Masons of an older generation will cherish the memory of halcyon days of a British Motorcycle industry and terms such as “ton up kid” when reaching a hundred miles an hour on your motorbike was a goal to be aimed for. Whether legally or illegally is another matter. You may recall the 59 Club formed in 1959 a motorbike club which is still in existence today – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/59_Club
Today the scene has changed, and a new generation of bikers has taken to the streets and new, faster and “zappier” machines have replaced the old Sunbeam 500s, the BSAs, Ariel, Matchless and AJS to name a few. Some of latter-day bikers are freemasons who combine the pleasures of being “riders” with their freemasonry. So much so that there are many who are members of a masonic motorcycle fraternity who are aptly named WIDOWS SONS (WS). The aims of the WS are oriented towards charity and the masonic bikers will belong to a Chapter based around the country. Middlesex Craft province has its very own Widow’s Son. In the person of W. Bro Martin Ward PPrGSwdB (Surrey) and is a member of Middlesex Masters (Uxbridge) Lodge No 9292. He has a further connection with the Mark degree in Middlesex where he is a member of Hillingdon Heath Lodge of Mark Master Masons No 1196, Middlesex Installed Mark Master Lodge No 1218 where he holds the rank of Past Provincial Grand Junior Overseer (PPrGJO). Additionally, Mark is a member of Hillingdon Heath Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners No 1196 and also Middlesex Installed Commanders Lodge No 1218. There is a strong Middlesex connection.
The essential ethos of the Widows Sons is charity and Martin’s Chapter of Widows Sons embraces freemasons from Middlesex and Berkshire. To become a full member there is a requirement that you must be a member of a Craft Lodge and be in good standing as a prerequisite, but many are also members of other Masonic Orders including the Royal Arch, Mark and RAM as we have noted above and Knights Templar and the Order of Athelstan amongst many others. Indeed, Martin notes that with over 1000 members countrywide they are bound to have a Widow’s Son in every Order.
CHARITY
The Widows Sons charitable work crosses Order boundaries. All members are Masons. Part of this work has been in support of the Lifelites Charity which the Province of Middlesex has been heavily involved with. The WS pledged to give Lifelites £20k over a four period. It might seem that this would be a difficult achievement, but they managed to raise the money in half that time. Buoyed by their success, the Widows Sons announced they would continue to fundraise for the assistive technology and support services that Lifelites provides free to almost 60 palliative care partners across Britain and Ireland. Readers are invited to click the link below and see more of this exceptional story of what can be achieved.
https://www.lifelites.org/news/platinum-partner-the-widows-sons-support-lifelites/
W. Bro Martin would like to recruit more Middlesex Masons who are bikers to join the Association. There are some minimum bike requirements so as to allow all bikes, especially on longer rides to keep together. This means that a 400cc engine size is a good starting point. The Middlesex and Berkshire Chapter of the WS has freemason biker members who ride Triumphs, Harley Davidson and Kawasaki. For more information on how you might join the Widows Sons then please email W. Bro Martin Ward email him on: wardmw@gmail.com
See also: https://wsmba.uk/
