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THE EDITOR, FREEMASONRY TODAY, FREEMASONS’ HALL, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON WC2B 5AZ

ORATORS
     Sir,
     It was with almost disbelief, but absolute delight, that I read the article ‘The Orator’ in the Summer 2008 edition of Freemasonry Today.
     For many years I have been conscious that most Freemasons know little, if anything, about the real meaning of our ceremonies. The new initiate wonders what has happened to him and what the various parts of the ceremony mean. He will most likely ask questions of his proposer and seconder who may, or may not, be able to assist. The Master, Director of Ceremonies and Preceptor should know the answers but frequently don’t as they were never told either. Most lodges appear to be interested in concentrating on being word perfect without understanding the meanings behind what they say and do.
     It must be obvious that if one has an understanding of what a ceremony means, ignorance evaporates, and the whole occasion becomes more satisfying, knowledge is shared and members become more closely bound and committed to our great fraternity and this, in turn, will be beneficial in respect of our membership.
     I applaud the Oration scheme and wish it every success. It will add a new dimension to Freemasonry.
     Eric L. Parrish
     Eastbourne Lodge No 6057
     Province of Sussex

FINDING A LOCAL LODGE
     Sir,
     I am currently an active member of Craft, Chapter and Mark in Devonshire but have purchased a property in another part of the country and eventually intend retiring there. In preparation I attempted to find a local lodge. Yearbooks are not available to the ‘non proven’ so with the aid of the internet I can find from Province the lodge premises, dates and types of lodge but no telephone numbers to find out the ceremony taking place or to book in for the Festive Board. It is quite a lot of work; and I still have to turn up at the local lodge about 6 pm in the hope of getting an introduction.
     There does not seem to be any procedure between Provinces for tranferees and I have spoken to a number of ex-Brethren who feel let down by masonry in their move.
     If lodge contact phone numbers are confidential then why not try a better way? I am sure it is not beyond Provincial Grand Masters to get together a system by which Provincial Secretaries might communicate with each other and with the local lodge Master, Secretary or Almoner so that a ‘welcome’ letter or a summons could be delivered.
     Graham Gardener
     Lodge No 8234
     Province of Devonshire

WHY THREE GATES IN THE TEMPLE?
     Sir,
     N.P. Davies in the Summer 2008 issue of Freemasonry Today remarks that it is strange that a building of the size of King Solomon’s temple would only have three entrances. May I offer a possible explanation? According to the Biblical accounts (1 Kings 6:2-4 and 2 Chronicles 3:3-4) the temple was, by modern standards, a small building. It was sixty cubits long and twenty wide, with a porchway or entrance as wide as the main temple and projecting ten cubits forward.
     A cubit is the length of the forearm, from the elbow joint to the end of the middle finger, roughly eighteen inches. This would make the temple with the porchway just over one hundred feet long and thirty feel wide, no bigger than many English parish churches, or Temple No. 10 at Freemasons’ Hall. Three entrances would be appropriate for a structure of this size.
     May I add my sincere thanks to those of N.P. Davies to you for producing such a superb journal and for continuing to include the enlightening recollections of Bro. Lightfoote.
     John Grange
     Rahere Lodge No 2546
     London

BARK OR BARQUE
     Sir,
     With regard to the Letters to the Editor, Summer 2008 issue of Freemasonry Today, the bark or barque included in the explanation of the Second Degree Working Tools is clearly a reference to a water-borne vessel of some kind. The two spellings are interchangeable and can be used for any type of vessel.
     However, they have generally become associated with the description of an ocean going sailing craft of three masts or more.
     I too prefer the spelling ‘barque’ as it separates it from trees and dogs. It also gains a high score when playing scrabble.
     Richard Ash,
     Suffield Lodge No 1808
     Province of Norfolk

LICHFIELD OPPOSITION
     Sir,
     From the leaflet enclosed with the Summer edition of Freemasonry Today (RMTGB Annual Review 2007-2008) I was delighted to see that ‘our’ cathedral (Lichfield) has a chorister who has his fees paid by the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys. I am also aware that Lichfield, like many other cathedrals, received money regularly from the Grand Charity and has also, not very long ago, had help with the cost of refurbishing the bells.
     What I find strange is that this is the same cathedral where the Dean, Bishop, and at least one of the clergy ensured that the Annual Church Service of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Staffordshire could not take place there this year because of their feelings against Freemasonry.
     Marcus Woodhouse
     Tudor Lodge of Rifle Volunteers No 1838
     Province of Staffordshire

UNIQUE EVENT?
     Sir,
     In October this year my father takes the chair of King Solomon in our lodge (Reddish No 3615) and the following October I succeed him as Master of the lodge. In March next year my father takes the First Principal’s chair in our Mother chapter (Unitas Fratrum No 7958) and again the following year I succeed him as First Principal. In October next year I take the chair of First Principal in our other chapter (Reddish No 3615) and the following October my father succeeds me as First Principal. My question is, has this ever been accomplished before or will it be unique?
     Russell Pike
     Reddish Lodge No 3615
     Province of East Lancashire

FREEMASONS IN CUBA
     Sir,
     It was interesting to read the letter from S.E. Mitchell in the summer issue of Freemasonry Today which gave an interesting response to why Freemasonry is tolerated in Cuba.
     I was fortunate to spend a short time in Cuba some years ago and during this stay I took several of the ‘official’ tours. I was really surprised to see so many masonic lodges in the suburbs of Havana and other towns and I mentioned this to one of the guides saying, a little contentiously, that communist regimes tend to eradicate any organisation that might unite people for any reason other than those of the State, organisations like the Church, for instance.
     The response was simple: Fidel Castro considered the masonic lodges to be organised assemblies of individuals who had above average skills and abilities and were also known to oppose the Batista regime. Castro therefore used their organisational skills to create a well-defined force that was already within the country and was ready to fight with him.
     Evidently the lodge ‘regiments’ proved to be an indispensable part of the revolution and were responsible for some of the most high profile engagements. Castro had great respect for them and agreed to let them continue after Batista was overthrown.
     J.J. Hipperson
     St Lawrence Lodge No 8205
     Province of Surrey

THE ALAMO
     Sir,
     I was very interested to read Bob Lacey’s article on Texas and the Alamo.
     The following may add further interest in this subject.
     The battle of the Alamo lasted thirteen days. Its very brave defenders, who sacrificed their lives in the battle, have come to symbolise the courage and sacrifice for the cause of liberty. The memory of Bowie, Davy Crockett and William B. Travis are as powerful today as when Sam Houston’s Texan army shouted ‘Remember the Alamo’ as it defeated Santa Ana at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21st 1836.
     Seven of the defenders of the battle survived but six were tortured and put to death. The seventh, Joe, Travis’ slave, was allowed to go free. The bodies of the defenders, 182 in all, were cremated in a funeral pyre with the exception of Gregorio Esparza who was allowed to be buried.
     The Alamo has been managed by the Texan born Daughters of the Republic of Texas since 1905. The Texas revolution and history are commemorated in three buildings, the shrine, long barrack museum and the gift shop.
     Two plaques adorn the outside walls of the Alamo. The first reads: The Birthplace of Freemasonry in West Texas. The plaque was dedicated in January 15th 1948 by the Alamo Lodge No. 44 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the chartering of the lodge and honouring those pioneer masons who founded the lodge upon this site.
     The second reads: Honouring those masons James Bonham, James Bowie, David Crockett, Almaron Dickenson, William Barret Travis and those unidentified masons who gave their lives in the Battle of the Alamo March 6th 1836. Erected by the Grand Lodge of Texas Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, March 6th 1926.
     I have been a regular visitor not only to the Alamo but to the Alamo Lodge No. 44 and made to feel very welcome from my first visit. Although the lodge is not regularly held in the Alamo itself as this is regarded as a shrine and is not allowed to be used for meetings by the general public, a special dispensation is given to the Alamo Lodge to hold its December meeting in the shrine itself.
     Glynn Rogers, Secretary
     Aberhonddu Lodge No 8588
     Province of South Wales

SARTORIAL CRITICISM
     Sir,
     Your Letter from the Editor on page 5 of Freemasonry Today carries a photograph of you. In this image you are shown wearing a tailored jacket and no tie. Surely you can see that this looks scruffy and gives the impression that you have not had the time to dress completely. This is a habit that has crept into male dressing lately and it looks awful. I cherished the hope that this practice would not spread to Freemasonry - a hope that has now been dashed. Jacket and tie or no jacket, surely!
     Would it really have been such a torture for you to put on a tie for a photograph destined to appear in a masonry magazine?
     You could take it off when the cameraman has gone if you really must.
     Alan Madell
     Urswyck Lodge No 7947
     Province of Essex

NAVAL HISTORY
     Sir,
     My wife is close to completing a PhD in naval history at King’s College London.
     Her topic is the administration of naval victualling during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) and she has developed a special interest in the relationships between the provisions and supplies contractors in the City, and between these contractors and the civil servants working in the offices at Somerset House.
     For the contractors there seems to have been a great deal of networking as individual contractors appear in the Victualling Board’s books as holding contracts. Many of the individuals were also ship owners and here also the names appear in groupings.
     We wondered what other associations these people may have had and obviously we considered masonic connections. Diane Clements, the Director of the Library at Great Queen Street, has kindly come up with the following lodge memberships:

• Peter Mellish was in the chair at an unnamed lodge, meeting at Red Lion Street, Wapping, on 24th April 1798; this might have been Old Dundee Lodge (now No 18) or Royal Naval Lodge (now No 59).
• Thomas Bell, Caledonian Lodge No 180 (now No 134). However, he is described as a linen draper, and the Thomas Bell we know as a contractor was a cheese merchant.
• Thomas Rowcroft, (described just as ‘merchant’) Shakespeare Lodge No 131 (now No 99).
• Edward Knight (described as ‘victualler’ but known to us as a corn merchant) Lodge No 11, meeting at the King’s Arms, High Street, Wandsworth.
• James Shaw, (described as ‘gentleman’) Lodge of Good Intent No 387

I ask if any lodge historians of any of the lodges in the City or East End of London or Deptford, or the cities of Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham, Dover or Great Yarmouth have records of any members described as ‘merchant’, ‘chandler’, ‘victualler’, any of the associated food or drink trades such as baker, brewer etc, or ‘government’ or ‘naval’ official, so we can pin down networks in these important naval locations. Obviously we will reciprocate with the information we already have on these people.
     We have a list of some fifty or so individuals who may be of interest, and will be delighted to let any lodge historians have this list.
     Ken Maxwell-Jones
     Lodge of Quality No 9356
     London