
many Lodges throughout the Province delivering lectures on
mentoring and encouraging and supporting the Lodges in their
own mentoring plans. The Mentoring Team will be pleased to
attend any Lodges on invitation.
We also have a Recruitment and Retention team under the able
leadership of My APGM W. Brother Derek Webber which provides
practical help and support to Lodges who are finding it
difficult to recruit and retain new members. This small team
have produced some encouraging results so please do not
hesitate to request their assistance if you feel it
appropriate.
We are maintaining our links within the community in many
different ways. Worshipful Brother Peter Keaty our new
Assistant Provincial Grand Master will be the Provincial
Information Officer and I have this year for the first time
appointed a Press Officer Worshipful Brother Jeff Bailey who
has considerable professional experience in dealing with the
press and we hope that his appointment will encourage a more
proactive approach to the media and continue the momentum we
are building up with them.
From 30th April to 4th June an exhibition entitled 'Lifting
the Veil – The Truth About Freemasonry' will be held at
Barnstaple Museum. This will include areas dealing with the
origins and history of Freemasonry, famous Freemasons,
Freemasonry in North Devon and modern Freemasonry as well as
Charity and Freemasonry in the Community. There is to be an
official opening which I will have the privilege of
attending, and I do encourage as many Brethren as possible
to support this exhibition; it is a first class initiative
by the Brethren of North Devon.
Last year the William Alexander Kneel Fund again gave
£50,000 to over 70 local non-masonic charities and
organisations throughout the Province in two separate
distribution evenings which were very happy occasions and
again, an excellent shop window for Freemasonry within our
Province.
Whilst on the subject of “shop window” I am pleased to
announce that we now have a Provincial Informatiomn Trailer
which has been kindly donated and refurbished by a Brother.
It has been equipped and painted in fine livery. It will be
a base for use at local shows and exhibitions. I am sure it
will prove to be a very useful resource for this province.
My thanks go to W. Brother George Rodgers Pr G Supt Wks and
his helpers with this project.
Finally the Teddies Scheme is running in all the major
hospitals in Devon and over 9000 teddies have now been
distributed in the name of local Freemasons over the last
two years. I know that the hospitals are most grateful and
the link with them is developing so that other aids and
comforts can be provided, especially to the children’s
wards. A very big thank you must go to Worshipful Brother
John Adcock who devotes so much of his time to this
worthwhile scheme.
Brethren we are gradually making more inroads into the
community and making the general public more aware of
Freemasonry especially its charitable aspect. I would again
remind you that the best advertisement for our lovely Order
is each and every one of us going about our daily lives.
Now, most importantly, I must make reference to the 2012
Festival for the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys, and
I start by thanking deeply all the Brethren who have so
generously supported the Festival thus far. The total given
and pledged amounts to £2 million six hundred and forty five
thousand eight hundred and ninety six pounds which is a very
substantial sum of money by anybody’s standards .
We are now in the last lap of the Festival: this time next
year we will be approaching the finishing line, and I would
like to think that this Festival touches and affects each
and every Brother within the Province of Devonshire.
What more can we do at this stage?
1. Any Brother who has not become a Steward, there is plenty
of time to do so right up to the date of the Festival
Dinner. Please also consider making your wife or partner a
Steward at the cost of £150.00. This year we already have
another 189 Stewards taking the total within the province to
2161
2. There are still plenty of draw tickets for the new car.
3. Wine and cufflinks are still on sale. Please visit the
stand in the entrance foyer.
4. On 21st June the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys
has invited us to host its' Annual Court Meeting at the
Langstone Cliff Hotel in Dawlish. All the brethren and their
families are warmly invited. Please come and support this
meeting, where you will hear more about the work of the
RMTGB generally, and about charity within Devonshire. The
Lord Lieutenant and many other civic dignitaries have been
invited and we hope that there will be good representation
from them at this meeting. It should prove to be a very
interesting and rewarding day.
5. The Festival will conclude with a dinner on Saturday 17th
November 2012 here at the RICC in Torquay. It is planned
that this will be moderately priced, enabling as many
Brethren and family members as possible to attend to
celebrate this final event. It is usual for one of the High
Rulers to attend as well so it should be a lovely evening.
6. Finally we are still looking for novel and innovative
fundraising ideas ! So please put your thinking caps on so
we can finish the Festival with the flourish it deserves
I must also thank the Festival Chairman Worshipful Brother
Bill Daw, the Provincial Charity Steward Worshipful Brother
Conrad Donaldson the 2012 Festival Committee and their hard
worked team of Area Managers and Lodge Reps for all their
wonderful work to date .
I know that their continued encouragement, support and
enthusiasm will lead the Province to the best possible
result for the RMTGB and more importantly their
beneficiaries.
One thing I know for certain is that the Brethren of
Devonshire will always respond to the best of their ability
and a bit more on top ! and always in a very generous and
open manner. I thank and I am very proud of you all.
On Saturday 4th June, as a province we will be attending
Evensong at Exeter Cathedral. As we will be sharing the
service with the worshipping community at the Cathedral we
will not be wearing regalia, but I hope as many Brethren and
their families will come and support this service. It is
hoped that tea will be available afterwards.
Finally I must express my appreciation and thanks to my
Deputy PGM VW Brother Colin Turner and to my APGMs for their
unstinting and enthusiastic support and friendship over the
last year which has made my role so much easier
I cannot close today’s proceedings without extending my very
grateful thanks to all those Brethren who have made today so
successful. I thank particularly our new Provincial Grand
Director of Ceremonies Worshipful Brother Michael Dolman for
the manner in which he has conducted the ceremonial aspect
of the day together with his excellent and hardworking team,
too numerous to mention. I must also thank our Provincial
Grand Secretary Worshipful Brother David Lyne and his team –
again, very well done, and many thanks to your Assistant
Secretary Worshipful Brother Chris Yard and Mrs. Angela
Pulman in the Provincial Office.
I also thank Worshipful Brother Brian Adams for his
customary efficient organisation of the lunch, and the many
Brethren who so tirelessly assist behind the scenes in
making this day such a success. Thank you all.
Finally, Brethren, I thank you all for your attendance
today. It is your day and I hope you have enjoyed it to the
full.
I hope you will all continue along your masonic journey
learning and undrstanding more about our lovely order and
ourselves in our daily advancement which can only produce
beneficial results and thereby increase the enjoyment and
fun we share together
May the Great Architect of the Universe look after you all,
and I wish you a safe journey home.
Rt.W.Bro M.T. Penny Provincial Grand Master Devonshire
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Report of the Provincial
Grand Secretary to Provincial Grand Lodge 18th April 2011 |
This is my second report as Provincial Grand Secretary and
again I am amazed at how the time has gone by. It really
doesn’t seem like 4 years since I started working at the
Provincial Office.
At the Provincial Meeting last year on 19th April V.W. Bro.
Peter Galt, PGSwdB and W. Bro. Rev. P. Louis Baycock, PSGD
retired
from office after many years of loyal and dedicated service
to Freemasonry and very much in particular to the Province
of Devonshire. And in acknowledgement of what they had
achieved, a very successful retirement luncheon was held at
the Langstone Cliff Hotel at Dawlish Warren on 24th April
2010. It was a lovely occasion, which was enjoyed by all
those who attended. Also at the last Provincial meeting W.
Bro. Colin Turner was appointed to Deputy Provincial Grand
Master, a position that he very much loves and enjoys.
Colin,
most of you will know has not been in the best of health in
the last year, however, we all I am sure wish him well and
continued
improvement in his health to allow him to enjoy his position
to the full.
At the same meeting W. Bro. Nicholas Ball and W. Bro. Ian
Kingsbury were promoted to Assistant Provincial Grand
Masters and are
proving their worth to the Province. I have enjoyed working
with them in 2010 and look forward to doing so again for the
coming year.
9 days later on 29th April at the Grand Lodge meeting in
London, W. Bro. Colin Turner was promoted to Past Grand
Sword Bearer (now
a Very Worshipful Brother) and both Nicholas Ball and Ian
Kingsbury (first appointments) to the rank of Past Junior
Grand Deacon. All worthy appointments and hearty
congratulations to each of them.
As you will be aware from the announcements made by the
Provincial Grand Master on 28th January, this year will see
also see changes of the Executive, in that, from The
Provincial Meeting on 18th April W. Bro. Maurice Eglinton,
retires from his office as Assistant Provincial Grand
Master. We all wish him a happy retirement, although I am
sure that he will be still called upon from time to assist
members of our busy Executive. Best wishes to you Maurice.
The retirement of Maurice has created a vacancy for an
Assistant Provincial Grand Master and our Provincial Grand
Master
has appointed W. Bro. Peter Keaty, PAGDC, The Provincial
Director of Ceremonies, a very able and popular Mason in
Devonshire to fill his place. I am sure we all wish him good
luck and health to enjoy his new position.
Peter’s promotion has also created a need for his
replacement, and I am pleased to say the office of
Provincial Grand Director
of Ceremonies will be taken on by the present Deputy
Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, W. Bro. Michael
Doleman.
Again we offer our very best wishes.
2010 proved to be yet another very busy year. On 5th May,
The Lodge of Fidelity No. 230 held their Bi-Centenary
meeting, a very special occasion, at Mount Edgecumbe Masonic
Hall, Plymouth. On 14th September St. Peters Lodge No. 1125
in Tiverton celebrated a new Banner Dedication. On 28th
January another very special occasion indeed in the
Province, the Consecration of a new
Lodge, ‘Seven Stars’ No. 9855, at Bideford. (In the future
meetings will be held at the Masonic Hall, at Okehampton). A
wonderful occasion was held at The Durrant Hotel, at
Bideford and thoroughly enjoyed by all those whom attended.
Congratulations and well done to all the Founders. This now
brings total Lodges in Devonshire to 137, and we wish them
every success for the future. Two other special occasions of
note in the Province during the year are the Centenary
Meeting of Conciliation Lodge No. 3483 at Holsworthy
on 5th March 2011 and the Banner Dedication Ceremony at the
Louis Marchesi Lodge No. 9558 at Uffculme on 15th March
2011. All momentous occasions in the Province of Devonshire.
September saw the Initiate’s Evenings return, again held at
Exmouth, Plymouth,Barnstaple and Paignton, and comments from
those attending, continue to be very favourable. Grateful
thanks as ever must go to the Hall co-coordinators who make
the venue arrangements with Angela at the office and for the
superb refreshments that they always provide.
During the year I have again had the privilege of
accompanying our Provincial Grand Master and / or members of
the Executive to many Provincial Grand Lodge meetings of
Sister Provinces and as always these are most enjoyable and
pleasurable occasions.
In my last report I explained the reasons why we had to
change the venue and day for the Provincial meeting and how
we arrived at Torquay, I am pleased to say that despite the
fact we had little choice in either, the feedback on both
venue and day have been very encouraging, the vast majority
of Brethren seem to prefer the new venue and a Monday as
opposed to a Saturday seems in general to be a more popular
choice. I thank The Riviera International Conference Centre
for all their help and co-operation they have afforded in
arranging our meeting. They have again, been most helpful
and accommodating.
My report this year will appear in part a little repetitious
of last, however, I make no apology for this as it is always
seems to be the same people that should have a mention.
These are the many who work behind the scenes and who work
tirelessly year after
year for the Province such as W. Bro. Colin Gale, PGStdB,
Provincial Assistant Grand Registrar who maintains the
Provincial
database. Colin continues to spend many hours on the
important task of putting data into the system to keep our
Provincial
records accurate and up-to-date. A job that is greatly
appreciated by The Provincial Grand Master and The Executive
and all
who use the database.
W. Bro. Michael Walker and W. Bro. Richard Ebrey who make a
great contribution to the library and museum, they have also
recently undertaken the task of going through years of old
files and papers to streamline and create more space in the
office as well as searching for items of interest to be
recorded for the benefit of future generations. Quite a
task, and I thank them both most sincerely.
W. Bro. David Jonas, PPrGSuptWks who with the help of W.
Bro. Maurice Eglinton, PSGD, Assistant Provincial Grand
Master produces the Devonshire Freemasons Year Book. One of
the most onerous jobs in the Province, David also organises
the Stewards
at the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting. W. Bro. Brian
Haywood, PPrJGW, The Provincial Tyler who with his helpers,
transport and assembles the various bits of furniture etc.
for Provincial Grand Lodge. I must mention W. Bro. Mike
Twitchin, PAGDC at this stage that stood in for Brian for
the Consecration Ceremony at Bideford and had the job of
setting up the equipment at the Durrant Hotel.
Mike, a big thank you!
W. Bro. Brian Adams, PPrJGW who every year deals very
efficiently with the dining at PGL, W. Bro. Ernie Smith,
PPrJGW who for
years has looked after the Signage at PGL. W. Bro. John
Smerdon for his very professional Dining Plans. W. Bro. Alan
Gill, PPrSGD for Electrics and Sound System. Thank you to
all of you, and special congratulations to W. Bro. Alan
Gill, on his promotion to Provincial Senior Grand Warden for
2011-2012. I am pleased to say that except for the odd
exception most Lodge secretaries are now
on e-mail. This has a great advantage and benefit to both
the Provincial office and Lodge' themselves, in that it
saves the Province and Lodges a considerable amount of time
and expense. One very good example is that of receiving
summonses in this way, which after being implemented last
year is now running smooth and efficiently and proving to be
a great success.
The introduction of the Mentoring and Recruitment schemes
seem to be proving very successful as the number of Brethren
in the Province would appear to be stabilising and reversing
what has been a steady decline experienced generally over
the last few years, which is really gratifying and good news
for all of us.
I said in my report last year, the job of Provincial
Secretary would not be as enjoyable or for that matter
possible without the help of many people in the Province.
This of course particularly true of the dedication and hard
work of Angela and Chris in the office. The workload of the
office seems to be increasing rapidly with the many changes
and initiatives that are taking place, both in the Province
and Grand Lodge. However, Angela’s knowledge of the office
systems and routine requirements and her dedication keeps
the wheels turning; and she also keeps a watchful eye on me.
Chris Yard, The Provincial Assistant Secretary, is now well
and truly established and has settled in really well. He is
a great team player and a tremendous help in the office and
for Freemasonry in this Province. Chris has introduced a few
administration
computer system changes that are proving of benefit to the
office and in turn it is hoped will make the life of a Lodge
Secretary a little easier. Thank you to you both for your
assistance, hard work and friendship. The details of the
Annual meeting have this year again been circulated in the
Devonshire Mason ‘The Newsletter of the Provincial Grand
Lodge of Devonshire’ and once again, this year many thanks
have to go to W. Bro. Graeme Statton and his team at
Cullompton, for their hard work and effort in producing such
a good quality and informative booklet, and to W. Bro. Colin
Turner, PSGD, Assistant Provincial Grand Master who assists
Graeme with the content. Both Colin and Graeme would like to
hear from any Brethren that have articles for inclusion in
the magazine. Should you have any items that you think would
be of interest to your fellow Brethren please contact:
Graeme: info@sw1.co.uk Colin: Colin@colinturner.wanadoo.co.uk
they would love to hear from you.
As always communication is so very important and Martin
Heskins is always on the ball with up-to-date news and
issues for inclusion on ‘The Provincial Website’ which
carries a wealth of information and is an excellent method
of communicating what is happening in the Province; a big
thank you to Martin who oversees and devotes a lot of his
time in putting it together. It has I know been previously
stated, but he does a splendid job of keeping the site
up-to-date with many varied and interesting items, and
again. I would urge
as many of you as possible to log on and see what’s
happening in your Province. www.pgldevonshire.org.uk I would
like to say a personal thank you to our Provincial Grand
Master for the help, understanding and encouragement that he
has given to all of us at Provincial office. We in turn will
strive to maintain the high standards that he is entitled to
expect. We wish him another successful year in office.
Lastly but no means least I would like to this year once
again thank all the Lodge Secretaries for your help and
assistance.
I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you and enjoying
your company. There are still those that I have not met,
however, will endeavour to do so over the coming months.
I would also reiterate what I said last year and to stress
that the Provincial office is not here to dictate or just
quote the rulebook, we are here to help and assist Brethren
in any way that we can, although I do appreciate the answer
you sometimes get is not always the one you want to hear!
However, if you do need help or guidance, the office ‘Team’
will do their best to assist.
Wishing you all good health and very best wishes.
Yours sincerely and fraternally
D. J. Lyne
Provincial Grand Secretary
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