Bushey Park Lodge No 2351 Ladies Festival 1954
If you look carefully at the top right corner of the photo you will see that one of the Brethren has photo bombed the group having their picture taken. Could this be the first photo bomb in the Province of Middlesex? This was taken at the Bushey Park Lodge No 2351 Ladies Festival in 1954 which was held at the Bush House Restaurant in the Aldwych close to Freemasons’ Hall
This photo and many other items of masonic interest were found, including Lodge Summonses from the 1950s, Year Books and Bylaws, which will now, hopefully, grace the Lodge Archive and be of interest to the Brethren who are members of Bushey Park Lodge today. They were discovered by Mr Peter White whose grandfather, Brother Basil Savage, was a member of Bushey Park Lodge and was initiated in the 1950s. Peter is not yet a Mason and it appears that his father was not enamoured of freemasonry and was not actively encouraged to become a member. Nevertheless, on finding his masonic trove he made contact with W. Bro Stan Marut PPrJGD SLGR, Provincial News Editor, who agreed to meet with him at Twickenham (TDMC) and after examining the contents of the “find” promised to ensure that Bushey Park Lodge would be given these documents which could be added to the Lodge Archive.
1954 was one year after post war rationing ended and it seems that those in the photo are enjoying themselves. The Ladies Festival menu was printed by Bro Basil Savage, who was a Printer, and he also took on quite a bit of masonic work by way of Summonses and Ladies Festival Menus. Other items of interest from the attic are shown below. Not only did he print for Bushey Park Lodge, he also did work for other Lodges and also for the Rotary.
Bushey Park Lodge Summons – Installation Meeting October 1953
Lodge Membership 1952 – Halcyon Days With Large Membership Lists.
It is interesting to note that the membership profile was diverse in relation to the places lived. Glancing at the membership list for 1952 you will see that a large majority of Brethren resided other than in Middlesex. It appears that some lived as far away as Budleigh Salterton, Devon, Bexhill on Sea, Worthing, Shoreham by Sea whilst others were a bit closer to home but still far enough away to make the journey to The Mitre, Hampton Court where Bushey Park Lodge held it meetings at that time. There is another story behind the naming of the Lodge and the Hampton Court/Bushey Park connection which will be explained in another article at a later date.
1953/54 Provincial Year Book Entry For Bushey Park Lodge
In a world where communication was mainly by post, this is the reply to the Secretary advising of attendance at the Lodge meeting. The membership list shows few Brethren with telephones at home. A relative luxury in those days, but with letter post almost guaranteed to arrive the next day this presented no difficulty. Indeed, many will remember a postal service when there were two deliveries each day.
Partial Family Tree of Bushey Park Lodge.
The 1930 Lodge Bylaws
Lodge Annual Subscription of £6 guineas (Six pounds and 6 shillings) for 1954/55
L to R: W. Bro Andrew Pettinger, Mr Peter White and W. Bro Alvah Clarke.
Fast Forward To November 2024
On Thursday 14th November Mr Peter White presented to representatives of Bushey Park Lodge the various documents which had been stashed in the attic. What was of special note was that Mr Peter White’s grandfather, Bro Basil Savage, would have known Andrew Pettinger’s father and grandfather as they were in the Lodge together way back in the 1950s. Wonderful serendipity.
Peter has expressed a desire of becoming a freemason and a member of Bushey Pak Lodge. Armed with the credentials presented there should be no obstacle.
Who Was Who
Referring back to the headline photo Peter White’s grandfather (Basil Savage), grandmother (Ada Savage) and mother (Doris Clarke) were all present at that 1954 Ladies night and are shown below.
