Incredible Military Travelling Lodges

Travelling Lodges

Travelling Lodges - In the 18^th and 19^th centuries the English, Irish, and Scottish Grand Lodges would all issue travelling lodge warrants to military units; these warrants would travel with those units around the world, enabling them to meet wherever they were stationed. They would help to carry English Freemasonry to such distant parts as South Africa, Bermuda, India, Malaysia, the West Indies, and North America. However, not every military warrant travelled, some were issued for depot based lodges. Military personnel might also sometimes join an existing civilian lodge near to where they were stationed; or form a new local lodge that would also be open to civilians, the Beauchamp Lodge in Roorkee was such a lodge.

Although not a travelling lodge, the first recorded English military lodge was formed in Gibraltar in 1728, but it lapsed sometime in the late 18th century. It was not a travelling lodge, the first English travelling lodge warrant was issued by the Antients Grand Lodge in the mid-18th century; both the Antients and Moderns Grand Lodges would issue many such warrants, but after their Union in 1813 the United Grand Lodge of England issued very few. There are no longer any English military travelling lodges, the last one surrendered its warrant in 1949

English military lodges may have tended to work the Antients and Irish favoured ritual, even if they had a Modern’s warrant; the Irish Grand Lodge had the most military lodges, and the English ones probably copied much of their ritual from their Irish comrades. Due to the peripatetic nature of military service candidates were sometimes Initiated, Passed and Raised all in one meeting, and multiple candidates were not uncommon.

This Travelling Lodges post has been created by the West Kent Military lodge for information. If you would like to now more about the Lodge contact us here