Greystoke Lodge No 6146 in the Province of Middlesex being blessed with three initiates this year, with another four scheduled for February and at least another one later in the year, found themselves needing assistance. Bro. Steven Caskey, a Fellow Craft, was due to be invested as Inner Guard at the installation meeting in December and needed to be Raised.
W Bro Geoff Stuttaford, Lodge Secretary of Greystoke Lodge, who is also the Secretary of Sine Favore Lodge No 9856 in Metropolitan Grand Lodge, organised the Raising of Brother Steven in that Lodge. Sine Favore is semi-peripatetic, holding two meetings in London and two meetings in the Provinces, due to the membership having some connection to the Police Federation of England & Wales.
Sine Favore Lodge had no work scheduled for their November meeting so both Lodges agreed that Sine Favore would perform the Raising under the auspices of a Rule 173 Conferment of Degrees by request. The meeting was then held at Surbiton Masonic Hall in Surrey on 22nd November 2024 as the current Master was from Surrey. Quite a few Provinces were represented at the meeting and the subsequent white table festive board. This is because wives are invited to attend the white table as many have from distant parts of England with their freemason husbands.
Taking part in the ceremony were:
- Questions – W. Bro Harry Smith (WM) SLGR (London)
- Raising & Exhortation – W. Bro Geoff Stuttaford PPrGSwdB (Middx)
- Charge – W. Bro Chris Bond PSGD PAPrGM (Dorset)
- Traditional History – W. Bro Martyn Mordecai MetJGW, MAGI & SLGR (London)
- Working Tools – W. Bro Paul Starkey PPrDepGSwdB (Hampshire, Isle of Wight)
- Senior Deacon – W. Bro Dennis Hammond PPrJGD (Surrey) & PPrGSwdB (Middx) who was in a quandary about what tie and regalia to wear!
- Junior Deacon – W. Bro David Hammond PPrGSwdB (Middx)
- IG – Bro Andrew Evans (Surrey)
- Tyler – W. Bro Anthony Harper (Notts).
- DC – W. Bro Steven Blowes LGR (London) & PPrGStB (West Wales)
- ADC – W. Bro Sebastian Outfin (Surrey)
The ceremony went extremely well, considering there was no rehearsal, nor an LOI.
The upshot was that a Middlesex mason was raised in a London Lodge at a Surrey venue. You couldn’t make it up.
