Good Times Bad Times 3

1950

The Installation Meeting was attended by Right Worshipful Bro Archdeacon F. F. Johnston, District Grand Master and his District Grand Lodge Officers. The address to the Master was given by T. C. Jennings, the Wardens by P. H. Henderson and to the Brethren by the District Grand Master.

An application was received from Mr G. T. Hudson, son of Bro. George Hudson. It was unanimously decided to carry forward balloting to the next permanent committee meeting. There is no record of the outcome and Mr Hudson does not seem to have become a member.

At the January meeting, it was proposed that mementos be purchased and presented to W. Bros. P. H. Henderson and J. E. M. Brunskill to mark their 25 and 21 years respectively as Past Masters of the Lodge.

At the May meeting, the Initiate, Mr D. A. Steffell, was unable to attend having been suddenly recalled to England. W. Bro. F. D. Stevenson Drane stepped in and gave an explanation of the First Degree tracing Board. The Initiate for the meeting on 2nd December, Mr. H. W. Pinchbeck, also sent a telegram stating that he was unable to make the trip from Ras Gharib to Cairo. Both candidates were Initiated later.

W. Bro. D. W. Gee, although not a subscribing member in 1950, presented the Lodge with a new die for its colour crest, the old one having become badly worn.

Two Emergency Meetings were held on 14th March and 13th April due to a backlog of candidates. Happy days! In 1950, Bro. J. R. D. Goadsby, although unable to attend meetings in Egypt, wrote a Memorial of the year 1923, when he was Initiated, which the Lodge had printed in full colour by Amalgamated Press, Cairo. This was sold to the Brethren for “whatever amount they cared to give” and the proceeds given to the Masonic Institutions:

1951

The minutes of the meeting held on 2nd February refer to a “letter from Bro. Ellis Thomas enclosing his dues”. There is no other record of this Brother, nor does he appear as a contributing member on the summonses dating back to 1949, which is all we have.

It was not now always customary to dine after every meeting. The Summons stated whether or not there would be “supper” and meetings still tended to be long, often opening at 5.30 p.m. and closing at 9 p.m. Up until this time, the dress code on the summons has referred to “Ordinary”, “Evening” or “Dinner Jacket”. The summons for 2nd June and several after it refer to “Masonic Summer Dress”. There is no indication of what this is. At the November meeting, the Worshipful Master “referred to the passing away of a past member of the Lodge, Bro. J Phillips”. It is possible this refers to W. Bro. J. Philip who Joined in 1904 and was Worshipful Master of Bulwer Lodge of Cairo in 1909.

1952

The meetings of 2nd February, 1st March and 5th April were “deferred owing to unsettled conditions”. It should also be noted that meeting times became much earlier due to the unrest in Egypt and the risks of being out at night. The Cairo Ma sonic Centre had to be closed by 8.00 p.m. The District Grand Secretary also wrote to all Lodges regarding the safekeeping of Warrants and all records during this time.

At 31st December 1952, the Lodge had 71 members, of which 52 were Country Members. The Installation Meeting was attended by W. Bro F. Stevenson Drane, Assistant District Grand Master on behalf of the District Grand Master. The ad dress to the Master was given by A. R. Godwin, to the Wardens by P. H. Henderson and to the Brethren by the Assistant Dis trict Grand Master.

1953

The Lodge was honoured by a surprise visit from the District Grand Master for Egypt and the Sudan at the meeting on 3rd October 1953, as he was then domiciled in Cairo.

Membership at 31st December was 75, of whom 55 were Country Members. At that time, there were 21 Country Members and 3 resident Members who were one year in arrears, ten Country Members and one resident Member two years in arrears and three Country Members to be automatically excluded, being 3 years in arrears.

It is also interesting to note that a Minute appears implying a Lodge tradition that the Junior Warden be elected “Lodge Steward for Masonic Institutions” - i.e. Charity Steward. A monthly Newsletter was also produced at this time written, in turn, by the Officers of the Lodge. This appeared to run for about three years, although only very few issues have survived.

1954

A letter was received from W. Bro. Percy Henderson. He wrote: “Saturday sees another Bulwer Installation. It will, I be lieve be the first I have missed since 1917. I shall be with you in spirit and at ten p.m. I shall raise a glass in silence to Absent Brethren. As I write these lines, the memory almost brings my heart to bursting point. Our ranks are thinning, but the Bulwer quality remains unimpaired. In union and loyalty to the Lodge there is a power of strength which far outweighs mere num bers.”

During 1954, attendance dropped off, presumably due to the increasingly difficult situation in Egypt. For example, at the October meeting only seven members and one visitor are recorded.

There being no candidates during 1954, the March meeting was occupied by an Explanation of the First Tracing Board by W Bro F. D. Stevenson Drane, Assistant District Grand Master. At the May meeting, “A Third Degree was practised” by the “younger members”. At the December meeting “A First Degree was practised”. At the other meetings, only the routine busi ness of the Lodge was carried out.

No vote was taken for Tyler following the departure of Cyril Bayles and no name appears on the summonses for 1954. It seems that no-one was appointed as District Grand Tyler in 1954. At the February, March & October meetings F D Steven son Drane acted as Tyler. All other meetings either do not show a Tyler or just “DG Tyler”. However, it can be assumed that A R Godwin acted as Tyler at the Installation Meeting as he proposed the Tyler’s Toast.

1955

For the benefit of those who know Cairo, it is worth recording the following comment from the newsletter written by Bro. H. Gaspard, Junior Warden, in May.

“Many who have been absent from Cairo for 12 months or more would be little short of astonished by the tremendous changes which have taken place; practically all the footpaths in the centre of the city have been relaid with yellow and red tiles; trams no longer run in Sharia Foud el Awalwhic which has been very artistically and efficiently converted into a dual carriage-way thoroughfare with trees planted in the dividing pedestrian island and which now continues right through Ezbekiah Gardens. The Maspero Corniche is also free from tramcars and has been completely redesigned, again into a dual carriage-wayand has been extended right along the bank of the Nile, past the Semiramis Hotel, the back of the British Embassy (the garden no longer reaches to the bank of the Nile) and Kasr el Aini Hospital until it joins up with the old road from Cairo to Maadi. Consequent upon many of the improvements which have taken place in redesigning the city, traffic regulations have been changed and unless one is familiar with the rather intricate system of one-way streets, driving a car from one point to another in the centre of town is quite a problem. Indeed, I venture to think that any Brother who left Cairo more than a year ago would find himself in considerable difficulty if he wished to drive from, shall we say, Opera Square to the Masonic Hall.”

For those who do not know Cairo, many of the old landmarks mentioned have been pulled down. The traffic is ap palling and Maadi, once a separate town some 20 kms. north of the city is now an affluent suburb. Interestingly, at the December meeting, it was decided due to a shortage of Brethren not to ballot for the Master and Treasurer. The vote was taken by a show of hands.

1956

The Summons for 2nd June 1956 shows H F Dutton as Tyler, it having been stated at the December 1955 meeting that it was hoped to appoint him as DG Tyler in 1956. Bro. Dutton was indeed appointed as District Grand Tyler and, being the resident caretaker at Freemasons’ Hall, Cairo, at the time of the Suez Crisis, did his utmost to save what Masonic property he could. He was given a vote of thanks, proposed by W. Bro.. F. D. Stevenson Drane in his capacity as Past Assistant District Grand Master when he attended the meeting on 13th January 1966 in LondoN.

During 1956, the Lodge met at Freemasons’ Hall, Cairo, on 7th January 1956, (Installation), 5th May, & 2nd June. The February, March and April meetings were not held, presumably due to the deteriorating situation in Egypt, and the June minutes were never confirmed by the Worshipful Master.

The October, November and December meetings were not held as they were after the “Suez Crisis”. Indeed, the attendance book for 3rd November says “Meeting not held due to political situation. Masonic Hall under sequestration.” It would appear that the Lodge Regalia, sequestered by the Egyptian government was, by this time, in a state of disrepair as a Brother had been asked to look into getting it refurbished or replaced while he was in London.

The Installation Meeting was attended by Right Worshipful Bro Archdeacon F. F. Johnston, C.B.E., District Grand Master and his District Grand Lodge Officers. The address to the Master was given by H. O. Powell, to the Wardens by A. R. Godwin, and to the Brethren by the District Grand Master.

The End of an Era

And so Bulwer Lodge of Cairo came to end of its time in Egypt. Stories have been told of Brethren being badly beaten in their attempts to rescue items from the Temple. Sadly, none of these has been committed to paper and, at the time of writing in 1998, only one of the Members from the Egyptian days - W. Bro. Djeddah - is known to be alive, in reasonable health and living in Geneva, at the time of writing. (He died on 18th April 2007.) However, he left Egypt in 1945 and has little memory of events there.

Jack Stidwill of Ionic Lodge, who joined Bulwer Lodge of Cairo after its move to London, was also still with us but, having suffered a stroke, was having difficulty in recalling any details. This is why the “future history” of the Lodge must be documented and carefully preserved for the generations to come.