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Below
Brother Lloyd is pictured wife his wife
Elaine and daughter Jemima, Assistant
Grand Master David K Williamson and
his wife Margaret, Rosemary Chawner
and Past Provincial Grand Master Kevin
Chawner, with Mary Palmer and the late
Assistant Provincial Grand Master
Haydn Palmer when the Masonic Garden
was dedicated.
Bottom
Masonic pride of place at the National
memorial Arboretum
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The simple, yet symbolic Masonic Garden
at the National Memorial Arboretum
at Alrewas in Staffordshire is a permanent
memorial to all brethren who gave their
lives for peace and freedom.
Masonic involvement in the Arboretum
started when Staffordshire’s former
Information Officer, Roger Manning,
realised the significance of Freemasonry
supporting the concept and talked to
members of his Lodge, St John’s of
Lichfield No. 1039.
The Masonic Garden was adopted by
the Lodge, which made the initial financial
contribution and introduced the concept
to the leaders in the Province. The then
Assistant Provincial Grand Master,
Thomas D C Lloyd, now Provincial Grand
Master, committed his support and it was
soon adopted.
By early 2002 sufficient money had been
contributed by Lodges across the Province
for a substantial plot to be bought. The site
was dedicated in June that year, during
Freemasonry in the Community week.
The Assistant Grand Master, David
Williamson, assisted by the then Provincial
Grand Master, Kevin Chawner, cut and
turned the first sod in the presence of some
400 Freemasons, their families and friends
together with local civic leaders and the
Lord Lieutenant of the County.
Six months later a yew tree hedge was
planted around the plot. Sadly it did not
survive, and a second planting took place
the following winter.
Around £20,000 has been spent so far
and Staffordshire Masons gratefully
acknowledge the contributions from the
neighbouring Provinces of Warwickshire,
Worcestershire, Shropshire and Cheshire.
More funding is needed to complete the
garden which, in plans drawn up by retired
architect and Deputy Provincial Grand
Master John E Griffiths, includes a stone
arch at the entrance.
Bro Griffiths, explaining his thoughts
on the design, said: “It is a very open and
exposed site and I wanted the ashlars to be
protected as if they were in a forest glade,
enclosed by a hedge, with one entrance.
When the hedge is fully grown, and we have
the arch in place at the entrance, it will
beckon people, draw them in, to see what
I call the pearl within.”
The costs of the garden have been kept
down by the contribution of Eddie Ford,
a builder by trade from nearby Burton
and a truly operative Mason, who laid
the chequered paving and supervised the
positioning of the two ashlars, each
weighing three and half tons.
Bro Lloyd was on hand to welcome
the Grand Master, HRH The Duke of Kent,
when he made a detour to see the garden
during an official engagement at another
area of the Arboretum last October.
Peter Atkins is Information Officer for the
Province of Staffordshire
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NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM
The National Memorial Arboretum
was conceived by the founder director,
David Childs, after visiting the USA and
seeing the Arlington Cemetery and the
National Arboretum in Washington DC.
He thought the concepts could be
merged into a meaningful living tribute
in the UK, which would acknowledge
the sacrifice made by the whole nation
so that people could live in peace
and freedom.
Today, it pays tribute to those who
died in war and also reminds people
of the 80 million lives lost in conflicts
in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Warwickshire Royal Air Force Lodge
No. 9456 created Masonic history when
they held the first Lodge meeting at the
National Memorial Arboretum on
November 1, last year (2006). More
than 40 members spent the day at the
Arboretum, which began with a visit
to the Masonic Garden and included
a Lodge meeting in the Visitor Centre
during which the Master, W Bro Paul
Brennan, initiated his son Gary
Stephen. The day ended with a Festive
Board provided by catering staff at
the Arboretum.
The National Memorial Arboretum
is open every day, except Christmas Day,
Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, from
10am. Admission is free, and a visit is
highly recommended.
www.nationalmemorialarboretum.org.uk
www.pglstaffordshire.co.uk
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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