Ed shares this latest news on behalf of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Freemasons. Ed
More than a thousand Freemasons from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight packed Southampton’s Guildhall for the AGM and to hand over a special Tercentenary banner.
The banner marks the 300th year of the creation of the first Grand Lodge in London and it was paraded around the building by Freemasons in full regalia.
It is touring all the Masonic Provinces in the south west during 2017, the others being Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
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The Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Mike Wilks, officially handed the banner to Philip Bullock, the Provincial Grand Master for Wiltshire.
The meeting was also attended by the Pro Grand Master, Peter Lowndes, who in English Freemasonry is second only to the Grand Master, the Duke of Kent.
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During proceedings, 400 Freemasons received honours or promotions, and afterwards more than 500 dined at the Novotel.
Mike Wilks said:
“This is a very special year for Freemasons across the world who celebrate the Tercentenary of our Grand Lodge. Our AGM during this Tercentenary year was always going to be special.
“As well as having the Pro Grand Master with us we were able to publicly parade the Tercentenary banner before the meeting. We are a very open organisation and have embraced social media to promote ourselves and what we do.
“Our province – which includes Bournemouth and Christchurch – is the largest in the country in terms of number of members and it’s wonderful to be able to fill the Southampton Guildhall.”
