Eureka Lodge No. 3763 having been consecrated on 18 February 1916, held at the Litherland Masonic Hall, by dispensation, an extra special meeting in the lodge’s history, that being its centenary meeting, 100 years to the day of its consecration.
In the lodge room, full with the brethren and the many guests for the evening, the WM Don Fraser opened the lodge and requested the secretary Iain Beckett to read out the special dispensation as the first order of business.
The lodge members and their visitors were then most pleased to receive an expected knock on the door from the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Keith Kemp, announcing that the Provincial Grand Master Tony Harrison was without and demanded admission.
The lodge room rose and were immensely pleased to receive Tony who was accompanied by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Philip Gunning, the Assistant Provincial Grand Masters Derek Parkinson and Tony Bent, accompanied by Ian Gee the Bootle Group Chairman and the grand officers, along with his Provincial team entering the temple in a magnificent, colourful procession.
Keith introduced Tony to Don and acceded to Don’s request to accept the gavel of the lodge and he took his place in the chair of King Solomon.
Tony then appointed his Provincial team in readiness to open Provincial Grand Lodge. For that purpose, Philip Gunning was requested to assist in continuing in the role of Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Derek Parkinson was requested to assist by continuing in the role of Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Michael Threlfall continued in the position of Provincial Senior Grand Warden and Peter Schofield as Provincial Junior Grand Warden, Rev Canon Godfrey Hirst as the Provincial Grand Chaplain, Peter Taylor as Provincial Grand Secretary, Keith Kemp as Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, Gordon Ivett as Provincial Grand Tyler, along with other acting officers David Thomas (Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies), William Kilmurry (Provincial Senior Grand Deacon), Edward Harrison (Provincial Junior Grand Deacon), John Houlding and Stephen Lyon (Provincial Grand Standard Bearers), Arend van Duyvenbode as acting Provincial Grand Sword Bearer, Peter Maxwell (Provincial Grand Pursuivant), Stephen Derringer (Provincial Grand Organist), all in their respective positions for the purposes of the centenary ceremony.
Tony opened Provincial Grand Lodge and called upon the Provincial Grand Secretary Peter Taylor to read out the centenary warrant to the brethren. After which a blue bow was tied around the rolled certificate before Tony presented the warrant to Don. Tony then presented and placed the centenary jewel on Don, with the brethren of Eureka Lodge then being told that they could now show their centenary jewels.
Tony then called upon the Provincial Grand Chaplain Godfrey Hirst to give an oration to the lodge. Godfrey started his oration by a reference to the lodge’s name ‘Eureka’, reminiscing to science lessons when being told that the exclamation ‘Eureka!’ is famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes reportedly proclaiming ‘Eureka! Eureka!’ after he had stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose whereupon he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. Godfrey mentioned that the founding brethren of the lodge must have also cried ‘Eureka!’ when they formed the lodge in 1916. With brief exhorts from the lodges history and the connections to the lodge’s name, in 1941 the secretary and treasurer even named their homes Eureka, Godfrey then went on to give a detailed explanation of the lodges banner, with the image of Archimedes between the two pillars from its dedication to the lodge in 1931.
Once Godfrey had finished his oration, he gave a prayer, before all the brethren sang the national anthem. Tony then closed Provincial Grand Lodge, handing the gavel back to Don, who said: ‘It was an honour and a privilege to see the Provincial team conducting the ceremony this evening.’ Don also said: ‘It was a privilege to hear the oration by Godfrey.’ The Provincial officers where then replaced with the officers of the lodge with Don commenting that: ‘Normal service will now be resumed.’
Don then called upon and asked Ron Lofthouse and Shaun Lavery of Eureka Lodge to deliver a reading of the lodge’s history. Ron gave the first part of the history starting from when Eureka Lodge was consecrated on 18 February 1916 at the Bootle Town Hall by the Deputy Provincial Grand Master Louis S Winslow, with Mark Wilkinson being installed as the first WM.
Stating the reasons given to form this new lodge were that three lodges at Bootle are getting unwieldy on account of the large membership particularly Bootle Lodge No 1473 and there has been no new lodge stationed in Bootle for over a period of 21 years in which time the population has nearly doubled.
The lodge meetings held in Merton Hall, Merton Road apart from the installation which was always held in Bootle Town Hall. Numerous candidates were admitted, always in two’s, but with dispensation up to four. The lodge flourished and although the war was still in progress there seem to be no problem in attracting candidates. During the early years the working of a number of degrees on the same night, often conducted by the WM occurred, even being a first and second degree on the same night with multiple candidates. Every meeting from the beginning of the lodge’s history had a degree worked, until February 1929 when no degree was performed.
The lodge moved after the installation in September 1930 to the Masonic Hall in Balliol Road, the Bootle Group’s former home. One thing that had been missing from the lodge was a banner, so on 23 January 1931 a banner for the lodge was donated by J V Thompson Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer and J H Howard.
Ron continued with the history until the 1940s when he handed over for the second part of the history which was taken over by Shaun.
Shaun continued to inform the brethren, mentioning that in February 1959 the lodge held its 300th meeting, with a double second degree being held on that night.
The current secretary’s father Gordon Beckett was installed in September of that year and with Iain himself being initiated in January 1976 by his father and was subsequently installed as junior warden, senior warden and into the chair by his father, a unique occurrence.
Also of note, Les Lownds proposed and initiated in November 1959, left a legacy to the lodge to be used for the centenary celebrations.
The 50th anniversary of the lodge was held in 1966 when Geoffrey Carr was initiated.
Arrend Van Duyvenbode Snr was installed in the chair in September 1989 and a team from Holland gave a demonstration of the first degree in October of that year according to the Dutch ritual.
A story from the lodge’s history which occurred in Balliol Road, on one occasion the acting senior deacon Fred Glover was introducing the candidate to the senior warden when he came to that part of the ceremony, which mentioned, ‘By an ear of corn near to a fall of water’, the ceiling above them decided to give way to the weight of water above their heads, the candidate thought it was all part of the ceremony and was not impressed.
Due to the compulsory purchase of Balliol Road hall, the lodge moved to its current home in Litherland in September 2007.
Arend van Duvyenbode Provincial Deputy Grand Secretary was promoted to Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in April 2012. Meaning the lodge now has two Grand Lodge officers. Due to his service over the years to the Province of the Isle of Man, Fred Wright was made a Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden in that Province. A further promotion was awarded to Fred in April 2013 when he was promoted to Past Junior Grand Deacon together with a promotion in Provincial Royal Arch.
Both Ron Lofthouse and Shaun Lavery delivered their readings in a clear and concise manner, keeping the brethren enthralled with the lodge’s history. Don thanked Ron and Shaun for their readings and also gave special thanks to Stan Edwards for his hard work in compiling the lodge’s history for the evening.
Don then presented Tony with the Cheques for various charities, with total amount totalling £3,763, as it was the centenary the lodge wanted donate the same amount as the lodge number. Tony then read out the donations with the money going to; West Lancashire Freemasons’ Charity £282.30, The Linda McCartney Centre (Breast Cancer) £232.30, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital £232.30, Myaware (Myasthenia Gravis Association) £232.30,Merseyside Society for Deaf People £232.30,Head and Neck Cancer £232.30,Bootle YMCA £232.30, Alzheimer’s Society £232.30, Woodlands Hospice £232.30, Claire House £232.30 and theLitherland Masonic Hall £1,390.
Tony thanked the lodge members on behalf of all those who would eventually benefit by such kind generosity with the donations to the charities and was equally pleased to see the same generosity given towards the Litherland Masonic Hall.
Keith Kemp then commandeered the proceedings with excellent precision and the Provincial team exited in the same inimitable, magnificent colourful procession. The lodge having closed, the celebrations were continued at the festive board and there was an exceptional event of joviality and concord.
Tony in his response to the toast to his health congratulated the lodge members and commented in saying he was delighted to attend as principal guest this evening and with being accompanied by Philip, Derek and Tony for this special evening in your good company and amongst friends.
Eureka is a cry of joy and satisfaction, Litherland is part of Bootle, Bootle has its own motto: ‘respice, aspice, prospice’ which translates into ‘look to the past, the present, the future’, which the founders achieved when they founded the lodge. Tony gave congratulations to all the brethren of Eureka Lodge for the wonderful evening, congratulations were also given to all the brethren who have recently received letters informing them of their appointment and promotion in Provincial Grand Lodge.
Tony again said he was delighted at the amount the lodge members had donated to the various charities and towards Litherland Masonic Hall. Giving special thanks to Freddie Wright and Arend van Duyvenbode for the many hours they have given to the our Province, but others further afield saying: ‘Freddie you’re a legend’. Tony thanked Arend for the amount of time he has devoted to Masonry, saying he hopes he enjoys his retirement from the role and continues to enjoy his Freemasonry in the future.
Tony also mentioned John Moore saying he has learnt a lot over the years from him and the Bootle Group are honoured to have him as a member.
Tony concluded his response by informing the brethren about 2017, the 300 anniversary of Masonry in Lancashire asking all the brethren to help support the celebrations and events that are going to happen in 2017. Hoping to see an increase in the number of the brethren joining Masonry, stating we are quite fortunate at the moment as we are seeing an increase in joining members.
Derek Parkinson then proposed a toast to the brethren of Eureka Lodge, starting the toast with the information of the period of when the lodge was formed, when Britain declared war on 4 August 1914 and with English Freemasonry facing unprecedented circumstances. Freemasonry was, and remains non-political, but during this period the United Grand Lodge of England, the governing body for Freemasonry in England, Wales and across much of the British Empire, had to deal with the impact of global war.
Eureka Lodge was created, formed and consecrated during the dark days of the First World War, and much credit is due to the founders who persevered in its formation, in spite of innumerable difficulties. There were other difficult times to follow but due to the tenacity and fortitude of its members over the years the lodge continued and in fact increased popularity and membership when other lodges were struggling.
On such an occasion as this centenary meeting it is important to emphasise the importance of the efforts and work put in by our forebears and those who are members of the lodge to look forward to the future with a similar positive frame of mind, to rededicate yourselves to those Masonic principals which are so close to our hearts and to ensure that those who follow will be encouraged to celebrate not only the 150th but also the bi-centenary of the lodge, Derek said: ‘To which of course, I and my immediate colleagues around the table would be delighted to receive an invitation.’
Derek finished the toast by saying: ‘The future begins today WM and we are certain that under you leadership Eureka Lodge will continue to be a leading light in Freemasonry in the Province of West Lancashire and that with the guidance and support of your past masters and brethren the lodge will continue to serve not only Freemasonry in this area but the wider community.’
Don responded on behalf of the lodge and the brethren for the toast, saying: ‘It is a privilege standing here today and hope the lodge will continue to go from strength to strength, it’s been a tremendous night.’ Don gave thanks to Gary Adamson the lodge treasurer, who had organised the centenary and presented a gift to him from the lodge members for his hard work. Thanks were also given Iain Beckett and Howard Jones.
Don mentioned that Jeff Carr’s golden anniversary should have been held on this evening and that he generously moved the celebration to next month.
As it was a special occasion a fruit cake with the lodge name was made to commemorate the event by Cathy Bousfield, the wife of the lodge DC Stephen. It was brought to the top table with four candles on, which Don blew out before cutting, this was later distributed amongst all the brethren and guests.
As a treat for the guests the members of Eureka Lodge sang the visitors song, with Michael Threlfall responding on behalf of the guests, commented that he will tell his wife that he sitting next to and was sung to by John Lennon, John is the current senior warden of Eureka Lodge.
A raffle was held on the night, raising £455, which will be given to the Litherland Masonic Hall. With the evening being drawn to a close, Don on behalf of the lodge members presented Tony with a special bottle of single malt whisky to commemorate the evening, also presenting flowers to be given to his wife Maureen on behalf of the lodge members.
The evening finished with the Provincial team leaving, after an enjoyable evening with much celebration in good company and jovial fun.