Letter of thanks From Jigsaw Thornbury
Worthy Knights please see the letter of thanks received from JIGSAW of Thornbury for the recent grant awarded by the Grand Sovereign’s Care Fund for Children
Sat, 6th June 2020
Fri, 17th April 2020
Grants for Children’s Charities
The Grand Sovereign’s Care for Children Fund has just awarded three grants for the following Children’s Charities within our Division with £2,500 to each Charity
1. Jigsaw Thornbury Childrens Charity https://www.jigsawthornbury.org.uk/
2. Winston’s Wish Children’s Charity https://www.winstonswish.org/
3. Pied Piper Appeal for Children https://www.piedpiperappeal.co.uk/
Our sincere thanks to the Grand Sovereign’s Fund for these donations
Fri, 17th January 2020
Presentation of First Certificate of Merit to David Leigh
Very Illustrious Knight David J Leigh, Past Grand High Chancellor
The St Chad Conclave No 320 of the Order of The Red Cross of Constantine recently celebrated a very special occasion. In recognition of his long and dedicated service to the Order, their Marshal, Very Illustrious Knight David J Leigh, Past Grand High Chancellor, was presented with a ‘Diploma of Merit’ by the Intendant-General for the West Midlands Division, Rt Ill Kt John J Tristram.
The Intendant-General gave a brief summary of David’s history in the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine. He was Installed as a Knight-Companion in Saye & Sele Conclave No 122 London in December 1975, and was Enthroned as Most Puissant Sovereign in that Conclave in 1989. David remains a member of that Conclave and is their current Marshal. He was also a Founder member of the Guild of Freeman Conclave No 483 and is currently their Recorder, an office he has held for 9 years
David was a Founder member of St Chad Conclave, Stafford in 1977 and became Most Puissant Sovereign in 2014. He was appointed to Grand Rank in 1988 and has received a number of Grand Rank promotions in recognition of his service, eventually coming a Very Illustrious Knight on his appointment to the rank of Past Grand High Almoner in 1999. In 2013 David received a further promotion, to Past Grand High Chancellor, the rank which he holds today
The Intendant-General said that David’s support for the Conclaves in Staffordshire and his dedicated service to the Order deserved to be acknowledge and rewarded and he was delighted to present David with his Diploma of Merit, the first to be presented in the West Midlands Division. Congratulations to David
Fri, 15th November 2019
Acorns Cheque Presentation
On Friday 15th November John Tristram the Intendant-General, accompanied by Jim Mulligan the Deputy Intendant-General, Jim Coxon the Divisional Treasurer and Geoff Watkins the Divisional Recorder, was pleased to be able to present a cheque for £2500 from the Grand Sovereign’s Care Fund for Children to Acorns Children’s Hospice ‘Black County Hospice Appeal’. The hospice has been under threat of closure due to severe financial constraints and we were pleased to be able to make a contribution towards their appeal
By coincidence, on the same day as our presentation, Acorns announced that due to the success of the Black Country Appeal, they have been able to keep the hospice open. We wish them every success for the future
Fri, 6th September 2019
James Hopkins Trust Thank You
Thu, 25th July 2019
Battle Back Thank You Letter
Mon, 15th July 2019
Divisional Visit to The Battle Back Centre
On Monday 15 July 2019 on a hot and sun drenched afternoon, the Intendant General John Tristram, Deputy Intendant General James Mulligan and members of the West Midlands division together with their wives and partners attended Battle Back. They were met by Sally Green and Hannah Tranter who delivered a presentation explaining the aims and achievements of the Battle Back programme funded through the British Legion.
The group were then given a guided tour around the facility which ended with the Intendant General Rt Ill Kt John Tristram formally presenting a cheque for £1,000.00 to Battle Back as part of the West Midlands division’s continuing support for the charity.
The Intendant General wishes to thank members for attending to support the occasion and would also thank all the members of the West Midlands division and their families for the continued support of this very worthwhile cause.
Thank youJames MulliganDeputy Intendant General
Fri, 19th April 2019
GRANT TO RADIO LOLLIPOP
GRAND SOVEREIGN’S CARE FUND FOR CHILDREN – GRANT TO RADIO LOLLIPOP
The Intendant-General, Rt Ill Kt John Tristram, accompanied by the Deputy Intendant-General, Ill Kt Jim Mulligan and the Divisional Registrar, P Kt John Handley, was pleased to visit Radio Lollipop at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, to present a Cheque for £2500, on behalf of the Grand Sovereign’s Care Fund for Children. Darren Coleman-Heald, Charities Manager, also attended the event to represent Mark Masons’ Hall,
Hedley Finn from Radio Lollipop explained how the Radio Station started and its current activities, which are now operating in many countries throughout the world. Radio Lollipop is staffed entirely by volunteers and totally dependent on charity donations. Hedley explained that staff training is an ongoing process and the grant from the Care Fund would assist with this important function.
We wish Radio Lollipop continuing success for the future and we are please to have been able to offer some support towards their objectives.
Sat, 16th February 2019
West Midland Divisional Conclave
The Annual Divisional Conclave was held at the Moseley Masonic Centre, Kings Heath with the Division being honoured by the presence of Right Illustrious and Venerable Knight, the Reverend Timothy John Nicholas L ‘Estrange, the Grand Eusebius
The Intendant-General, Right Illustrious Knight John Tristram, had pleasure in welcoming many guests, including Most Illustrious Knight Richard V Wallis, Past Grand Sovereign and many other distinguished visitors, including the Most Worthy Grand Supreme Ruler of the Order of the Secret Monitor, Very Illustrious Knight Andrew Sweeney and the Grand High Priest of The Order Of The Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, Illustrious Knight Christopher Gavin Maiden and many visiting Intendant-Generals and Provincial Rulers of other Masonic Orders
The Intendant-General thanked the Divisional Officers for all their hard work and support during the past year, particularly P Kt Geoff Watkins, the Divisional Recorder and also his Deputy Intendant-General, Ill Kt Jim Mulligan, for his counsel and support. He made particular reference to Ill Kt Ray Nield, Divisional Viceroy, for his hard work supporting Conclaves within the Division and attending meetings in other Divisions
Right Illustrious Knight Tristram congratulated the in-coming Divisional Officers and looked forward to working with them. He spoke of the challenges facing the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and many other Masonic Orders in attracting and retaining new members and some of the steps being taken to address these
The Intendant-General confirmed that the Division continues to support the Grand Sovereign’s Care Fund for Children and the Royal British Legion Battle-Back charities and both had received donations during the year, which was only possible due to the generosity of the members of the Order. The collection from the meeting would go to Battle-Back
The Intendant-General was pleased to introduce and welcome four new Knight-Companions attending their first Divisional Conclave, they were W Kt David Morgan and W Kt Robert Grainger, St Oswald Conclave, W Kt Sean Warner, St Dunstan Conclave and W Kt Jonathan Bryan, St Chad Conclave.
During the excellent festive-board the Knights were entertained by Grand Eusebius, who amongst other topics, regaled those attending with the joys & frustrations of the online purchase of railway tickets, a theme which seemed to strike a chord with many in the audience.
The proceedings closed in perfect harmony with many expressing their wish to attend next year’s meeting on Saturday 15th February 2020
Sat, 1st December 2018
Rose of Sharon Conclave No 161 Centenary Meeting
ROSE OF SHARON CONCLAVE No 161– CENTENARY WARRANT
On Saturday 1st December 2018 an audience of over 100 Worthy Knights assembled at Moseley Masonic Centre, Kings Heath to witness the Grand Sovereign, Most Illustrious Knight Graham Leslie Fight, G.C.C., present a Centenary Warrant to Rose of Sharon Conclave No 161, the Conclave having Consecrated on 11th July 1918.
The Grand Sovereign was accompanied by Right Ill Kt Neil Matthews KCC, Grand Marshal, V Ill Kt Raymond Smith, Grand Senior General, V Ill Kt Michael Spencer, Grand Junior General, Ill Kt Graham Redman, Grand Sword Bearer and Ill Kt Glyn Hewitt, Grand Standard Bearer (C). The Conclave was also pleased to welcome Most Illustrious Knight Richard V Wallis, G.C.C., Past Grand Sovereign and Rt Ill Kt Colin V Young, K.C.C., Past Intendant-General, for the West Midlands
Illustrious Knight Justin Parker, Grand Sub-Prelate gave an oration on the significance of the Rose of Sharon, after which Puissant Knight John Handley gave a history of the formation and development of the Conclave. P Kt John had taken on responsibility for organising the whole event and his efforts were very much appreciated by everyone.
The presentation was made to Puissant Knight Joseph Khalil-Marzouk, as Past Sovereign of the Conclave, who took the Chair owing to the unavoidable absence of P Kt Paul Whitefield the current MPS. The Grand Sovereign congratulated the Conclave on having achieved a remarkable milestone in the history of the Conclave.
Prior to the presentation of the Warrant, the Conclave was very pleased to Install a new Knight-Companion, Worthy Knight James Woodhall. The ceremony was conducted by P Kt Chris Hallam, the current MPS of the Richard Wallis Conclave No 520, the youngest Conclave in the Division, who Installed the new Knight-Companion in an exemplary manner. The Grand Sovereign was pleased to bestow the accolade on W Kt James, an event which will be remembered for a long time by everyone present.
The meeting was followed by an excellent Festive Board, at which P Kt Joseph Marzouk thank the Grand Sovereign for his attendance at the meeting and the honour shown to the Conclave by the granting of the Centenary Warrant
