Dear Knights of the Division of Hampshire and Isle of Wight, may I wish you and your families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Last year was a good year for the Division.
The Conclaves brought in a total of 10 new members and 1 new joining member. Several of the Conclave brought in multiple candidates in a single meeting. Bringing multiple candidates into the Order in a single ceremony is becoming a regular occurrence, especially with Conclaves only meeting 2 or 3 times a year. Grand Imperial Conclave have stated that the maximum number of Candidates that can be brought into the Order within a single ceremony is 5. If we need to bring more candidates in than this in a single ceremony then that would be a good situation to be in.
We also held 2 KHS meetings during 2025 at which a total of 12 Knights (3 at St Peter and St Paul Conclave and 9 at King Aethelwulf Conclave) received their Appendant Orders degrees. We have 2 more KHS meetings in 2026 at which we hope to have several candidates.
The Divisional team made official visits to each of the Conclaves within the Division. All visits had a good turnout of Divisional Officers and members of the Sepulchre Guard. Having a good number of attendees on these visits makes the visit special particularly for the Conclave that is being visited. Keep it up.
The Intendant General attended 18 Divisional AGMs around the country, with the Deputy Intendant General and Division Recorder accompanying him on many of these as well as attending additional AGMs on their own. All were very enjoyable meetings with wonderful company, making the long journeys well worth it. The Intendant General also represented the Order at many of the companions Orders AGMs within Hampshire and Isle of Wight. All the visits made it a very busy, but very enjoyable, year for the senior members of the Division.
We have several special meetings / events occurring in 2026 including a couple of church services and several conclave anniversaries, to which I hope many members will be able to attend. So let’s have another great year in 2026 and make the Division go from strength to strength.
Yours in Faith Unity and Zeal
R. Ill.Kt. Steven Groeger