112 On The Level
Masonic Magazine for St. John Fisherrow No.112 Issue No.18 November 2021
From the Editor
Hello Brethren, and welcome to Issue No. 18 of “On The Level” November 2021. We hope you will find this both inspiring as well as educational.
Brethren, any brother who cannot view the magazines on our website and would like to receive a printed copy please contact Brother Derek Mather J.D, who will drop off a copy or back issues of the magazine to you. Got something you want to say about your Lodge, or just Freemasonry in general ~ why not submit an article to “On The Level”and see it printed here? (The Editor reserves the right to refuse to publish any article deemed by himself to be offensive).
The Level
In Latin libra was a balance, the root of our libration, equilibrium; libella was the diminutive form of the same word, and from it has come our level, an instrument by which a balance is proved, or by which may be detected the horizontal plane.
It is closely associated in use with the plumb, by which a line perpendicular to the horizontal is proved. The level is that on which there are no inequalities, hence in Masonry it is correctly used as a symbol of equality.
We meet upon the level because Masonic rights, duties, and privileges are the same for all members with-out distinction.
Lodge St. John Fisherrow No. 112 Annual Ladies Night Friday 25th February 2022 Tickets £25pp or £45 for 2 7-7:30pm - Carriages 12:30 Tickets from Bro. Douglas Hoy P.M. D.S.M. 2
The Right Worshipful Master Hello Brethren and welcome to the November Issue of our magazine, my final one.
As we all know the last couple of years has been extremely difficult for everyone and although the virus has not gone completely, like you I’m just hopeful that the worst of it has passed and glad to see the back of it.
112 are no different to other Lodges across the country who are rising from their enforced slumber, and hopefully preparing themselves for the challenges ahead. We hope to see the 112 Brethren returning in large numbers after having been denied any attendance at the Lodge. There will be of course some who may still have lingering doubts over health issues and stick on the side of caution by staying away from crowds. It may take a campaign of persuasion by the Lodge, and assurances that all is well, before some Brethren take the leap of faith and return. We have of course over the last couple of months wisely decided to go forward with caution.
As this is my final message, may I take this opportunity to thank Bro. Andrew Raeburn P.M. D.S.M, Secretary, Bro. Douglas Hoy P.M. D.S.M, Treasurer for their continued excellent work on keeping the lodge ticking over during the pandemic, and also to the Past Masters, office bearers and brethren who have assisted me whilst in the chair of King Solomon.
I would also like to thank my wife Evelyn for all her patience and who has been a tremendous support to me too. I know I couldn’t have done this without you by my side.
My final thank you is to you all Brethren for allowing me the privilege of being The Master of our Lodge. As we are about to enter a new chapter in the lodges history I would like to wish Bro. Tom and the Office Bearers all the very best for the year ahead, and call upon you all to support our new master. 3
Bro. Brian Ritchie R.W.M.
World War Two Poster
In 1942, Musselburgh people were invited to a lecture on “The People & Systems we are fighting”. It was held in the Hayweights Cinema, and was one of a series. This is a cream paper poster with green printed text advertising NAOMI JACOB speaking, with the aid of films, on Britain's wartime enemies at the HAYWEIGHTS CINEMA, organised by the Musselburgh Committee of the Ministry of Information. Note the event was free. Printed by AC Gordon, Musselburgh.
During the height of World War II, local committees in Scottish towns brought speakers to public venues to spread positive information about Britain's war effort and to educate the public about Britain's allies and the enemy's atrocities.
Wartime Musselburgh. April 1941 Named the “The Honest Toun” and donated by the people of Musselburgh. The cost of a Spitfire was £5,000.
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Freemasonry In Germany
Brethren, Lodge Hope of Kurrachee No. 337 in the Province of Fife and Kinross, a research Lodge which only meets 4 times a year. Since our Lodges fell into darkness in March 2020, Bro. Gordon Michie R.W.M. has organised a series of lockdown lectures every Tuesday night throughout the course of the pandemic with guest speakers from all over the world. Bro. Rolf Keil, an Honorary Member of Lodge Friendship 1712, in Edinburgh, gave a very interesting talk on “Freemasonry in Germany” and I asked Bro. Rolf if he would like to share with us a paper that he produce for his lecture and he has very kindly agreed.
My intention is, to give a brief overview about Freemasonry in Germany between 1918 and 1935. After the defeat in WWI, the German Revolution of 1918 with the resignation of the German Emperor and the foundation of German Republic of Weimar, the political atmosphere was very heated. It was also the time when massive anti masonic attacks were launched by the roman catholic church as well as from the rising Nazi movement. And the craft was not prepared to handle these attacks. Since times of immemorial there have been quarrels between the so called, Old Prussian ‘Grand Lodges (3 Globes, G.L. Royal York and Order of Freemasons) and the other Grand Lodges in Germany, which called themselves ‘humanitarian’ Grand Lodges, to mark the difference to the strictly Christian Grand Lodges of Prussia.
After WWI these frictions had grown deeper. The issues, which have caused those frictions, were mainly: • The ‘Old Prussian’ Grand Lodges were only open to men of Christian Faith, whilst the others accepted Jews among them. •The politics of the “Old Prussians” were strictly ‘nationalistic’, denying an international approach of freemasonry, whilst the others felt themselves as part of a broader movement.
Although it is simplifying the subject, it is not wrong to state, that the‚ ‘Old Prussian’ Grand Lodges felt that the lost WWI was a national disgrace and they have seen the Treaty of Versailles as very unjust, specially by giving Germany the full liability for the war.
That view was shared by a large majority of the German Population. The Prussian Grand Lodges had strong ties to the German Emperors, dating back to Frederick the Great (1712-1786) who founded the “National Mother Lodge of the 3 Globes”. They have had difficulties to adapt the situation of the German Republic (1918-1933). The ‘Old Prussian’ Lodges had chosen a way of isolation and they refused any contact to Masonic bodies of the so called ‘enemy powers’. In 1922 the‚ Old Prussian Grand Lodges stepped out of the League of Grand Lodges. They justified this step: …with the pacifistic and cosmopolitical views of the other Grand Lodges and their attacks against the Standpoint of the Christian Grand Lodges in the “Jewish Question”.
Some of the “Christian” Grand Lodges, went a step further: A brother, called Awe stated at 18th May 1928 at the general annual assembly of the 3 Globes at : “Furthermore the Chain of Brothers cannot bear a strange race. A last, deep inner feeling will not allow us to share brotherly familiarity with someone of an alien race.”
The ‘Old Prussian’ Grand Lodges drifted deeper into isolation, this involved with ingratiation attempts toward the extreme nationalistic Movement. Of course, there were many open minded men and many lodges with an open friendly approach within the ‘Old Prussian’ Grand Lodges.
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For Example, the Keeper of the Nobel Prize for Peace and former German Foreign Minister Br. Stresemann was a member of the Lodge “Friedrich der Große” within the Grand National Mother Lodge “To the 3 Globes”, he was initiated in 1923.
Alas, the actions of the‚ ‘Old Prussian’ Grand Lodges were anything, but open. A few quotations from official Grand Lodge Magazines of that period: there are those dreamers, who found that the vow (Love to god and thy neighbour ) goes not far enough, they even want to extend that love to “all” mankind. We are not able to follow those eccentric enthusiasts… We refuse every ranting about “Humanity” under which name and form it occurs, be it Internationalism, pacifism or whatever it is called, not because these ideals cannot be reached, but because they are not worthy to be strived”. (ZK der GLLvD 1930)
With the changes of the times and the Nazi Party on the horizon, some Grand Lodges tried to cope with the situation and to find an agreement with the new leaders.
At the 12th of April 1933 the Grand Lodge 3 Globes wrote to the executives of the National Socialist German Workers (NSDAP) : “We have decided to change the Name of our Order to “National Christian Order Frederick the Great”. Since a year, the relations... to the German Lodges, which initiated Jews or men from Jewish descent, have been definitely abandoned. The vast majority of our members count itself by attitude and conviction as (followers) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), and the leaders of our Order are blessed by the same spirit.” The drift of the “Old Prussians“ (by membership, the vast majority of Brothers) toward the extreme nationalists has put pressure on the other Grand Lodges. They were attacked as not trustworthy, unpatriotic etc.
As a reaction, some of the ‘humanitarian’ Grand Lodges tried to adapted themselves to the “Zeitgeist”.
A unique position was held by the Grand Lodge of Eclectic Union, in Frankfurt. This Grand Lodge had two Jewish Grand Masters between 1901 and 1918. It was open for men of every creed and it always supported an international approach of Freemasonry. The Eclectic Union was the first of the recognized Grand Lodges which had tried to re-establish contacts to the French Freemasonry (1927). It therefore was shunned by the other Grand Lodges and the public opinion. The last elected Grand Master of the Eclectic Union, Br. Friedrich Ganser steered his Grand Lodge together with the Grand Lodges of Hamburg and Bayreuth towards negotiations with the United Grand Lodge of England to reestablish the mutual relations.
The negotiations with the United Grand Lodge of England in 1932 were answered by the ‚Old Prussian Lodges“. They severed all ties with those Grand Lodges, not recognizing them further. Although there had been quarrels in the Grand Lodge of the Eclectic Union as well, its approach to the seizure of power by Nazis was exemplary. After 150 Years, the Grand Lodge of the Eclectic Union closed down its work, leaving the several Lodges full freedom to find their own way to react to the Nazi Regime. The Grand Lodge of Bayreuth closed it’s doors also in 1933. The former “Humanitarian” Grand Lodges of Hamburg, Saxony and Darmstadt, finally adopted the “Aryan Article”, and were forcing Jewish Brethren to leave the Lodges.
Two other Grand Lodges, not recognized, but important for the further development had entered the Game during the years of the Weimar Republic. The Freemasons Union of the Rising Sun and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany. The Symbolic Grand Lodge was brought to life by the
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newly founded Supreme Council in 1931. It was shunned by all other Grand Lodges, but it was the only one, in a strict opposition to the Nazi ideology. The Symbolic Grand Lodge closed it’s gates in April 1933, shortly after the Birth of Lodge Spinoza, the last Lodge which was founded before the Dark times. It’s masonic light was brought to Israel, where there were 5 Lodges working.
The most of other humanitarian Grand Lodges closed it’s gates in 1933, as well, while the Old Prussian Grand Lodges together with the Grand Lodges of Hamburg, Saxony and “zur Bruderkette” tried to come to an agreement with the new powers and styled themselves as National Christian Orders, adopted the Aryan rule, forcing their jewish members to leave and severing all ties to Freemasonry. Goerings Edict from 1935 brought an end to all the pandering to the Nazi movement.
In the review, the Craft in Germany as a whole, can be glad, that these moves of apeacement were not successful corona. Freemasonry did not exist for 12 years. Some Brethren continued to meet as Bowling clubs etc. And of course the craft was used as the perfect scapegoat by the Nazi regime. But was the Craft a Victim of the Nazi regime?
I’ll give you my personal, but not unfounded, view.
Like the majority of the people of Germany, the majority of the Freemasons accepted –to say at least- the Nazi Regime.
There was discrimination against former Freemasons, in Business and in the daily life. There was looting of the temples and theft of the halls and treasures. But, very seldom did former Freemasons faced serious consequences. In 1938 Hitler issued an amnesty for those Freemasons, that had left the craft before the seizure of power, and didn’t hold a higher position than the IIIrd Degree. Some brethren held contact through the dark years, they met as friends to play cards, go hiking etc. They did so, although the Nazi Government condemned it. But was this resistance?
There were Freemasons in active resistance, but very few. From those few men, a majority came from the unrecognized Grand Lodges of the Rising Sun and from the Symbolic Grand Lodge. A few German Freemasons were sentenced to Concentration Caps, again most of them from the unrecognized Grand Lodges. And even these were hunted, because they were Labour Union Leaders, political Authors, Politians, Human Rights Activists and so on.
I come to my personal conclusion, that the Brothers of that time, were in no way different from the rest of the people. They made their decisions out of their attitude and out of their experience. Nobody is able to tell, what he would have done in their shoes. It is not on me to judge. But we do have the responsibility to tell the truth, as we understand it.
The craft in Germany started to rebuild Freemasonry directly after the Liberation of Germany by the Allied forces. The stoney way to the foundation of the United Grand Lodges of Germany in 1958 might be the issue of another article. Bro. Rolf Keil P.M. Lessing Lodge No.769 (AFuAM) Frankfurt/Main U.G.L. of Germany Hon. Member Friendship 1712 Edinburgh Depute Grand Master of District Grand Lodge of Hessen
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Famous Scottish Freemasons Brother James Loudon McAdam (1756-1836)
John Loudon McAdam was born in Ayr in 1756. A member of a minor branch of Ayrshire nobility (his father James was Baron of Waterhead, and his mother Susanna, a niece of the Earl of Dundonald) He was the youngest of 10 children and the family moved to Lagwyne Castle. When this burned down they moved to Blairquhan Castle, in Ayrshire. John was educated at McDoick’s School of Maybole until 1770 when, at the age of 14, his father's business, the Bank of Ayr, and the family fortune both collapsed, and his father died.
McAdam, was sent to live with his uncle, a wealthy merchant in New York. During the American Revolution, where he supported the loyalist side. He went on to make his own fortune at a very young age, becoming a successful merchant, part owner of the privateering ship "General Matthew", and a "prize agent": in effect selling goods and material captured during the war and taking a cut for doing so.
While in New York, he married Gloriana Nicoll. In 1783, he paid the price of supporting the losing side in the War of Independence, and had his assets seized before being put on a boat back to Scotland with his wife and two children. Back in Ayrshire, McAdam still had the means to buy an estate at Sauchrie near Maybole. Meanwhile, his close links with his relative, the Earl of Dundonald, gave him a business interest in an iron works.
He was initiated into Lodge Ayr Kilwinning, No.124 in 1789 and became a very committed Freemason, serving as Master of his Lodge on no less than 3 occasions.
John's interest in developing his estate caused him to study the way roads were constructed. At the time roads were either built from laid stones, and were simply abysmal. His work became more widely known and in 1798, he was asked to improve the road surfaces in Falmouth. He was appointed surveyor to the Bristol Turnpike Trust in 1815, and argued that building the road surface above the surrounding land ensuring good drainage, and using carefully graded and layers of crushed stone, bound together with fine gravel or slag, roads could be made very much durable than before. They were also cheaper and easier to maintain once built. This method represented the greatest advance in road construction since Roman times and became known as "macadamisation", or just "macadam".
By the early 1820s, some 70 turnpike trusts across the country were using McAdam as a consultant. In 1823 Parliament mounted an enquiry into the state of roads across the country, which were generally perceived to be falling short of the needs of a rapidly industrialising nation. McAdam was appointed as Surveyor General of Metropolitan Roads across Britain, where his methods became widely used, before also spreading to America and Europe. Except for the later addition of a layer of tar to bind the road surface's stones together (a process known as Tar Macadam or "Tarmac"), McAdam's basic techniques remain in use by road builders today. McAdam died at the age of nearly 80 on 26 November 1836, and was buried in Moffat.
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The Pipe Organ When Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany he was determined to squash any people or groups he perceived as a threat. Among those groups were the Freemasons, who were among the first to feel the impact of his ruthlessness. In 1935, there were 80,000 members of the Fraternity in Germany, with many majestic lodges throughout the country.
The temple in Frankfurt was one of the premiere Masonic halls there. The Lodge hall was on the top floor. It was beautifully decorated with the pride of the Lodge, an elaborate pipe organ standing in the southwest corner. The dazzling instrument supplied the music and added to the majesty of every Masonic occasion.
When Hitler dissolved the Masonic Lodges, his thugs moved in and gutted the buildings, taking records, books, furniture and paraphernalia, either destroying what they had taken or selling it. In the wake of this, the Brethren in Frankfurt learned their great pipe organ had been dismantled and taken away. The Brothers attempted to find what had happened to the instrument, but their requests were only met with scorn. The great organ was lost and its music, along with the Frankfurt Lodge itself, had been silenced.
A decade passed. Finally the war was over, Hitler defeated and Lodges in Germany and, for that matter, all over Europe were able to take up labors again. One of the first orders of business in Frankfurt was to attempt to locate and reclaim the magnificent pipe organ. Brother Karl Nuckell, organist and Grand Secretary led a group of Brothers in the search. They appealed to the company that built and maintained the organ, feeling it would have been employed to maintain the instrument wherever it had been taken. The company refused to cooperate until Brother Nuckell threatened to sue. With that, the company's management told him they had installed the organ in a small Catholic Church in Wiesbaden.
Nuckell and his Brothers travelled to Wiesbaden where they found their precious instrument. The head priest there refused even to discuss the possibility of returning it. The Brothers then filed a claim with the government which, conducted an inquiry. The priest claimed he was the rightful owner of the pipe organ, having legally purchased it from the government in power at the time. It came out, however, that the Nazis had sold the organ to the church for a fraction of its value. With that, the inquiry ruled the instrument had been illegally seized and returned it to its rightful owners, the Lodge.
Once the organ was returned and installed, the Brothers gathered to hear its music fill the Lodge hall once again. Brother Nuckell selected a piece he thought appropriate for the occasion and which would emphasize the grandeur of the priceless instrument. As the Brothers waited with anticipation, Brother Nuckell sat down and struck up the booming notes of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. The great pipe organ was back home.
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Did Yi Ken.........
Bro. Henry Ford had a private office built adjacent to his lodge's premises in the Detroit Masonic Temple; which allowed him to conduct business while 'downtown' at his Lodge. (The Lodge and the office area is preserved and can be viewed when visiting the Detroit Temple).
In order to have unbroken floor space in the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, the cars in two elevator shafts move sideways thirty-five feet.
As the elevators rise 255 feet in two slanting hoist-ways from the main floor to the observation platform at the top of the building, it moves sideways 1 foot for approximately every 7 ¼ feet it ascends or descends.
Did yi Ken....
Earliest of Two Degrees: The earliest evidence we have, is a document dated 1696, beautifully handwritten, and known as the Edinburgh Register House Manuscript, because it was found in the Public Record Office of Edinburgh. It is headed ‘THE FORM OF GIVING THE MASON WORD’ which is one way of saying it is the manner of initiating a mason. It begins with the ceremony which made an apprentice into an ‘entered apprentice (usually about three years after the beginning of his indentures), followed by the ceremony for the admission of the, master mason or fellow craft’, the title of the 2nd degree.
Form......
Its form is oblong, its dimensions from East to West, embracing every clime between North and South, in fact its universal chain of friendship encircles every member of the human family and beams wherever civilisation extends. This denotes the universality of Freemasonry and teaches us that a Freemasons charity should be equally so extensive.
Penalty............ It is significant that our penal derives from the Latin for pain, paena,
the root of our penance, penalty, penitence, penitentiary. punish, primitive, pine, and a circle of similar English words. It has the meaning of pain inflicted for the purpose of correction, discipline, or protecting society, never the infliction of pain for its own sake. Our own penalties are symbolical in form, their language being derived from early English forms of punishment for heresy and treason.
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Our Lodge ~ Our History ~ Part 7 At the Regular Meeting held on 24th January 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Right Honourable Lord Elphinstone, Master Mason of the Lodge of Edinburgh Mary’s Chapel No.1 and Depute Provincial Grand Master of Midlothian, were proposed for affiliation. It was reported at the Regular Meeting of the Lodge Committee held on 7th March 1900, that the Hall had now been completed, and it was agreed to arrange for the Consecration Ceremony to be held on 21st March 1900. It was also agreed to invite all the Lodges in the Province and in the Metropolitan District to attend the Ceremony.
The Regular Meeting held on Wednesday 21st March 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Regular Meeting was held in the Masonic Hall, 9 Bridge Street, when the Consecration Ceremony was carried out with all due solemnity by the Provincial Substitute Grand Master, Bro. Liddell. The Ceremony was greatly enhanced by the musical programme arranged by Director of Music, Bro. Bone. Amid much enthusiasm a letter of apology was read from the Provincial Grand Master, Bro. Gordon Gilmour, and it was agreed to dispatch a telegram to him at Las Palmas where the troopship carrying him and his regiment is expected to call on the way to South Africa. In the course of the evening Bro. Chaplain presented to the Lodge a Jug bearing Masonic Emblems for which he was Cordially thanked.
Special Meeting held on 25th May 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After some discussion of the accounts in connection with the new hall the Committee’s report was approved, as was their recommendation to borrow £350 on the security of the property. The Bond and Disposition in Security in favour of the lenders - Messrs McArthur of Edinburgh - was duly subscribed by the Trustees on behalf of the Lodge in 11th July 1900. The rate of interest was 3%.
The Regular Meeting of 17th October 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was agreed to increase the Initiation Fee to £3.3.0. It was also agreed to ask the Committee to report on the number of Brethren on the Roll and the number paying Test Fees with a view of ascertaining whether a larger number could not maintain full standing with the Lodge. On 12th November it was reported that there were 153 members on the Roll and of these 88 were in full standing.
Special Meeting - 24th December 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Deputation form Provincial Grand Lodge was received and welcomed. Bro. Lord Elphinstone (right) was duly obligated as an Affiliated member of Lodge St. John Fisherrow No.112.
Special Meeting held on 27th December 1900 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. James Henderson was installed as Right Worshipful Master for the ensuing year.
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Regular Meeting held on 23rd January 1901 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The R. W. Master made feeling reference to the death of our beloved Queen Victoria. It was agreed to send a letter of sympathy from the Lodge to the Grand Master Mason of England and to the Royal Family and also expressing our loyalty to the new King. The full contents of the letter has been inscribed in the Minutes. The letter was formally acknowledged by the Secretary of State and a further letter from Whitehall dated 15th March 1901 was received and is also inscribed in the Minutes of 20th March 1901. The Lodges, at the request of the Grand Master Mason went into mourning for the space of three months.
Meeting held on 18th September 1901 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. Dr. Robertson presented a very handsome portrait of King Edward V11 to be hung on the wall of the Lodge and was duly thanked for the same.
Special Meeting held on 27th December 1901 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. James Henderson was installed as R. W. Master for the year 1902.
The Regular Meeting held on 20th January 1902 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twenty seven Lodges were represented. A notable visitor was Bro. Rev. Thomas Hannan of Holyrood House St. Luke, who later affiliated to the Lodge. Also present was a Brother W. Scott from Lodge Pittsburg No. 390. U.S.A. and Bro. Alsbury, P.M. 677 Douglas S.C. and Chaplain McQueen of St. Andrews both of Australia. The two Brothers from Australia gave an interesting account of how Lodges were run out there.
At the Regular Meeting on 21st May 1902 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The R.W. Master read a letter addressed to the W.M. Aitchison’s Haven Lodge No. 36, Masonic Hall, Musselburgh, written by a son on behalf of his father stating that he was initiated in that Lodge on 15th January 1845 when the three principal office bearers were Edward Finlayson, R.W.M, William McGarry, S.W, and John Bain J.W. This elderly brother proposed to visit his Mother Lodge in the summer time. The R.W.M. replied and said he would be very welcome to visit No.112 when he came to Musselburgh.
One must assume that John Bain, J.W. is the Brother mentioned in our note on Aitchison’s Haven at the beginning of this paper and whose grandson was in possession of the Minutes of 1598. It is to be hoped that some relative may read this and get in contact with the Grand Secretary when a little more might be learned about the whereabouts of these Minutes.
17th September 1902 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bro. Thomas Hannan of St. Luke affiliated to the Lodge, he was the Rector of the Episcopal Church in Musselburgh.
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The Tuscan is the first of the five Orders of
The 30th November as all of Scotland knows is our national day, but many do not realise that the Grand Lodge of Scotland recognise St. Andrew as the patron Saint of Scottish Freemasonry and not one of the St John’s as many would assume. Two tangible examples of this are: the annual installation of the Grand Master Mason happens around St. Andrews Day every year and secondly above the entrance to the Grand Lodge on George Street stands the statue of St Andrew. But who was St. Andrew? Michael T R B Turnbull, tells us the following about who he was in his work Saint Andrew: Myth, Legend and Reality:
Architecture. It is the most simple and solid of the five orders. It was invented in Tuscany, whence it derives its name. Its column is seven diameters high; and its capital, base and entablature have few mouldings. The simplicity of the construction of this column renders it eligible where ornament would be superfluous. Sir Henry Wotton in his Elements of Architecture describes it as “a plain, massive, rural pillar, resembling a sturdy well-limbed labourer, homely clad”.
“Saint Andrew (who is believed to have later preached around the shores of the Black Sea), was an agile and hardy Galilean fisherman whose name means Strong and who also had good social skills. He brought the first foreigners to meet Jesus and shamed a large crowd of people into sharing their food with the people beside them. Today we might describe him as the Patron Saint of Social Networking!
Tuscan
St. Andrew’s Day And some musings on its masonic connection.
Having Saint Andrew as Scotland's patron saint gave the country several advantages: because he was the brother of Saint Peter, founder of the Church, the Scots were able to appeal to the Pope in 1320 (The Declaration of Arbroath) for protection against the attempts of English kings to conquer the Scots. Traditionally, Scots also claimed that they were descended from the Scythians who lived on the shores of the Black Sea in what is now Romania and Bulgaria and were converted by Saint Andrew.
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In the fascinating legend of The Voyage of St. Rule from Greece to Scotland we can see the complicated spread of devotion to Saint Andrew - from Constantinople in modern Turkey, to St Andrews in Fife. St. Rule (Regulus in Latin) and the six nuns and monks who took the long sea-journey with him, stands for the missionaries and monasteries who worked
long and hard to bring the Good News to Britain. They lived in communities organised by a monastic Rule - hence the name St. Rule or Regulus.
historic Lodges taking their names – St. Andrew no 25 in St Andrews and St. Regulus no 77 in Cupar. Both Lodges are very well worthy of a visit not just for the warmth of the welcome but also to see the very many differences in the work from other Lodges in the Province. There are also very many other Lodges across the Scottish Craft that have taken on the name of our patron Saint.
As Scotland slowly became a nation it needed a national symbol to rally round and motivate the country. Saint Andrew was an inspired choice and the early Picts and Scots modelled themselves on Saint Andrew and on one of his strong supporters, the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, whose statue you can see today in York, where he visited his father, a Roman General then trying to force the Picts to go back north.”
But when we look at the network of St. Andrew Societies across the world, it would not be too far of a leap of the imagination to see a masonic guiding hand at work.
When we look at the oldest of these organisations we find that it is The St. Andrew’s Society of Charleston, South Carolina, which was founded in 1729. At a time when many Scots were making the life changing or lifesaving move due to the political situation at home to one of the new colonies in the new world We know that the first Freemason in America was a Scot from Aberdeen, John Skene was born in Newtyle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In 1659 he was admitted as a burgess in Aberdeen. He was a Quaker and he left Scotland and settled in West New Jersey where he purchased a 500-acre plantation which he called Peachfield. John Skene was a member of Aberdeen Lodge No. 1ter.
Both William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce appealed to Saint Andrew to guide them in times of national emergency. The Saltire was flown on Scottish ships and used as the logo of Scottish banks, on Scottish coins and seals and displayed at the funerals of Scottish kings and queens - that of King James VI for example and of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots. At the Union of the Crowns in 1603, London was treated to the spectacle of Saint Andrew and Saint George on horseback, shaking hands in friendship. When King George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822 he was presented with a Saltire Cross made of pearls on velvet, within a circle of gold.
There is also a wider dimension. Saint Andrew and his relics at St. Mary's Metropolitan Cathedral, Edinburgh provides Scots with a special link to Amalfi in Italy and Patras in Greece (where two Cathedrals named after the saint also hold his relics). The many St. Andrew Societies worldwide, set up originally as self-help organisations for Scots who had fallen on hard times, form a network of Scots who are all united under the Saltire Cross of Saint Andrew.
Within the Province of Fife and Kinross both St. Andrew and St. Rule are commemorated in our Province with two of its oldest and most
So could the founding members of the society in Charleston be Freemasons? Scottish Freemasons had been in the new world for some 70 years and masonry was rapidly spreading across the colonies and Charleston was a growing town of importance with many connections back to Scotland. When you read the purpose of the Society it certainly makes me think that the founders had a knowledge of our masonic tenets.
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The Purpose of The St. Andrews Society Of Charleston: “As the Principal Design of a Society is to promote some Public Good, by the joint endeavours of a Number of People, where particular Men are well disposed to do
Generous and Charitable Actions, but find it impractical to carry on the same to Advantage without the Assistance and Concurrence of others who are equally inclined to establish and support good Undertakings; and as Rules and Orders are absolutely necessary for establishing and continuing all Designs of this Nature; we therefore whose names are underwritten, being willing to contribute our Utmost towards so good a Work, have unanimously entered into a Society at CharlesTown in south Carolina the Thirtieth Day of November, in the year of our Lord 1730, have voted and agreed to the following Rules, for the better Management and Improvement of the same.
One of the other names that signed the original rules was Dr John Moultrie, the first of many of a famous South Carolina family who had emigrated from Culross within our Province. He had four sons all would distinguish themselves in the early life of America and probably the most famous being William who became a Major General during the American Revolution and a close acquaintance of Washington. He too was a Freemason.
The early history of Freemasonry in South Carolina also informs us that the first Scottish Lodge was Lodge St. Andrew No 1. The Charter being granted on the 15th March 1768 from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. There is so much more that can be said about Scottish masonic connections in the State of South Carolina, but that is best kept for another time.
Penned by the Founders in the preamble of The Society Rules. Who were the founders of the Society, or Club as it was first called on the original copy of the rules, which required that “every Member hereafter to be emitted shall immediately subscribe the Rules,” under the words “Original Members Present, 30th of November, 1730”? The first Office-bearers were: • A Skene - President • John Fraser - Vice President • James Crokatt -Treasurer - Solomons No1, 4th Master • James Graeme - Assistant - Solomons No1, 2nd Master • Walter Burn - Secretary
When you raise a toast of the on the 30th November, please pause and think back to those roots of why we commemorate St. Andrew today in the way we do. As I firmly believe that these can be credited to the influence of those St. Andrew Societies around the globe, those societies that claim their existence from the original St. Andrew’s Society in Charleston, South Carolina. An organisation full of Freemason’s and at least one from the Kingdom of Fife, an organisation that to this day commemorates Scotland’s Patron Saint, St.Andrew.
Solomon’s Lodge, No 1 of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of South Carolina was consecrated in 1735 and two of the first Office-bearers of the St Andrew’s Society were also founding members of this historic Lodge and indeed James Graeme served as the 2nd Master and James Crokatt served as the 4th Master of the Lodge.
Graeme was a prominent lawyer and later served as Chief Justice of the Province of South Carolina, Judge of the Court of Admiralty, and held a seat in his Majesty’s Council. So a very well connected brother.
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OFFICE BEARERS FOR 2021-22
Right Worshipful Master........................................................Bro. Tom Edgar Immediate Past Master.......................................................Bro. Brian Ritchie
Depute Master.........................................Bro. Allan E. Williams P.M. D.S.M.
Substitute Master.....................................................................Bro. Kris Edgar
Senior Warden..................................................................Bro. Jim Rutherford Junior Warden......................................................................Bro. Alistair Scott
Secretary.............................................Bro. Andrew M. Raeburn P.M. D.S.M.
Treasurer................................................Bro. Douglas W.M. Hoy P.M. D.S.M. Almoner....................................................................................................Vacant Chaplain....................................................................Bro. Gilbert Meikle P.M.
Senior Deacon......................................................................Bro. Harry Bryson Junior Deacon.....................................................................Bro. Derek Mather
Master of Ceremonies............................................................Bro. David Innes
Ast. Secretary...........................................................................................Vacant
Ast. Treasurer...........................................................................................Vacant 2nd Master of Ceremonies..........................................Bro. Alexander Brooks
Jeweller.................................................................................Bro. Kenneth Ross
Bible Bearer.......................................................................Bro. Brian Marwick Architect......................................................................................Bro. John Tod Sword Bearer......................................................................Bro. Graeme Innes
Director of Music......................................................Bro. Robert Ross D.S.M.
Organist..........................................................................Bro. Robert Law P.M. Marshall..................................................................................Bro. Stewart Lee Standard Bearer.................................................................................................. Inner Guard..................................................................Bro. Stuart McDonald
President of Stewards...........................................Bro. George Fraser D.S.M. Stewards: Bros: G. Neill, R. McCart,
Tyler.....................................................................................Bro. Robert Ritchie
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