There are Lodge meetings… and then there are meetings that stay with you.
Saturday 11 April 2026 will surely fall into the latter category for the members of Ickenham Lodge No. 5770, when tradition, family and a touch of the extraordinary came together at Cole Court, Twickenham. In the Norman Moore Room, at the Lodge’s 344th regular meeting, those present witnessed something rather special, a father initiating his own son.
Ickenham Lodge, founded in 1938 and named after the once-rural village between Ruislip and Uxbridge, has always taken pride in welcoming new members. Yet this occasion carried a significance all of its own.
Worshipful Brother Roy Boyce, a Past Master and, by trade, a train driver, took a leading role in the ceremony, initiating his son Harry, aged 18.
For Roy, it was clearly a proud and personal milestone. For Harry, it was the natural next step in a journey that had, in many ways, begun years earlier.
“I was probably about 13 when I first started going along to Lodges of Instruction,” Harry recalls. “Dad would be practising just out of earshot, and I’d be nearby, taking it all in.”
As Roy’s main carer, Harry has long been at the heart of his father’s Masonic life. Familiar with the faces, the atmosphere, and, as he puts it, the mysterious contents of “a little book,” his curiosity about Freemasonry grew steadily over time.
Harry, who uses a wheelchair, approached the evening with interest rather than apprehension. The Lodge, for its part, ensured that everything was arranged with care, allowing the ceremony to proceed comfortably while preserving its traditions.
Asked what it was like to hear his father formally address him as “Mr Boyce,” Harry simply smiled: “It’s an experience!”
If there were any nerves, they didn’t show. “I knew it would be quite peculiar,” he said, “but nothing really worried me. Knowing everyone already made it much easier, I was quite at ease.”
Reflecting afterwards, Harry was characteristically understated: “I found it excellent, and quite liberating, actually.”
And for anyone wondering whether physical challenges might stand in the way of joining Freemasonry, his advice is refreshingly direct: “Just do it. Don’t wait to be asked.”
Roy, meanwhile, was keen to dispel any notion that accommodating Harry’s needs was complicated. “It was actually quite straightforward,” he said. “As his father, I know what works, and from there it’s simply a matter of making things inclusive.”
One unexpected moment for Harry? Just how closely he found himself following his father throughout the ceremony. “A lot more than usual!” he laughed.
The evening also marked Harry’s immediate introduction to the charitable side of Masonry. Observant brethren noted he was already wearing the Middlesex 2031 Festival Jewel, no small feat, given the Festival had only begun eleven days earlier.
Harry’s explanation was delivered with a grin: “Dad’s the Charity Steward… so I was signed up pretty quickly!”
Roy also expressed his sincere thanks to the Officers and members of Ickenham Lodge for their support in making the evening such a success.
At just 18 years and 5 months, Harry may be among the youngest Freemasons in the Province, though records may yet be consulted on that point. What is beyond doubt, however, is the significance of the occasion.
It was more than an Initiation.
It was a father welcoming his son, not just into a Lodge, but into a shared journey that, for both of them, has only just begun.
Bro Harry BOYCE; W Bro Roy BOYCE;
W Bro Lou APCEVSKI.
