Customs - Cannon Fire Cannon Fire - The custom of Firing is not exclusively Masonic; it derived from an old tradition at military or civic events of firing cannons or muskets to mark a toast. There have been Masonic instances of such real firing; in 1741 the Vernon Lodge in Dublin held an open-air celebration where […]

Royal Navy’s Field Gun competition The Royal Navy’s field gun competition is a contest between teams from various Royal Navy commands, in which teams of sailors compete to transport a field gun and its equipment over and through a series of obstacles in the shortest time. The competition evolved during the early years of the 20th century. […]

VE Day - Victory in Europe Day VE Day - 8 May 1945 – was one that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it. It meant an end to nearly six years of a war that had cost the lives of millions; had destroyed homes, families, and cities; and had brought huge suffering […]

Concorde Concorde test - Click the picture and watch the 1 minute video to find out The aircraft is a tailless aircraft design with a narrow fuselage permitting a 4-abreast seating for 92 to 128 passengers, an ogival delta wing and a droop nose for landing visibility. It is powered by four Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 turbojets with variable engine intake ramps, and reheat for take-off and acceleration to supersonic speed. […]

Operation Nimrod - Iranian Siege Operation Nimrod, the Siege at Iranian Embassy in London, ends as the SAS and police storm the building. The two SAS teams on-scene, Red Team and Blue Team, were ordered to begin their simultaneous assaults, under the codename Operation Nimrod, at 19:23. One group of four men from Red Team […]

Freemasonry - A home away from home A home away - Visiting other lodges has always been a key element of Freemasonry, especially for military Brethren who are often stationed far away from home. We know that military Brethren would often form their own lodges in prisoner-of-war camps; and during the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) […]

HMS Sheffield On this day forty years ago, the Class 42 Destroyer HMS Sheffield, part of the Falklands Task force, was attacked by two Argentine Super Etandard aircraft firing Exocet missiles. One of the missiles struck the ship in the galley area, causing the deaths of twenty members of the Ship’s company; twenty six others […]

The Pilgrimage - Sir Frank Fox wrote an evocative account of the Kings visit the War Graves in Belgium and France The Pilgrimage - In 1922, King George V visited the graves of First World War soldiers buried in France and Belgium in a trip documented by Australian journalist and soldier Sir Frank Fox. Despite […]

Travelling Lodges Travelling Lodges - In the 18th and 19th 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, […]