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...read Rev Hugh Mead's brief history of the
school ....see if you know any of our
members!
...so what is the Lodge doing for charity?
...how do I
become a Freemason? |
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the United Grand Lodge of England.
Our forthcoming meetings are to be on:
Meetings are usually on Thursdays and fall in
early January & April, mid-July and mid-October, each year:
coinciding with Remedy or the end/start of term.
The Old Pauline Lodge is always keen to recruit new members and to
give Old Paulines who have an interest or curiosity in freemasonry
the opportunity to find out a little more and to see how the OP
Lodge works in congenial and familiar company over a good dinner.
After a brief meeting on 19 October 2006, the Lodge hosted a white
table dinner (open to non-masons) at the School, which was attended
by 12 guests of the Lodge and individual members.
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David Miles (1957-62), Master of the Lodge, presented a
cheque for £2,000 to David Imrie, Director of Operations at
the School, who replied to the toast of the School and
brought members up to date with the amazingly rich and
varied activities going on, as well as the plans for the
rebuilding of the School and the vision of needs blind entry
for able boys, regardless of their parents' financial
circumstances. David Miles also presented a cheque for
£2,400 to Chris Head, representing the Royal Masonic
Benevolent Fund. |
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David Cons, a former Master of the Lodge,
gave a very entertaining outline of the history and the
values of freemasonry, stressing the need for the movement
to step forwards from the shadows of mystery and
highlighting its charitable role.
The Lodge is delighted that a number of
old boys showed such interest in the Lodge. |
The evening was highly
enjoyable and a resounding success; as a result, we hope to repeat
it on a regular basis; any OPs who are interested will be very
welcome and should contact us.
From earlier in
2006
(reproduced from the
Spring 2006
edition of the Old Pauline)
The January 2006 meeting of the Lodge held at the School was
followed by a traditional Burns Night supper. John McNeece, a
guest of the Lodge resplendent in his Ferguson clan kilt, gave the
Address to the Haggis in the appropriate fashion, stabbing the brute
with a wicked looking 150-year old dirk, after which the members and
their guests enjoyed a Scottish meal of haggis with neaps and
tatties, venison casserole and Scottish cheeses, accompanied by
appropriate wines, chosen by member and former master, Alastair
Mackenzie.
Worshipful Master, W.Bro Guy Thomas (the tallest one) with
W.Bro John McNeece at his right hand and flanked by his wardens:
W.Bro David Miles and W.Bro Stephen Basham.
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(reproduced from the
Autumn 2005
edition of the Old Pauline)
The 2005 summer
meeting of The Old Pauline Lodge was held at the School in July
(writes David Cons) when wives/partners and non Masonic friends were
invited.
After a brief
formal meeting of the Lodge, the guests joined the members for an
amusing dissertation about famous Freemasons and their tenuous
connections with Old Paulines, by Andrew Montgomery, a personal
friend of this year’s Master, Guy Thomas. This was followed by
champagne in the atrium and dinner in the Montgomery Room.
After dinner a
cheque for £1,000 was donated by the Lodge to the School Benevolent
Fund. The toast to the School was given by Alastair Mackenzie
(erstwhile classics master and wine writer) and Dick Jaine (Senior
Tutor and Undermaster for the 6th forms) replied with an
entertaining account of recent achievements and happenings at the
School.
The
Lodge meets at the School (by kind permission of the High Master) in
October, January, March and July.
The Worshipful Master for 2005, W.Bro Guy
Thomas (centre) with W.Bro David Miles, his Senior Warden, at his
right hand and W.Bro
Stephen Basham, his
Junior Warden, at his left.
Back to the top
(reproduced from the
Autumn 2004
edition of the Old Pauline)
The summer meeting of The Old Pauline Lodge was
held at the School on July 21st (writes David Cons) when
wives/partners and non Masonic friends were invited. After a brief
formal meeting of the Lodge, the members joined the guests for a
short conducted tour of the main building and retired to the atrium
for a glass of champagne followed by dinner in the Montgomery Room. After dinner a cheque for £1,000 was donated by the Lodge to the
School Benevolent Fund. This year’s Master, David Speake (1980/84)
then introduced Mrs Verity Johnson, the Finance Director of the
School who gave a fascinating talk about current goings on and plans
for the future of the School. She described how much money is being
spent to involve the local young community to use the facilities at
St Paul's. Additionally £300,000 of bursaries came from the
Benevolent Fund this year for high achieving children whose parents
are unable to fund their sons’ education at the School. The next
major project being considered for the 500th anniversary is an
Assembly Hall which could be used to re-house the magnificent organ,
many of us remember from the Great Hall at the old School in
Hammersmith. It is currently packaged up, unused and unloved at a
Church in Portland.
More news from 2004
(reproduced from the
Spring 2004
edition of the Old Pauline)
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The Installation Meeting of The Old
Pauline Lodge was held at the School on Thursday, April 1st
(writes David Cons) when Nigel Codron installed his
successor, David Speake as Worshipful Master.
The Wardens of the Lodge for the year are
Guy Thomas and Angus McKenzie MBE who was assisted by his
guide dog ‘Ward’. After the meeting the Lodge dined in the
Montgomery Room and heard about the progress of the school
(and the quality of the wines) from former Classics Master
and member of the Lodge, Alastair Mackenzie.
The next meeting of the Lodge will be
held in July and traditionally this is an open evening for
members, wives, partners and friends and a member of staff
from the school will be invited to receive a donation from
the Lodge for the School Benevolent Fund. |
The Worshipful Master for 2004, W.Bro David
Speake (to the left) with his predecessor, the Installing Master
W.Bro Nigel Codron. |
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The
Old Pauline Lodge, Number 3969
by Alastair MacKenzie
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The idea of founding an Old Pauline Lodge
was first put forward by Bro. Neil Martin-Kaye in a letter
to ‘The Pauline’ magazine in November 1917. This led to a
number of Old Pauline freemasons meeting at 10 Duke Street,
St. James on 6th February 1919. A resolution was passed
approving an attempt to found a Lodge and a committee was
formed to further the proposal. Some eighteen months later
this committee reported to a meeting of prospective founders
and it was formally resolved to present a petition to the
M.W. the Grand Master for permission to found an Old Pauline
Lodge. Supported by the Old Wykehamist Lodge, a warrant was
granted, dated 26th May 1919, and the number 3969 was
assigned to the Lodge.
Those of an arithmetical or symbolic turn
of mind may observe that this should be a very auspicious
number indeed, since it is the product of 49 and 81, which
are the squares of 7 and 9 which itself is the square of 3;
3,7 and 9 all being ‘lucky’ numbers.
On 15th July of the same year the Lodge
was consecrated, the ceremony being performed by the Grand
Secretary, R.W.Bro. P.Colville-Smith, a former WM of the old
Cliftonian Lodge. W.Bro. Leslie O.Wilson (later Colonel the
Rt.Hon. Sir Leslie) was installed as WM Among the names
admitted as candidates at that meeting was the Rev. A.E.Hillard, the High Master, who was duly initiated at the
next meeting.
The early meetings of the Lodge were held
at 10 Duke Street, St.James with one visit to Freemasons’
Hall. In 1921 the venue was moved to Cordwainers’ Hall in
Cannon Street, in1924 to the Grand Hotel in Trafalgar
Square, in 1927 to the Hotel Metropole in Northumberland
Avenue and finally in 1934 to Freemasons’ Hall. On 4th
October of that year the Lodge qualified as a Hall Stone
Lodge.
The first meeting to be held at the
School, then at West Kensington, was in June 1930 when the
Lodge hosted the Public Schools Lodges Festival. The WM was
W.Bro. John Bell, the High Master; his predecessor, Dr. Hillard, was the Lodge Chaplain.
From 1930, until the evacuation in 1939,
one meeting a year was held at the School. During the war
regular meetings were held at Freemasons’ Hall, usually at
midday rather than in the evening. At the November 1940
meeting the WM announced that ‘in the event of an air-raid
taking place he proposed to continue the work of the Lodge
but that he would give any brother who desired it an
opportunity of seeking a safer shelter.’
After the war the annual School meetings
were resumed. In 1947 W.Bro. R.L.James became the third High
Master to be a member of the Lodge.
In 1966 when R.W.Bro. Sir Lionel Denny,
who nearly forty years earlier had been the first initiate
to reach the chair of the Lodge, was Lord Mayor of London he
invited the Lodge to hold its January meeting at the Mansion
House. Three years later the Lodge was also able to hold its
Golden Jubilee meeting in this splendid building with
R.W.Bro. Sir Lionel once again installed in the Master’s
chair, in the presence of the R.W.Assistant Grand Master,
Major-General Sir Alan Adair.
In 1970 the April meeting was held for
the first time in the Assembly Hall of Colet Court, the
St.Paul’s Preparatory School, at the new site in Barnes. From 1975 the summer meetings too were held there; we now
meet in the Senior School, by dispensation, and since 1990
the Old Pauline Lodge has been one of the very few school
lodges fortunate enough to have all their meetings at the
school. We are very grateful for this facility and the Lodge
makes regular donations to the School Benevolent and Bursary
Funds.
Distinguished members of the Lodge have
included R.W.Bro. Lord Pearson, the Lord of Appeal who
settled two of the most formidable strikes of the age, the
Dockers’ and the Seamen’s in the days before ACAS; R.W.Bro. Lord Nathan, W.Bro. Sir Geoffrey Whiskard K.C.B., K.C.M.G.,
W.Bro. Sir William Peat, W.Bro. Sir K.G. Mitchell K.C.I.E. and W.Bro. Sir Charles Wheeler. R.W.Bro. Sir James Stubbs,
for many years an outstanding Grand Secretary, had been a
teacher at the School during the 1930s and his wife, Lady
Richenda was the Catering Manageress for twenty years during
and after the war. He was elected an Honorary member of the
Lodge in 1953 and was for many years a regular attender. His
last visit was in 1998, not long before his death, when he
spoke most entertainingly about his memories of the school
and the Lodge.
In June 2002, the Lodge hosted the
Public
Schools Lodges Council Festival with R.W.Bro. David Cons,
Pro Provincial Grand Master for Middlesex, as Worshipful
Master. |
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