The Lodge at War

The Brethren of Beauchamp Lodge have served bravely in many conflicts, not just in India and Afghanistan but around the world. The lodge’s first military members were mostly Sappers, whose duties were many and varied; ranging from digging trenches to building bridges, as well as maintaining the steam tractors that delivered the soldiers’ beer! However, Sappers are also front line fighting soldiers, and 15 Victoria Crosses were awarded to Sappers of the British Indian Army.

The Masonic activities of the Beauchamp Lodge’s members did not necessarily stop when they left Roorkee; even when on active service they sometimes met Masonically with Brethren from other military units, something that serving Brethren still do today. Let’s now briefly look at just two of the military campaigns during which Beauchamp Brethren met as Freemasons.

The 2nd Afghan War (1878 to 1881) was one of the actions fought to prevent Russia from gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, and in so doing threaten the British control of India. Sappers would play a key role not only in the fighting, but also during the army’s advance into Afghanistan when they built bridges over the Kabul River, erected fortifications and laid telegraph lines.

In 1880 the British forces would suffer a major disaster at the Battle of Maiwand in Afghanistan, when 2,700 British troops were overwhelmed by 15,000 Afghan troops and tribesman. The remnants of the 66th Regiment and a handful of Indian soldiers made a desperate last stand, all died apart from ‘Bobbie’ the dog who received a campaign medal from Queen Victoria. The Sappers also fought very bravely in this battle; a group of them were amongst the last to leave the battlefield, and they made a courageous last stand to cover the British withdrawal, all of them died at their posts.

Many members of Beauchamp Lodge served in the 2nd Afghan War, indeed the lodge went into abeyance in 1880 as nearly all its members were in Afghanistan. An old exercise book found amongst the Lodge’s papers contained the minutes of a least six Masonic meetings that Beauchamp Brethren held with other military Brethren whilst serving in that war. These improvised meetings were held under the auspices of the Beauchamp Lodge; they usually took place in the open air, with wooden crates or mounds of mud used as pedestals, and working tools borrowed from a Sapper’s toolbox. At these meetings lectures were given, ceremonies practiced, and news shared about Brethren and comrades.

The other campaign we will look at was in 1935, when a large punitive force called the ‘Mohforce’ was sent to quell the marauding Mohmand tribes on the NW Frontier. The Sappers prepared the way for the force’s heavy vehicles as they advanced through the Nahakki Pass and on to Kamalai. This campaign saw the first operational use of tanks in India; for any tank experts amongst you they were Vickers Mark II Light Tanks, the Mohmands called them ‘the snakes that spit’. After some often fierce fighting order was restored, and the ‘Mohforce’ then withdrew back to India.

We know from the lodge records that members of the Beauchamp Lodge served in the ‘Mohforce’, and that several of them attended a meeting of the Lodge Jamrud in the village of Nahakki. We are delighted that the Master, and other Brethren, from Lodge Jamrud are here today to help us commemorate that unique meeting 87 years ago.

We have a description of that meeting in Nahakki; it describes how they met in ‘a straw covered yard’, with ‘mud heaps’ for pedestals and ‘candles stuck into old bottles’. The wands were ‘improvised from pick-handles’, the Tyler was ‘armed with a revolver and bayonet’ (no cowans or intruders at that meeting!), ‘tent peg mallets’ were used as gavels, and the Square & Compasses were ‘actual tools’ lent by the Sappers.

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