Croydon Freemason Cyril Spackman was a man of many talents, including winning the design competition for the Hall Stone Jewel, as Alan Chard explains
At a special meeting of Grand Lodge in June 1919, the
Grand Master, the Duke of Connaught, expressed a wish that
a memorial be established to commemorate those brethren
who had made the supreme sacrifice in the 1914-1918 war.
It was agreed that this memorial should be a building
of a central home for Freemasonry on a site to be selected
in London.
The Masonic Million Memorial Fund was then launched
in September that year and brethren both at home and overseas
were invited to contribute to raise the £1m needed to
finance the work.
The contributions from individuals and Lodges were to
be recognised by the award of a commemorative jewel.
For the jewel design it was decided to hold an open competition
with a £75 prize for the winner, and at the Grand
Lodge meeting in June 1921 it was announced that the design
selected was that submitted by Cyril Saunders Spackman.
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