White Rose - Masonic Province of Yorkshire, West Riding

NEW ADMISSION TO
UNIVERSITIES SCHEME
The Assistant Grand Master and president
of the Universities Scheme, R W Bro
Williamson has been pleased to approve
the admission of The Lodge of Connaught &
Truth No 521, Huddersfi eld as a member of
the Scheme.
The letter of acceptance was read out by
the Provincial Grand Master, R W Bro John
K Clayton at the festive board following the
meeting of the Lodge in March this year.
Apollo University Lodge was founded
at Oxford in 1819, whilst the Isaac Newton
University Lodge at Cambridge was formed
in 1861. Since then many thousands of young
men have been introduced to Freemasonry
through these two Lodges and they provided
the inspiration for the Universities Scheme.
The Scheme was set up at the beginning of
2005 with the objective: ‘To establish and/or
enhance arrangements and opportunities
for undergraduates and other university
members to enjoy Freemasonry’.
The Lodge of Connaught and Truth is the
56th Lodge to be admitted to the Scheme
in England and Wales. The membership of
Scheme Lodges consists of undergraduates,
postgraduates, members of the faculty and
alumni, ranging in age from 18 upwards. All
under 25’s benefi t from the recent decision
by Grand Lodge to halve their dues in order
to make Freemasonry as accessible to as
wide an audience as possible.
This now brings the number of Lodges
in the Scheme to four in the Province of
Yorkshire West Riding. The others are Lodge
of Hope No 302 in Bradford, University Lodge
Sheffi eld No 3911 and Aurora Lodge No
4047 in Leeds. With the addition of the Lodge
of Connaught and Truth, all the towns and
cities in the Province that have a university
now have a Lodge that is part of the Scheme.
Commenting on the latest addition to the
Scheme within the Province, the Provincial
Grand Master, R W Bro John K Clayton
said, “I am absolutely delighted that the
Lodge of Connaught and Truth has been
admitted into the Universities Scheme. The
Scheme has created a strategic opportunity
for the future of Freemasonry by admitting
students into our Order at an early age.
With Scheme Lodges in Sheffi eld, Leeds,
Bradford and now Huddersfi eld, we are
strongly placed in our Province to take full
advantage of the benefi ts of participating in
the Universities Scheme”.
On receiving the good news, Dr Craig
Johnson, Master of the Lodge said, “Our
Lodge is honoured to be part of the
Universities Scheme. The Brethren of the
Lodge of Connaught and Truth look forward
to playing a full and active role in this
important initiative”.
The Lodge already has a number of
alumni of the University of Huddersfi eld as
members. This includes Dr Johnson MA,
DMS; Malcolm Peace BEng; Simon Ackroyd
BMus, PGCE; Paul Moorhouse BA (English)
and Simon Jones BA (Marketing).
The Lodge has a rich history, dating back
to 1845. It is unique in the Province for
Initiating a Brother who went on to become
a Grand Master.
The Marquess of Ripon was Grand Master
between the years of 1870-74 and was the
third Grand Master after the union between
the Antients and the Moderns. George
Frederick Samuel Robinson was initiated in
1852 into the Lodge of Truth, shortly before
being elected MP for Huddersfi eld. Lord
Ripon had a distinguished public career,
much of it concerned with education. Along
with his friend and colleague William Forster
he championed the Elementary Education
Act of 1870. This was the fi rst step towards
universal education. Ripon was an active
member of the Huddersfi eld Mechanics’
Institution which was a forerunner of the
University of Huddersfi eld. In his later life
he was appointed as the fi rst Chancellor of
Leeds University (1904-1909) at the start of
the expansion of higher education with the
so-called ‘red brick’ universities.
In order to be admitted to the Scheme
the Lodge of Connaught and Truth were
required to meet eight criteria set by Grand
Lodge. These were assessed at a meeting
with the Lodge in February this year that
included V W Bro Bruce Clitherow, the
scheme’s coordinator for the Universities
Scheme in Yorkshire; W Bro John Gledhill,
Assistant PGM for Area 2 and W Bro David
Pratt, Assistant PGM responsible for the
Universities Scheme in the Province. R W
Bro Williamson explained he had been
impressed by the Lodge’s preparatory work
The Lodge has already Initiated,
Passed and Raised a PhD candidate at
the University of Huddersfi eld, Elefteris
Papadimitrioi. Bro Papadimitrioi is a
composer of contemporary music and
has since returned to Greece. He hopes
to submit his thesis in the next couple of
months.
The February meeting was also a
milestone for the Lodge as it Initiated its
fi rst undergraduate; Daniel Roberts is a fi nal
year music student (BMus) at the University
of Huddersfi eld. Other students are already
in the pipeline to join.
W Bro Pratt has set up a working party of
Scheme Lodges within the Province so they
can exchange good practice and establish
consistency across Scheme Lodges, where
this is required. With the support of the
Rulers of the Province of Yorkshire, North
and East Riding, this working party has been
extended to include the two universities
outside the Province of Yorkshire, West
Riding. These are Alcuin Lodge No 6300,
York and Hull Old Grammarians Lodge
No 5129, Hull. W Bro Pratt commented,
“Both Yorkshire Provinces are proudly
independent however we work together
regularly to optimise the use of resources
and maximise the impact. The Universities
Scheme is another excellent example of the
Yorkshire Masonic Family at work within our
communities”.
Picture: Bro Daniel Roberts is pictured with
W Bro Dr Craig Johnson, Master
SHOOTING IN THE PROVINCE...WELL ON TARGET
The annual Inter-Provincial Clay Pigeon Shoot for the Watson-
Eden Trophy was hosted by the Province of Yorkshire, West
Riding at Knaresborough and District Gun Club in October of
last year. A fi ne autumn day saw teams from the Provinces of
West Lancashire; Cumberland and Westmorland; Yorkshire,
North and East Riding and Yorkshire, West Riding taking part,
with a good turn out of guns from our Province.
Martin W Stray, Assistant Provincial Grand Master presented
the trophies at the ensuing lunch at the Masonic Hall, Harrogate.
Taking fi rst place was West Lancashire, with Yorkshire, West
Riding claiming a credible second place. The winner of the
Lawson Trophy and our Province’s high gun was Nigel Hirst of
the Lodge of Charity No 4105.
Alongside the sporting challenge of the day the teams also
raised a comely sum of money for charity.
This year’s competition will be hosted by the Province of
West Lancashire on the fi rst weekend of October. It is hoped to
have a number of practice shoots during 2013.
Any Brother who is interested in joining the Association
should contact William Watson; tel. 01423 862202 or e-mail
william@watdoc.co.uk. Information can also be found on the
Provincial web site.
8 White Rose Masonic News Spring 2013