TAMWORTH

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CYPRUS and Rt. W. Bro Field Marshall Earl Lord Kitchener and Lord Kitchener Lodge No 3402
Cyprus was a fitting place for Lord Kitchener Lodge to come in 1955.
In 1878 the then Lt. Kitchener of the Royal Engineers – Age 28 [following previous trigonometrical survey
work in Palestine] came to Cyprus to undertake the First Triangulation Survey and Mapping of Cyprus, which
work Lt Kitchener started in 1878 and completed in 1883 when he left the Island as a Captain. Lt. Kitchener as
he was then shared lodgings in Nicosia with Lord John Kennedy another Subaltern in the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
Lt. Kitchener acquired a passion for racing and purchased an Arab mare called “Kathleen” with which he was
very successful, winning the Nicosia Steeplechase Cup in 1882.
He also took up Game Shooting, though it appears did not regard himself as a very good shot, which could
explain why he called his 3 Gun Dogs Bang Miss and Damn!
The final Survey of the Mapping of Cyprus was published in 1882 with acknowledgement to and under the
Direction of Captain H.H. Kitchener R.E. Director of Survey.
A fitting ‘home coming’ then in 1955 for Lord Kitchener Lodge On 10 th December 1955 the 1 st
in Cyprus was held at Jerusalem Street in Limassol the premises of Zenon Lodge.
Lodge Meeting
A new Lodge Room was built at Polemidhia Camp and after a meeting first held at the Berengaria V Village
School on 30 th March 1957 the first of many meetings was held at the Polemidhia “Hut” Which continued until
late 1962.
In Jan 1963 Lord Kitchener Lodge No 3402, finally moved to Dhekelia Garrison near Larnaca (some 60 miles
away) where the Lodge still meets and is flourishing today and preserving its Military “traditions”.
Current Membership is over 150 with more than 60 Resident Members Meetings are held every 4 th Wednesday
of the Month during January to June and September to November (inclusive) and welcome’s all visiting
Brethren.
Lord Kitchener Lodge is one of 10 Lodges in the English Constitution who currently meet in Cyprus under the
auspices of the District of Cyprus and the United Grand Lodge of England
Unlike many Lodges in Egypt, who lost most of their records – regalia and mementoes, following sequestration
action by the Egyptian Government after the Suez Canal crisis and the banning of Lodge Meetings – Lord
Kitchener Lodge is fortunate to have all its records intact. Even the original door and lodge knocker from the
Lodge in Moa scar was brought to Cyprus. Unfortunately, the lodge door is no more, but the lodge knocker is
still there today.
The Lodge is now looking forward to its Centenary on 17 th November 2009 W. Bro. Peter J. Van de Pol
PdistGSuptWks
Secretary – Lord Kitchener Lodge No 3402 E.C.
14 th February 2005
Information about Dhekelia;
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas
comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base
Areas of the United Kingdom. The bases were retained by the British, under the 1960 treaty of
independence, agreed and signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek
and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus.
The bases are split into Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι, IPA: akro ˈtiri]; Turkish: Ağrotur) which, along with
Episkopi Garrison, comprises an area known as the Western Sovereign Base Area or WSBA)
and Dhekelia (Greek: Δεκέλεια, IPA: e ˈke ʎa]; Turkish: Dikelya) which, along with Ayios Nikolaos,
comprises the Eastern Sovereign Base Area or ESBA.