It been a great year for the Brethren of Priory Gate Lodge and for members of the Surrey 1837 Club. Nine members, including our own Bro. Marcus O’Shea received the prestigious Master Mason’s Merit Award at this year’s Annual Meeting.
The recipients were:
| W Bro Jacob Billington | Croydon Lodge of Concord 463 |
| Bro. Mario Vincini | Corinthian 5482 |
| Bro. Victor Fakeye | Banstead 5032 |
| Bro. Paul Cooper | Purley 3136 |
| Bro. Nicholas Dyer | Old Strodian’s 7803 |
| Bro. Colin Mander | Royal Borough of Kingston 4614 |
| Bro. Stephen Nagy | Corinthian 5482 |
| Bro. Marcus O’Shea | Priory Gate 8202 |
| Bro. Ian Kelly | Frederick Wheeler 8037 |
The Master Mason’s Merit Award is the Provincial Grand Master’s personal recognition for a Master Mason who has shown exceptional service to his Lodge and Freemasonry. It is only awarded to ‘Light Blues’ before they reach the Chair. This year’s ceremony also included W.Bro Jake Billington, whose award could not be presented last year.
The award is aimed at recognising the efforts and achievements of a Mason during their first few years within the Craft who have not, at the time of the Provincial Meeting, progressed to the Chair of the Lodge.
The Honours & Awards Committee reviews nominations annually and following a careful selection process, which includes a candidate interview, then make a final recommendation to the PGM.
Despite the exceptional number of awards this year, which is a reflection of the number of worthy nominations, it is still a rare achievement. There are many Lodges who have never had a holder of the Award. Bro. Marcus’s very well deserved award is the second in the history of Priory Gate Lodge.
In addition to the Master Mason’s Merit Award, several other Priory Gate Brethren were promoted to new offices:
W.Bro. Brian Penfold became Provincial Senior Grand Warden.
W.Bro Colin Paice was promoted to Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon. Sadly the photographers didn’t get a picture of Colin’s investiture, so we have a recent photo of him with wife Kay at our recent Lodge Gala Night.
W.Bro Nick Tyrrell was made a Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies after his official duty as Provincial Grand Sword Bearer completed at the meeting.
The Lodge was also honoured by being invited to parade its banner at the meeting which was brilliantly performed by Bro. Steven Vise. It’s surprisingly difficult to negotiate your way up the stairs in Grand Temple when you have no idea of what’s going on in front of you! Great job Steve.
Below are a few photos of the day…
Bro. Marcus – 2nd Row R
Last official duty as Provincial Grand Sword Bearer
Article by Mario Vincini & Nick Tyrrell. Photos: Chris Eley, Jayce Peacock, Colin Pizey