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THE 333 ASSOCIATION
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PLEASE NOTE:
The following is the abridged text of a lecture submitted by RWBro D.K. Rhodes, PPrJGW (UGLE and 218CC member) and published in the VLOR's transactions for 1995 entitled Freemasonry Uncovered'.
The full text may be obtained by email from the Correspondence Circle Secretary, W Bro Graeme Love. Please be sure include your snail-mail address and sufficient information to identify your masonic standing.
by Bro.D.K.Rhodes,PPrJGW
Royal Preston 333 (EC) St.George Glasgow 333 (SC) Triune
333 (IC)
Fideles D'Amour 333 (GLNF)
It all started with a joke - well not a joke exactly, but a light-hearted discussion on a rather frivolous evening I once enjoyed at Saturnian Lodge in BlackpooI. I had been invited there to an Anglo-Scots Night, which is a phenomenon happily more common now than it used to be. I had witnessed one or two of these wild evenings before, both in Scotland and England, through the kind invitation of my good friend, the late John Sayer of St.Andrews Lodge (E.C.), Preston, so I had an idea of what to expect - and I was not disappointed. I forget now which Scottish Lodge it was who were visiting that night, but it followed the usual happy pattern. In the bar, after the Ceremony, one of the brethren from North of the Border, showed me a Scottish Year Book - the first that I had seen, and I was most interested. I idly flicked through the pages, stopping now and then at articles which caught my attention. The kindly brother, in the manner of all Scottish brethren whom I have met since, very generously gave me the book.
A day or two later, I again took it up and read parts of it with great interest, until finally, curiosity overwhelmed me, and I turned to the back of the book to look up the venue of 333 in the appendix. It could have met anywhere in the world, but I was fortunate - a quick hop up the F6 and A74 motorways to Glasgow, - and with a name like "Lodge St.George," what better omen for the beginning of an association between two Lodges of different Constitutions bearing the same number! At that time, I was the Worshipful Master of Royal Preston Lodge, which again, I thought was as good a time as any to visit our Sister Lodge, North of the Border.
I obtained permission through the Provincial Grand Secretary and armed with my Grand Lodge Certificate and a large Volume of Sacred Law as a gift, in the back of which I inscribed: "From the foundation laid this evening.....", never even dreaming about the super-structure we were about to raise, I made my way, via British Rail to Glasgow.
I had been advised to stay at a modest Commercial Hotel near the station, and travel to the Lodge by taxi, which I duly ordered, to arrive in good time. Two incidents struck me on that first (of many future) taxi rides. When asked by the driver where I wanted to go, I cagily said, vaguely, "Landressy Street." He replied: "Aye, it'll be the Lodge then - they're doin' a third tonight." I was a bit surprised, to say the least, but it transpired that he was also a Mason, and by my attire; black tie and pin-stripes; he had quickly deduced my intention. As he put it: "I didna' have to be a detective to realise ye are an English Mason visitin' one o' oor Lodges here."
The other incident was his radio, from which, through the static emanated some awful squawks and shrieks, and staccato words, spitting out like machine-gun fire. I couldn't understand a single word - but much later, on my return trip to the hotel, my ear had become attuned to the dialect - or perhaps it was the numerous glasses of the amber nectar in convivial company. At all events, that radio sounded quite normal, and the words were perfectly clear. "Ah," I can hear you say, "it must have been a different taxi." Well, that may be so, but each time I go, the same thing happens, so I put it down to Scottish magic!
The brethren greeted me royally, in a manner I now know to be their usual warm friendly way. Some were a little curious, and they found it strange that all English (and Welsh!) masons wore the same colour apron, and one even asked if all W.M.'s of English lodges carried V.S.L.'s about with them! I'll never forget standing in the West being welcomed by the R.W.M., Bro. William Stewart, and his invitation to me to "assist him in the East," being the traditional welcome for visiting Installed Masters, to sit in the east. I remember thinking that I couldn't do much to help him if he did need it - fortunately he didn't! The ceremony wwas excellent, if somewhat different, but this made it all the better, and after it was over, I experienced the pleasure of retiring with the R.W.M., marching out holding each other's finger. I remember glancing down at the two gauntlets, side by side, each with it's different Lodge name, but both with the same number - 333. We dined on pies, sausage rolls and tea, and after many a glass to each other's health, we retired, determined that this association must continue. What a wonderful evening - one or two even came back to the hotel for a night-cap, provided by the night porter, Robert. At that time of night, all night porters in Scotland are called Robert - at least by us!
Flushed with success after this first effort in attempting to unite two lodges with a common interest, I next obtained an Irish Year Book, and found to my delight that Triune Lodge No.333 I.C. met in Limerick, a little further than Glasgow, and across the sea, but still accessible. Once more, making the usual enquiries, I was granted permission to contact the Lodge, and so, armed with my Grand Lodge Certificate, copies of letters from the Grand Secretary (UGLE), the Grand Secretary (IC) and our own Provincial Grand Secretary, I booked my flight. I had not been to Ireland since the recent "troubles" started some eight years before, and naturally having read the various reports in the newspapers, I was a little dubious. Remembering that in the past, the people of the South of Ireland had always been most friendly, I decided that the best way was to fly to Cork, the most southerly airport, and furthest from the Border, and hire an Irish car, hoping that I would merge into the scenery, rather in vain, as I later discovered. On arrival at Cork, I was asked by the Irish Customs Officer to open my case. I had forgotten that this may happen, and there, right on the top was my apron. The officer took one look at it, smiled, closed the case, chalked it, and said: "Pass B...!" I was so amazed that I just stood there with my mouth open. He said, with a twinkle in his eye: "Proceed to the West Gate!" Stunned, I made my way out, collected my car, and set off for Limerick, driving round the coast, to see as much as I could before dark.
My contact was W.Bro. Kenrieth Brislane, the Lodge Secretary, and the then Provincial Secretary, who had kindly offered to let me stay with him. I kept ringing him as I drove round the coast, to advise him of my progress, and eventually I arrived in Limerick in the dark, when an amazing thing happened. I hadn't been to Limerick for many years, and I certainly couldn't remember any of the roads, so after driving round for a little while, I stopped to try to find my bearings. The amazing thing was, that the very road which I had turned into, was the road in which Kenneth lived! Talk about the luck of the Irish - that little Irish car knew it's own way!
After a meal with Kenneth and his wife, he and I went into Limerick to the Lodge. I was given a wonderful welcome by the brethren, and despite my extensive credentials, I had to take the "Tyler's Oath," common practice in Ireland for unknown visiting brethren. The meeting, which is called a "Stated Communication," was to conduct the business for the Installation - alas, no candidate, but the ceremonial was fascinating. During the meeting, the Tyler brewed the tea, and afterwards we retired for sandwiches and cake. The Loyal Toast "Ireland" was drunk, and the brethren then kindly toasted "The Queen of Great Britain" in my honour, which I thought was most friendly. On a later occasion, when a Dutch brother was visiting, they toasted the Queen of the Netherlands as well. At this first meeting, I presented the Lodge with a tiny pair of red Lancashire clogs, made by one of the last "cobblers" in Preston. They had real iron "corkers" on the wooden soles, and I had had the two Lodge names written on the wood in poker-work. On this first visit to the Emerald Isle, I made the acquaintance of R.W.Bro. the Rt.Hon. Lord Daresbury, PSGW, a West Lancashire mason. What a fine gentleman he was: he owned Greenall Whitley's Brewery in Warrington, but had retired to Ireland. I remember on that first visit, he asked me pugnaciously "D'you ride?" I relied that I had ridden in the past. "Right," he said, " we're taking the hounds out tomorrow, 6 am sharp!" I thanked him, but declined the honour. On one visit, he arranged it so that he could come to Royal Preston with the Irish brethren, and the following day he invited one or two of us to tour the Brewery, with lunch afterwards at the Lord Daresbury Hotel. There were three sales representatives at the bar, and of course, when Daresbury (who was quite unassuming and not at all aggressive) went to the bar, the barman recognised him immediately, and went to serve him. One of the reps said: "Who does he think he is? Anybody would think he owned the place." Lord Daresbury replied, with a twinkle in his eye: "I do!" Later, that same day, he took us to the old Hall where his family seat once was. He nostalgically pointed out the windows of his old bedroom, and trees his grandfather, his father and he had planted. There was one old tree in the Park with a peculiarly shaped bough, almost like a seat, and he told us that he used to sit on it for hours, learning his Masonic ritual!
One thing which stuck in my mind at this first Lodge meeting was that the brethren greeted the visitors with a salute of eleven. Lord Daresbury said that they were very generous with their greetings to visitors, as they didn't get many! Later, while admiring Lord Daresbury's chain of office as Provincial Grand Master of North Munster, he said: ''Actually, it belongs to my Deputy, and he has mine. Truth is, I liked the look of his better, so we swapped!"
The brethren of the Lodge then took me to a local hostelry - O'Shaunessy's Bar, where we sat talking and drinking Guinness and Bushmill's Irish Whiskey. The next day, I met rny new Irish friends at the Cathedral, where I was shown round, and allowed to ring one of the bells - only one of the little ones! We went up a narrow staircase set inside the wall of the Cathedral right up to the top, admiring the bells - and the pigeons - on the way, and at the top, the whole town lay below, like a map, and several places of interest were pointed out. Much to Kenneth's disgust, my friends took me for lunch to a quaint pub near Bunratty Castle called "Durty Nellies," which had sawdust on the floor and a real peat fire burning. This has become something of a pilgrimage now, and each time we go, we always go to the Cathedral, and we always go t.o Durty Nellies for lunch. After many fond farewells, and promises to return, I set off back home. The whole trip had been most enjoyable, and the brethren very warm and friendly, but it really was done a bit "tongue in cheek", never did I dream that anything would come of it. I did not reckon, however, with my friend Kenneth Brislane.
The following year, the Irish brethren came over to visit Royal Preston Lodge, and brought Lord Daresbury with them, which put the then D.C., V.Wor.Bro.Tom Heaps into something of a spin. Lord Daresbury was the highest ranking Grand Officer to have ever visited a lodge at Saul St., but he was so unassuming that he kindly overlooked our discrepancies. That night, we were also honoured by a deputation from Lodge St.George Glasgow!, and this event was the first time that the W.M.'s of all three 333 lodges had met together. To commemorate the event, we had three white cubes made from marble, with the Lodge names etched on each, and presented them to the three WMs.
Over the years, this unique friendship has blossomed. We visit Ireland every year, as do the Scots when they can, but they are braver than us. They travel Stranraer-Larne, then straight down through the troubled (Ed. they did in the past, of course peace be with us now) county of Armagh to the Republic. The Scottish brethren are always represented at our Installations, and Royal Preston brethren always attend Lodge St.George's. The Scots have given "exemplification's" of all three degrees in Royal Preston (and the Mark, in Preston Mark Lodge), as have the Irish. Royal Preston have, at last, given demonstrations of our three degrees in Scotland, although over a period of about 10 years. William Stewart was the candidate for the degrees we worked, and the Provincial Grand Master of Glasgow remarked that he must be the only Master Mason in Scotland to have taken so long to go through!
Many happy events have taken place between our lodges. Once, when the the Irish brethren were over here to demonstrate the Irish 3rd Degree, we had no less than three Assistant Provincial Grand Masters (EC), a Deputy Prov.G.M. (IC), eleven Grand Officers (EC), including three who later became A.Pr.G.M.'s, and a bevy of Provincial Officers of all three Constitutions. It really was some night! I was the D.C. at the time, and the then Prov. Grand Secretary, Bro.R.V.Davies, suggested that after our toast to our M.W.G.M., we might toast the M.W.G.M. of Ireland, and the M.W.G.M.M. of Scotland, which we duly did. We were flippantly talking about visiting, and he suggested that a special tie, for non-Masonic functions might be an idea. On my next visit to Ireland, returning on the Irish Ferry, I designed such a tie, for any brother of any lodge who visited the three 333's. The design was a gold triangle with 333 in the centre, but where to put the rose, shamrock and thistle, depicting the three Constitutions, so not to cause offence? After much thought, I put the Thistle at the top, depicting the most northerly, the Shamrock at bottom left, as the most westerly, and the Rose at bottom right as the most south-easterly. We are hoping to add Loge Les Fideles D'Amour No.333 G.L.N.F.to the "Association", so that those who complete the "Grand Slam" will proudly wear a French symbol below, as the most southerly. (I thought the Fleur-de-Lys, but was out-voted in favour of the Coq d'Or).
Two years after my initial visit, the Scots offered me honorary membership of Lodge St.George Glasgow 333 SC, and gave me a beautiful Certificate duly signed. Some time later, they similarly honoured Granville Brown, a P.M. of Royal Preston. A couple of years later, the Irish similarly honoured me, but this time it was more difficult. It was almost unknown in Ireland for an English mason to receive honorary membership, and when enquiries were made at the Grand Lodge of Ireland, the Lodge were instructed to make their own Certificate and seal it with the Lodge seal. To commemorate both these honorary memberships, I presented to each of the lodges at the time, a cushion for the V.S.L. with a drop bearing the lodge name. In England, it is even more difficult, in fact it is well nigh impossible to obtain honorary membership for brethren from another Constitution. Royal Preston also had another problem, that even in the unlikely event that we could get permission, who do we offer it to? In Triune Lodge, the answer was simple: Kenneth Brislane, who had kept the Irish connection going from the start, but the problem was Scotland. We knew that if we managed to obtain honorary membership for them, we could only get one. Many names were discussed, William Stewart, who was the R.W.M. in the chair at the time of the first visit; Douglas McGee who had done so much; Harry Wright, the Secretary; among others. One thing, however, decided this very difficult issue. During the years of the Association, there were inevitably "flat spots", where, but for the dedication of certain brethren, the whole thing would have folded up. One of these very dedicated brethren , who did so much, was Jim Peddie. It was a very difficult decision, and I am sure that the others must have been disappointed, but they generously congratulated Jim, and we applied to the Provincial Grand Secretary. It was extremely doubtful if we could carry it out , but our request was duly sent on to the Grand Secretary, endorsed with our Provincial Grand Master's approval. It was almost turned down, but the Almighty Architect must have smiled, and after a long time we received the exciting news that our request had, on this occasion, and this occasion only, been granted, but that it must not set a precedent. The vote in Lodge was merely a formality, and Jim and Kenneth were duly notified. They were more amazed and delighted than we were, and later they both visited Royal Preston, when we presented them with a scroll which we had made to commemorate this great event. We were told later, that this was the first time ever, that brethren from an ordinary lodge, from another Constitution had ever been granted honorary membership of an ordinary English Lodge. So our three lodges were drawn even tighter together in the masonic bond of friendship.
ANECDOTES
Once, when visiting Ireland, I was asked to take the Master's Chair for the evening, as the Master was away, and it was customary to ask a visiting P.M. to conduct the business. They hadn't given me any warning, but in any case, I was rather loathe to comply, feeling that I was treading on very thin ice. Not wishing to offend my hosts, I suggested that as an Honorary Member, I was not allowed to take office in lodge. With their charming logic, they replied that tonight I was a visiting Past Master from another Constitution, and so was allowed to take the Chair. On checking with the then Provincial Grand Master, Lord Daresbury, who was present, advised me that the lodge was quite correct under the Irish Constitution, and I was in order in taking the Chair. I complied, but I felt most peculiar, however, there was no ceremony, so after the initial strangeness, I settled down and enjoyed the great honour conferred upon me.
Probably the worst journey to Ireland was one year when Granville Brown and I went by train. Granville thought this was a good idea, and it was much cheaper than taking the car. So, at 11 pm we caught the train at Preston, changed at Crewe for Holyhead, and caught the ferry; on the other side, a bus into Dublin, train to Limerick Junction, and the local train into Limerick, arriving about 12.30 pm the following day. Having travelled for about 13 hours solid, we were absolutely shattered, so staggered into the first hotel we found, by the station, which was a bit grotty, but clean. The weekend was uneventful, until the wind rose to such an extent that all the ferries were cancelled and we were stranded in Dun Laoghaire. I took a vicious delight at the delay, because we had set off home a day early, but poor Granville was beside himself with worry. He tried ringing home, but couldn't contact his wife or anyone else, and the longer we stayed, the more it cost! Eventually, we caught the Sunday night ferry, and then the London train, which had been held to meet the ferry. Alas, the connection at Crewe had gone, and so by a circuitous route we ended up in Liverpool. We finally arrived back in Preston at 8.30 am on Monday - I spent the rest of the day in bed recovering!
One of the most important meetings we attended in Scotland was the Sesqui Centenary of Lodge St.George. It was held at the City Hall, and was graced by the presence of the Grand Master Mason of Scotland, Sir James Wilson McKay. He spoke in eloquent terms of Lodge St.Geogre, and mentioned the importance of visiting, especially other Constitutions, and he referred to the presence on that occasion of representatives of both 333 England and 333 Ireland. Inter-lodge visiting was also referred to by his successor at the 250th Anniversary of the G.L. of Scotland and echoed by our own M.W.G.M. on the same occasion.
On one of our Scottish visits, W.Bro. Bob Duncan of Lodge St.George, who had recently returned from a visit to Australia, said that he had "found" a 333 in Queensland, and gave me the address of the Secretary. I wrote a long letter, sent a summons from Royal Preston, and other interesting memorabilia. I thought perhaps we could keep in touch by correspondence, even if it was too far to visit. Alas, I didn't even get a reply.
W.Bro. John Marquis of Royal Preston also contacted a Lodge 333 in Virginia, USA, but that also come to nothing. I hope the enquiries we are making in France bear more fruit! [Ed. The French 333 did come to fruition, thankfully.]
I met a brother who regularly visits Belgium, and visits various Belgian lodges recognised by our Grand Lodge. Unfortunately, he said, they hadn't reached 333 yet, but he could arrange a visit to No.3 or No.33 - or both!
So, there it is; the story of the three 333's. By visiting each other's Lodges and Constitutions we attain a greater understanding of each other's lives, our problems and our joys. Would it be that the whole world would follow our example, and perhaps then there would be a greater understanding of each other's cultures and points of view.
Editor's Note:
This "paper" may not seem to fit in with the 218 Transactions, at first
glance, but after a while we are sure you will begin to realise how learning,
sometimes, can be "fun". Bro. Rhodes has shared with us just the beginning
of an enormous learning curve, and the wonderful brotherhood in Freemasonry.
It is a pity that Australia appears to be reluctant to become involved. Could
we, in time, see a world gathering of 333's ??
Reminder:
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to the Correspondence Circle Secretary:
W Bro Graeme Love, PJGD
by e-mail, or in writing to:
P O Box 2380
RINGWOOD NORTH, VIC, 3134
AUSTRALIA
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Updated: 10 May 2006
