OLD CHELTONIAN LODGE No: 3223

 

A HISTORY

 

“The Lodge is established primarily for persons educated at Cheltenham College, and all such persons are eligible as members. But other persons who have rendered special service to, or who are associated with the College, may, on the recommendation of the Standing Committee, also be proposed as candidates and admitted as members".

 

 

 

            The Warrant for the Lodge was granted on 14th February 1907 and the Consecration took place at the Gaiety Restaurant, Strand, London, on 7th May 1907.

 

            The recommending, or sponsoring , Lodge was Charterhouse Deo Dante Dedi No: 2885. The Consecrating officer was V.W.Bro Sir Edward Letchworth, FSA, the Grand Secretary, and he was assisted by W.Bro R.V.Vassar-Smith, PGD, as Senior Warden, W.Bro William Russell, PAGDC, as Junior Warden, W.Bro the Rev O.C.Cockrem, LL.D, Prov.G.Sec(Herts), as Chaplain, W.Bro  F.W.Simpson, Dep.GDC, as Director of Ceremonies, and W.Bro Major Henry Wright, PGSwdB, as Inner Guard. Twenty-four of the thirty-four Founders attended, and W.Bro Major N.A.L.Corry, DSO, PGD, was installed as the first Worshipful Master.

 

Founders' Jewels:-

 

 

 

            The left-hand jewel was presented to W.Bro F.W.Simpson, DepGDC, as the Consecrating Director of Ceremonies. Of the Founders' jewels. one was for one of the Deacons, either W.Bro R.Bolton (first Senior Deacon) or W.Bro B.A.Hall (first Junior Deacon), one for the Director of Ceremonies, W.Bro J.D.Stuart Sim, and one for the Inner Guard, W.Bro Captain F.D.Markham.

            The Consecration meeting was honoured by the presence of MW Bro the Rt Hon T.F.Halsey, Deputy Grand Master, RW Bro H.Martyn Kennard, Provincial Grand Master for Monmouthshire, and many other Grand Officers. The Consecrating Officers were cordially thanked for their services and elected Honorary Members. A similar honour was conferred upon W.Bro Canon Kynaston, PGChap, who had occupied the position of Principal of Cheltenham College over twenty years previously.

 

            At the Consecration Banquet there were twelve courses with four wines together with sherry, port and liqueurs. The cost was one guinea (£1.05). The annual subscription, which included meals, was three guineas (£3.15), as was the Founders’ fee.

 

            There was a great deal of Press coverage. “The Morning Post”, “The Daily Telegraph” and the “South Wales Daily News” reported the meeting at some length as did “The Freemason”. Our predecessors would have been surprised at the recent concern over secrecy and publicity; all meetings of the Lodge were reported in full in “The Cheltonian”, a magazine issued to all pupils at College.

 

            From the beginning the first secretary, W.Bro C.C.W.Troughton, did a magnificent job in collecting in one volume all the papers in connection with the Lodge. He also presented he first banner to the Lodge. After his death a Memorial Appeal was launched to commemorate his great services to the Lodge which owed its inception to him. Several Public School Lodges expressed a wish to subscribe to this appeal in recognition of his work in forming the Council of Public School Lodges. On 23rd November 1913 a memorial was dedicated in the ante-chapel “which pays a debt of honour to one of the most loyal and devoted of Old Cheltonians who ever lived”.

 

            The Lodge has two “daughter” Lodges – the Old Cliftonian Lodge No: 3340 and the Old Marlburian Lodge No: 3533. The “family tree” can be traced back through Charterhouse Deo Dante Dedi Lodge No: 2885 to Rahere Lodge No: 2546, United Studholme Lodge No: 1591, Architect Lodge No: 1375, St George’s Lodge No: 370, and, finally, to Grenadiers Lodge No: 66 founded in 1739.

 

            As might be expected from a school with a strong military side, numerous members of the armed services have been members of the Lodge, including Lt Col Philip Neame, VC, DSO, and Major General Sir Leslie Nicholls, who was Worshipful Master at the 1965 Festival held at College. The Register shows that the professions of members has been extremely varied – Accountants, Architects, Barristers, Company Directors, Doctors, Engineers, Merchants in various fields, Solicitors, Surveyors, at least one “No Occupation”, a sprinkling of “Gentlemen” – neither of which “professions” would be accepted by Grand Lodge today -, Masters at College including Headmasters, and, as a representative of the modern era, an Electronic Engineer.

 

            The Lodge continued to meet at the Gaiety Restaurant for the next four years and, after a brief sojourn at Freemasons’ Hall, moved to the Trocadero Restaurant until 1919 when a move was made to the Imperial Restaurant. In March 1920 the Lodge held an Emergency Meeting by Dispensation at 10 Duke Street and dined at the St James’s Palace Hotel; no reason is given for this extra meeting but it could have been because of the number of candidates to be initiated, passed and raised. After seven years the Lodge then moved to the Royal Adelaide Galleries and subsequently to the Café Royal, where the Lodge stayed for the longest period – 1931 to 1969. In September 1939 all Masonic meetings were suspended by order of Grand Lodge but they were later resumed under certain conditions to fit in with war-time regulations. For instance, the Lodge met at 2pm after luncheon taken at 1pm for the January 1940 meeting, but thereafter at 5pm and dined as usual at the Café Royal. The menus were “ordered with restraint” and the number of courses strictly limited. In 1941 the Lodge began meeting at 12 noon because the black-out made evening travel difficult if not dangerous on account of the air-raids. Ten years were then spent at the Devonshire Club until it closed, one year at the Constitutional Club until it too closed, and three years at Bakers’ Hall. Whilst the Lodge met at Bakers’Hall, the Constitutional Club premises were taken over and converted to become Mark Masons’ Hall, which was opened on 1st September 1979 and where the Lodge has now met since November 1979.

 

            The 21st Anniversary of the Lodge was celebrated on 1st May 1928 at the Royal Adelaide Gallery. The officers appointed at that meeting included RW Bro the Very Rev R.Waterfield, Provincial Grand Master for Herefordshire, as Chaplain and Bro J.B.Brunel Cohen (later Sir Brunel), MP, as Almoner.

 

 

            The Jubilee was celebrated in 1957. The Assistant Grand Master, Major General Sir Allan Adair, installed W.Bro Lt Col R.H.Ingham Clark, Deputy Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire, as Worshipful Master; it was his second time in the Chair.

 

 

            Other Public Schools also formed Lodges for the benefit of their Old Boys and it became a common practice for each Lodge to make the Worshipful Master and Wardens of such Sister Lodges Honorary Members. At a meeting of the Charterhouse Deo Dante Dedi Lodge No: 2885, on 17th March 1909, the first formal grouping of the Public School Lodges took place and it was resolved to set up a Standing Committee. This was the first attempt at a formal organisation and the five Lodges which formed that Committee can be regarded as the Founders of the Council. These Lodges were those associated with Westminster, Charterhouse, Cheltenham, Sherborne and Clifton. Over the years other Old Boy Lodges have joined the Council, which is now known as the Public School Lodges Council. W.Bro Harold Sington, one of the Founders of the Lodge, was a member of the Standing Committee of the Council in 1913 and continued to serve for 42 years, including 15 years as Treasurer, surely a record that is unlikely to be emulated.

 

 

            Masters of the Lodge have been honoured to wear the Hall Stone Jewel, presented to the Lodge for its contribution to the Masonic Million Memorial Fund – an average of 10 guineas per member. The Fund was set up in 1920 to embark on the building of a new headquarters for the English Craft as a memorial to the many Brethren who had given their lives during the First World War; seven members of the Lodge fell during the war:

                        Bro A.B.Campbell,

                           Captain, Royal Sussex Regiment.

                   W.Bro J.Keogh Murphy, PGD (Honorary Member)

                           Staff Surgeon, RNVR.

                        Bro M.Sefton Purdey, SD.

                           Major, 18th Hussars.

                   W.Bro Archibald Roberts.

                           Major, 6th York’s Regiment.

                        Bro B.V.Sim.

                           Lieutenant, 4th Middlesex Regiment.

                   W.Bro F.T.Williams.

                           Major, Northants Regiment.

                        Bro Cyril W.Winterbotham.

                           Lieutenant, 5th Glosters.         

 

Contributions to the Fund were voluntary and were recognised by special commemorative jewels. Individuals subscribing 10 guineas or more received a silver medal, and those subscribing 100 guineas or more a gold medal; six members of the Lodge received Hall Stone Jewels. At the laying of the foundation stone in 1927 the new headquarters was known as the Peace Memorial Building, now, of course, Freemasons’ Hall. 1321  Lodges qualified as Hall Stone Lodges and their names and numbers are inscribed on commemorative panels in the main ceremonial entrance vestibule of Freemasons’ Hall. In 1972 the Worshipful Master had the misfortune to have his regalia stolen, including the Hall Stone Jewel; as this was a limited edition, Grand Lodge approval was necessary in order to have a replacement made. The Roll of Honour, placed on the secretary’s table during meetings, also includes the names of two members who lost their lives during the Second World War, 1939-1945;

                        Bro William Clarke.

                           Squadron Leader, 214 Squadron, Bomber Command, RAF.

                        Bro Edward Desmond Gaffney.

                           5th Maharatta Light Infantry, IA.

 

            Past Masters of the Lodge have the privilege of having their Past Master’s Jewel suspended, not from a plain Craft blue ribbon, but from a ribbon in the College colours – a privilege traditionally accorded to school Lodges by the M.W. the Grand Master.

 

            In 1998 the Lodge was presented with a silver medal in appreciation of the members’ contribution to the New Masonic Samaritan Fund, replacing the bronze medal presented in 1996. This medal is worn on the Charity Steward’s collar.

 

            Until the Bylaws were changed in 1977, the Lodge Committee consisted of the Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, Treasurer, Secretary, Director of Ceremonies and five members elected by the Lodge. Past Masters of, or in, the Lodge were not members of the Committee. The change to include all Past Masters took place after a Committee meeting when one of the Past Masters arrived late, and apologised to the Worshipful Master saying that he had not had notice of the meeting, only to be told by the Secretary that he was not a member of the Committee! A quorum of the Committee was three.

 

            On Saturday, 18th March 2006, the Lodge hosted the Gloucestershire Schools' Lodges Festival at the Masonic Hall, Stroud. Present were members of the Old Wycliffian Lodge No: 7228, the Royal Agricultural College Lodge No: 7694, the Old Patesian Lodge No: 7828, the Old Marlingtonian Lodge No: 8499 and Via Lucis Lodge No: 9443. The Prestonian lecture for 2006, "The Victoria Cross - Freemasonry's Band of Brothers" was given by W.Bro Granville Angell, and a photograph of Lieutenant Philip Neame, VC, was exhibited on the secretary's table. The meeting was also honoured by the attendance of RW Bro P.A.Marsh, Provincial Grand Master of Gloucestershire.

 

            Mention must be made of the many generous gifts to the Lodge over the years:

W.Bro N.A.L.Corry – A handsome cigar cabinet. This disappeared during the move from the Devonshire Club. However, in 2008 the Secretary, W.Bro Richard Cann, approached the Archive Department of College with a view to the storage of all the documentation that the Lodge had accrued over the period since its Consecration - Minute Books, Accounts etc. These had been stored in cardboard boxes and been handed from secretary to secretary over the years. One of these boxes held a leather case which contained the Cigar Cabinet, and, also inside the Cabinet, were found Founders' Jewels and a Jewel for a Consecrating officer. The Jewels are illustrated above; the Cabinet below.

 

 

    

 

        

VW Bro L.S.Winsloe, PGT, Founder – A Silver Alms Dish. This is still in use.

 A set of six Firing Glasses, commemorating those members of the Lodge who had fallen in the war, and with their names inscribed, was presented on 3rd November 1925 by an anonymous donor. These are still used at the Festive Board, though one is missing, presumed broken. As there were seven members who fell during the war, it is assumed that there was no firing glass for the Honorary Member.

In 1911 six dozen Firing Glasses were presented to the Lodge by Bro W.Ferguson and Bro C.O.Purdey. These are still in use though some have been broken.

W.Bro G.Carrick, PPGW(Cambs), WM – A Charity Box suitably inscribed. This is still in use.

Wands for the Deacons and Director of Ceremonies were presented by Bro C.C.Bryce, JW, and Bro G.F.Collett, SD, on 1st February 1921. These have long since disappeared.

In November 1922 W.Bro Harold Sington, PGD – A silver square and compasses; W.Bro J.Gibson Harris, PM Old Pauline Lodge – A Rough Ashlar, made from one of the original foundation stones from St Paul’s Cathedral. These are still in use.

W.Bro Stuart Neame, LR – A set of ivory gavels in commemoration of those members who served in the Great War. These are still in use by the WM and Wardens at all meetings. They are inscribed:

Presented by

Stuart Neame LR

November 1919

In commemoration of

43 members of this Lodge

out of 75 who were engaged

.on active service in

The Great War

1914 – 1919

A new banner, with the names of the Past Masters, and subscribed for by them, was presented on 3rd November 1925.

A Past Masters’ banner was presented in 1949 by the Past Masters

In 1931 Bro Lt Col Stanley S.D.Cohen, TD, SW, presented a silver cup with lid to the Lodge, and in 1957 the Past Masters presented a silver loving cup to commemorate the Jubilee of the Lodge. In February 1973, when the Lodge met at the Devonshire Club, St James’s Street, the two silver cups were found to be missing, together with “a shaped snuff horn with silver embossed and engraved mouth piece designed in the shape of a thistle with a silver embossed snuff box at opposite ends set with a large yellow crystal stone and a length of striped ribbon”. The loss was reported to Rochester Row Police Station, who passed the information to Vine Street Police Station. A claim was made and the items paid for according to the then existing costed list – Loving Cup £100, Silver Cup £58, Snuff Horn £115, but as the maximum per article which could be claimed was £50, the Lodge was paid £147.50 by the insurers.

 

            In December 1986, Mr F.J.Franks, who had been employed at the Devonshire Club, and was now with the Eccentric Club, telephoned to say that he had found the two cups in a box belonging to a group (non-masonic) who had also been at the Devonshire Club. The cups were recovered, apart from one plinth which had also been missing, but there was no sign of the snuff horn.

 

            The recovery was reported to Norwich Union, the insurers, who agreed that the Lodge could keep the cups and return the claim money for them - £100. The claim was 73A 5155.

 

            Unfortunately, the cups, together with the Lodge’s silver cigarette box, were again stolen, this time from the secretary’s flat on 19th February 1977 and never recovered. The silver had been taken home by the secretary for display at the Ladies Festival held on 11th March 1977.

 

            The inscriptions on the cups were:

a). Loving Cup:

1907  -  3 May  -  1957

Presented to

The Old Cheltonian Lodge No: 3223

by the Past Masters

to commemorate the Jubilee

when the Worshipful Master was installed

by the Right Worshipful the Assistant Grand Master

Major General Sir Alan Adair, Bart, CB, DSO, MC, DL

Silver hall-marked London 1873 – weight 3 lbs.

Maker’s mark:

J

EBW

J

b). Cup with scalloped edge – lid missing. College crest and motto surmounted by:

Old Cheltonian Lodge No: 3223

Inscription:

Presented to the

Old Cheltonian Lodge

by

Bro Lt Col Stanley S.D.Cohen, TD

Senior Warden

1930 – 1931

Silver hall-marked London 1930 – weight 1.5 lbs.

Maker’s mark:

JBC

&S

 

            The following Lodges of Joining Members have since been erased:

Oriental Lodge No: 687 – Istanbul, Turkey – Erased 1949.

United Lodge No: 1629 – London – Erased 1959. The Lodge amalgamated with the United Studholme Alliance Lodge No: 1591, London.

Alliance Lodge No: 1827 – London. The Lodge amalgamated with the United Studholme Alliance Lodge No: 1591, London.

Star of Agra Lodge No: 1936 Agra, India – Erased 1961 as the Grand Lodge of India was formed.

Mount Everest Lodge No: 2439 – Darjeeling, India – Erased 1961 as the Grand Lodge of India was formed.

United Service Lodge No: 2735 – Bangalore, India – Erased 1961 as the Grand Lodge of India was formed.

Excelsior Lodge No: 2832 – Kalka, India – Erased 1961 as the Grand Lodge of India was formed.

Pegu Lodge No: 3330 – Burma – Erased 1983 due to local conditions and shortage of members.

            [Note that the United Grand Lodge of England withdrew recognition from the Grand Lodge of India on 9th September 1992]

 

Some memorable dates:

 

            7th November 1972. The use of the Permissive Obligation was discussed, and it was agreed that it would continue to be used.

            3rd November 1987. A dozen bottles of Chateau Chauvin 1982 claret and a signed copy of Hugh Casson’s painting of College presented to W.Bro Harry Waddy in recognition of his 17 years service as secretary of the Lodge,

            4th February 1992. £300 was donated to the Cheltenham College 150th Anniversary Appeal.

            5th May 1992. 275th Anniversary of Grand Lodge – Jubilee Jewel purchased for £100.

            3rd May 1994. 22 carat Gold Proof Commemorative 50p coin, together with a special plaque, presentation box and official Certificate of Authenticity No: 50 presented to W.Bro John Brunel Cohen to commemorate 50 years of membership of the Old Cheltonian Lodge (Initiated 2nd May 1944).

            7th May 1996. Bottle of Whisky and Glasses in presentation box presented to W.Bro E.P.Wilmot-Morgan to commemorate 50 years of membership of the Old Cheltonian Lodge (Initiated 31st July 1945).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                       


 


 

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