2013-2014

 

During his year in the Master's Chair, W Bro John Wheeldon has visited a number of other Lodges, including our mother Lodge, Brough 5464 at Sutton (Installation); the 250th Anniversary of Lennox Lodge 123 in Richmond (the oldest Lodge in the Province of Yorkshire North and East Ridings); Holderness 3563 in Hull, with Bros Ramirez, Wedgner and W Bro Lowthorpe.

 

 

The Installations of Minerva Lodge 250 and the Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge 9611; an Initiation at the Ridings Tablers Lodge 9586 in Beverley; a presentation of the First Degree Tracing Board at Kingston Lodge 1010; Initiation ceremonies at Technical Lodge 5666 (Hull) accompanied by Bro Allinson and Constitutional Lodge 294 (Beverley) accompanied by W Bro Wildman; a Beverlonian 9084 Third Degree; a Wilberforce  2134 Second Degree accompanied by Bro Ramirez (again in Beverley). 



 

The Provincial Lecture at Old Hymerian Lodge 6885 in Hull; the De la Pole 1605 Installation (Hull) at which the RWPGM announced his retirement and named his successor VW Bro Jeffrey Gillyon; and St Cuthbert's 630 Installation at Howden. On Monday 28th October he visited Andrew Marvell Lodge 5642 to witness the presentation of a certificate for sixty years service, and represented the Lodge of St Michael at the Beverley Rd. Charity Presentation on 2nd November (see the Charity page.) 


 

On Tuesday 5th November he crossed the Humber Bridge with W Bro Wildman to attend the Lodge of Established Order 9822 in Barton, in the Masonic Province of Lincolnshire, where a third degree was performed. W Bros Wheeldon and Wildman were guests of W Bro Barrie Jeffery, a Founder Member of 9822, and a Past Master of the Wyke Millennium Lodge 9696 in the Province of Yorkshire North and East Ridings. They promised to visit the Wyke Millennium Lodge in February. 




On Thursday 7th November the WM was again a visitor with W Bro Wildman at the Constitutional Lodge 294 in Beverley (3o) where W Bro Ian Grant (guest organist) gave a stunning certificate presentation. W Bro Wheeldon attended the Lodge of St Andrew 4683 (Beverley Road) on Wednesday 13th November, where a 3o took place: unusually, the Candidate had his arm in a sling. 

At Thesaurus Lodge 3891 (Dagger Lane) on Thursday 14thNovember, a Second Degree ceremony was performed. The Candidate was a Lewis: his father (and proposer) is also an active member of the Lodge. The WM attended the Installation of the new WM  of the Technical Lodge 5666 W Bro Hiten Thaker on Saturday 16thNovember.


 

The Lodge Preceptor, W Bro I Jackie Chapman PPJGD represented the Lodge of St Michael in a visit to the Humber Lodge 57 LoI Open Night on Monday 18th November; the Humber ritual differs from the Emulation working practised at Lodge 7833. Humber ritual is also used at the Hull Old Grammarians' Lodge 5129: the Worshipful Master visited there on Tuesday 19th November when Bro Max Gold was installed into the Master's Chair.

On Wednesday 20th November W Bros Wheeldon and Wildman visited Alexandra Lodge 1511 in Hornsea where a Raising ceremony was enacted. Since Holderness Lodge's move from Withernsea to Hull, the Hornsea Masonic Hall is the closest Masonic meeting place to the Greenwich Meridian in the Province of Yorkshire North and East Ridings.




On Thursday 21st November the Worshipful Master was pleased to send hearty congratulations on behalf of the Lodge of St Michael to W Bro William Henry Fisher, PSGD and W Bro Samson Sassoon Samuel Judah PPSGW when Provincial Grand Lodge communicated the news that they are to be appointed and installed as Deputy Provincial Grand Master and Assistant Provincial Grand Master respectively following the Installation of VW Bro Jeffrey Gillyon as Provincial Grand Master on Saturday 8th March 2014.


 
The Lodge of St Michael 7833 was represented at the Ridings Tablers Lodge 9586 meeting on Friday 22nd November when Bro Don Ferguson was installed as Worshipful Master, by W Bros Eddie Wildman (Provincial Organist, and a member of RTL); Steve Longthorp PPGSptW, visiting; and Ling Faang Yu PPGPurs, DC for the Representative of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master in Charge. On that same evening, 7833 was represented by a high powered posse of Worshipful Brethren in the persons of W Bro Tony Hayes, PGStB; and PPJGWs W Bros Stephen Prior, John Broughton and Malcolm Ladd attending a fifty years anniversary in the Lodge of Hope 6954 in the Masonic Province of Cheshire.

 

 

The Lodge of St Michael's regular meeting on the 28th November was a presentation:

I know the Answers, but what do the Questions mean? - an explanation of the questions leading from from the 1o to the 2o by W Bros Wildman and Wheeldon. This was not only of particular interest to those Brethren who have been members for only a few years, but to members and visiting Brethren of long standing, who expressed their fascination as the meaning behind the familiar expressions was brought into focus, along with the reasons why the Candidate had a rolled-up trouser leg. Indeed, several were kind enough to offer alternative explanations afterwards.






 
December was a busy month: The WM visited Humber Installed Masters Lodge 2494 with his Secretary and Organist on Monday 2nd where the 2013 Prestonian Lecturer  VW Bro Dr Paul Richard Calderwood PGSwdBr presented a fascinating paper entitled As we were seen: the Press and FreemasonryKingston 1010 met at the same venue on Tuesday 3rd when our WM witnessed a Master Installed into the Chair for Kingston's 150thyear. Beverlonian 9084 met on Saturday 7th at Trinity Lane, where a Daggards Quartet comprising two Humber Brethren and W Bros Wheeldon & Wildman of the Lodge of St Michael performed Festive Board Entertainment to an appreciative audience in the Lodge Room. This, and the entertainment following the meal afterwards met with pleasing approbation.


 
The Humber Lodge 57 Installation was on Tuesday 10th December, and the WM of the Lodge of St Michael attended, remarking how pleasant it was to see new faces amongst the familiar, as a contingent from Cambridge had made the journey to Yorkshire to see the Humber ritual in action. W Bro Wheeldon (with his ady) attended the Hull Old Grammarians' Lodge 5129 to watch W Bros Lynn and Wildman in a Daggards presentation on the 17th. The Lodge of St Michael 7833 Christmas meeting was on Thursday December 19th and typically well attended.


 
On January 3rd 2014 the WM attended Brough Lodge 5464 for a 1Ceremony, and Londesborough Lodge 734's Installation in Bridlington on the 7th; and, in the company of Bro Alan Allinson, visited Lord Bolton Lodge 3263 in Hull (a lecture by Bro Chris Lefevre on Masonry in Jersey during the occupation.) On Saturday 11th  the Province's lowest numbered Lodge, Humber 57 initiated a new Candidate on the 14th at Dagger Lane, which the WM attended with W Bro Wildman, in addition to Alexandra Lodge 1511 in Hornsea (15th January) for their Installation the following day.





 
The Lodge of St Michael Craft meeting on Thursday 23rd January was an illustrated lecture Moving our Landmarks by a number of the Daggards team. On 24th January, WM visited Myton Lodge 9808 for the Installation ceremony along with W Bros Eddie Wildman and John Broughton. Myton is a daylight Lodge: the meeting began at 11:30 am at Beverley Road. On Tuesday 28th January, W. Bro Wheeldon travelled to York with his organist to the  Albert Victor Lodge 2328, where the Assistant Provincial Grand Master and his team were visiting. This is the only Lodge outside London with a member of the royal family as a founder member. The lecture about the late W Bro Col. Innes Noel Ware was a stimulating insight into Freemasonry in the first half of the twentieth century. The first event in February was on Saturday 1st - a Race Night held at the Masonic Hall, Beverley Road, where a healthy £240 was raised towards the Lodge's selected charities for the year.  The WM and other Brethren of the Lodge of St Michael attended the Humber Installed Masters Lodge 2494 on Monday 3rd February, again at Beverley Road. Not all stayed for the festive board however as the Lodge of St Michael was holding a Lodge of Instruction rehearsal that evening for the Preceptor's Festival in March. 7833 was well represented at the celebration of W Bro Chris Sharpe's fiftieth year in Freemasonry at the Kingston Lodge 1010 on Wednesday 5th February; W Bros Stephen Prior, IPM, PPGSptW (Cheshire), Terry Black, PPJGW, Ling Yu, PPGPurs and Eddie Wildman, ProvGOrg were pleased to give greetings from the Lodge of St Michael.


 
W Bro John Wheeldon visited the Lodge of Fidelity 289 in Leeds on Thursday 6th February where W Bro Craig Maurier gave a thought provoking lecture on The Masonic Origins of Pinocchio. At Wyke Millennium Lodge 9696 at Tickton Grange Hotel on Monday 10th February, the Lodge of St Michael was well represented by the Worshipful Master, W Bros Ian Grant, Richard Heaton and Eddie Wildman, along with the Lodge ADC, Bro Alan Allinson. A 3o ceremony was worked, though some differences in Emulation working were noted. The WM and the Provincial Organist were invited as personal guests of David Cameron to Nourse Lodge 8590 in Cambridge on Wednesday 13th February and enjoyed the Third Degree ceremony there. (Politics were not discussed at the convivial Festive Board.)

 


 
The WM visited the Lodge of St Matthew 1447 in Barton on Humber, North Lincolnshire on Thursday 18th, where a 2o Candidate was Raised, and on the 21st of the month visited the Burlington Lodge 3975 in Bridlington; an Installation meeting. The regular Lodge of St Michael meeting saw a lecture by W Bro John Watson on "The Mark meets the Craft". Those members of the Lodge who were Mark Masons and had their aprons with them were invited to wear them while W Bro Watson delivered his illuminating address showing Mark Masonry's significance as a link between the second and third degrees in the Craft. He then explained the differences in the regalia as worn by the Brethren. The WM thanked him for his erudite exposition and the Brethren expressed their approbation with acclamation.

 

March was a busy Month: On Monday the 3rd Bro Bernard Frazer took the Chair for the Lodge of St Michael Preceptor's Festival, while the WM acted as Candidate for the evening. On Tuesday 4th March, Companion Wheeldon attended the Technical Chapter Installation, wearing his Royal Arch apron for a change. He visited Kingston Lodge 1010 as WM on Wednesday 5th for a Raising ceremony. On Thursday 6th he appeared in his Daggard capacity at the Constitutional Lodge 294 in I know the Answers but What do the Questions mean? Constitutional Lodge is the oldest in Beverley. The Installation Convocation of Jeffrey Gillyon as the M E Grand Superintendent and Provincial Grand Master by the Pro Grand Master, Peter Lowndes, took place at York University on Saturday 8th March, and the Lodge of St Michael was represented by the Worshipful Master, supported by a number of his Officers on this rare event. In addition to W Bros Peter Wright PPJGW, John Broughton PPJGW and Terry Black PPJGW, there was the IPM W Bro Stephen Prior PPGSuptWks (Cheshire) and the ADC, Bro Alan Allinson. Other Brethren of 7833 were there taking an active role in the proceedings: W Bro Allan Hemmings PPGSuptWks TD and Ling Faang Yu PPGPurs, while Eddie Wildman, Provincial Organist, provided music for the installation and investiture of the PGM. The Thesaurus Lodge 3891 Installation was on Thursday 13th March, and the following day W Bro Wheeldon visited the De la Pole Lodge 1605, where an explanation of the Lightowler Shields delivered by a number of the Brethren preceded an unexpected "This is your Life" presentation about the newly appointed Assistant Provincial Grand Master, W Bro Samson Sassoon Samuel Judah, who is a member of the De la Pole Lodge.




 

 

Monday 17th March was the Lodge of Instruction Open Night for Minerva Lodge 250, and the WM attended this virtuosic display of a first degree ceremony by the Minerva newcomers with his ADC. On Friday 21st our WM was in the Province of Lincolnshire with W Bro Wildman in a Daggards Performance of The Medieval Engineers at Astral Lodge 3481 in Grimsby.

On Monday 24th March he attended the Andrew Marvell Lodge 5642. The PGM and a team of active Provincial Officers were in attendance at this Second Degree ceremony. 



 
The regular meeting of the Alexandra Chapter on the 26th took place in Hornsea, and on that evening John Wheeldon attended in his capacity as a member and Companion of the Order. Daggards W Bro Maurier, Bro Mark Richardson and W Bro Danny Betts performed together with W Bro Eddie Wildman on Thursday 27th in the debut presentation of KT meets the Craft at the regular meeting of the Lodge of St Michael with W Bro Wheeldon presiding as WM. The meeting was enhanced by thepresence of the Provincial Prior for Yorkshire North and East Ridings, Right Eminent Knight Paul Martyn Darley.  

 


 
The following day the WM performed The Medieval Engineers with fellow Daggard W Bro Wildman at the Ridings Tablers' Lodge in Beverley. The Daggards Treasurer, W Bro Terry Lynn was there as both a Daggard and a member of the Lodge of St Michael, and was delighted to receive a generous cheque to go towards local charities following the performance.


 
W Bro Wheeldon attended the Annual Masters Dinner at the  Feathers Hotel in Helmsley on Friday 4th April, and visited the Wilberforce Lodge 2134 Installation on 8th April. On this date, W Bro Steve Longthorp represented the Lodge of St Michael at the Humber Lodge 57. The WM represented 7833 on 9th April at Minerva Lodge 250, where a 3o ceremony took place , and at the St Cuthbert's Lodge 630 in Howden on the 10th where the Provincial Grand Master and a team of active officers attended a Second Degree ceremony. 

 
W Bro Wheeldon again visited the De la Pole Lodge 1605 on the 11th  - the only local Lodge where the Worshipful Master is kilted for every ceremony. He was at Beverley Road again for the Technical Lodge celebration meeting on Saturday 19th. April 26th was the St George's Night celebration, the last social function of the year for the Lodge of St Michael. Held at the Beverley Road Masonic Hall, this event enjoyed a large and enthusiastic audience, especially when it came to flag waving!  

 

On 2nd May the WM visited Roseberry Lodge of Installed Masters 8571 in Redcar in a Daggard capacity, making his debut as JW in a costumed 1765 Initiation ceremony. Other Daggards in the Lodge of St Michael performing in this event were W Bros Steve Longthorp, John Stead, David Whittall and Eddie Wildman. There were also six other Daggards with them at this northernmost Lodge in the Province.
 
  On 6th May the WM and Bro Allan Allinson, the WM Elect, attended a Second Degree Ceremony at Londesborough Lodge 734 in Bridlington. The following day, the Lodge of St Michael was represented at Kingston Lodge's Installation ceremony by W Bros Wright and Wildman. W Bro Wheeldon visited Thesaurus Lodge 3891 for another Daggards presentation - this time as a spectator. He was at Dagger Lane again on Tuesday 13th May, visiting Humber Lodge 57 where the PGM and his team were gathered for the presentation of a 60 years in Freemasonry certificate, and again the following day for a Minerva Lodge 250 Charity presentation evening, supported by W Bros Wildman and Yu.

W Bro Wheeldon concluded his year in office with a visit to Provincial Grand Lodge at York on Saturday 18th May, to witness W Bro Ling Faang Yu being awarded the active rank of ProvAGDC, W Bro Eddie Wildman reinvested as ProvGOrg and the promotion of W Bro John Haigh to PPJGW. W Bro Wheeldon was accompanied by W Bro John Broughton, the Charity Steward W Bro Malcolm Ladd and the Master Elect, Bro Alan Allinson. As this was the day Hull played in the Cup Final at Wembley, this represented a commendable loyalty to the Province.