Worthy Knights this is the second occasion on which I have been able to address you at our Annual Divisional Conclave and the first time having completed a full year in office.
May I first pay tribute to all the members of this division that were mentioned in our requiem earlier. Their devotion and dedication to this order was immense. I would like to speak about two in particular V Ill Kt Jack Elgie and V Ill Kt Frank Evans. Both have played a very significant role in this division over many years. Jack was the Divisional Recorder from 1979 to 1987 and Deputy Intendant General from 1988 to 1992, and Frank was Divisional Recorder from 1993 to 1998 also 2001 to 2003, and Divisional Viceroy from 2004 to 2006. Both had been involved in the creation of a number of Conclaves and were stalwarts in many of them. Their service to the Order was recognised by Grand Imperial Conclave on a number of occasions – Jack being finally promoted to Past Grand Senior General and Frank to Past Grand Junior General. This division will miss their dedication, wit and enthusiasm. They will not be forgotten.
May I extend my congratulations to those who will be appointed to or promoted in Grand Imperial Conclave on Tuesday 3rd July 2012 at the Annual Assembly in Birmingham. They are:-
On promotion
Richard Dunleavy to P G Chancellor a V Ill Kt
John Wilson to P G Chamberlain
Stan Brooker to P G St B (Constantine);
Spike Bromley to P G St B (Labarum)
On first appointment
Alwin Parsons as Grand Vice Chamberlain (ACTIVE)
Jon Whitaker as P G Prefect
Brian Wisbey as P G Warden of Regalia
Trevor Ross as P.G. Warden of Regalia via Dorset
Frank Cousins as P G Vice Chamberlain
Jim Whitemore as P G Vice Chamberlain
They are all very well deserved and follow many years of dedicated service to the Order.
In May I was accorded the great honour of assisting the Grand Sovereign at the Consecration of the first Conclave for Brazil, by Enthroning 7 Sovereigns with the full ritual as part of the Consecration ceremony. I have to admit it was somewhat daunting, particularly in the floor work and the fact that some of them had very limited English. With hindsight I have to admit that I enjoyed the experience very much and it was a great honour and privilege.
This, my first full year in office, has flown by. It has been a year of consolidation. We have suffered from the financial situation in two primary ways. Some of our members have reduced their multiple memberships of not only this Order but also those who have been members of many of the smaller Orders. It has also resulted in a number of members of the Craft and Royal Arch deciding not to expand their masonic activity at this time. This resulted in a small reduction in our memberships in the last year. We do however note an increase in new members towards the end of the year which has been repeated in the first half of our next year. Part of this is due to the recruitment evenings we have had, but it primarily due to your individual efforts. I strongly urge you to continue in this field, without your efforts we will not survive, you are and will remain the primary means of our recruitment. It is clear that with our death rate , the small loss of members and the increasing age profile of our membership, the average Conclave needs to look towards 3 new members a year to continue to allow it to be a viable thriving unit, and to be able to fill all the offices, without duplication.
The Divisional Recorder has indicated in his report the visits that have been undertaken with our own Conclaves and also representing the Division with other Divisions and also other Orders within our area. All these visits have been marked by the warmth of the welcome and hospitality and in the case of the Conclaves, the sincerity of the ceremonies we have witnessed. The visits within our own Division are enhanced by the support of the active Officers, the Divisional Guard and the many Grand Officers that attend with us. They all have my grateful thanks; their support has been nothing short of magnificent; and may I remind them that there is still one visit to go in this year next Thursday at King Aethelwulf Conclave, I do this because when this occurs it always causes confusion as to which years officers should attend. I must thank 4 members of the active team individually. The Divisional Recorder III Kt Larry Peer, the Assistant Divisional Recorder Ill. Kt. Stewart Taynton and the Divisional Marshal III Kt Richard Dunleavy. Life would have been very difficult without the advice, help and guidance I have received from all of them. Ill Kt Richard is standing down as our Divisional Marshal at this meeting. He has been a tower of strength to me and also to my predecessor Gerry. His advice, his calm assurance in the most trying circumstances, his ability with the ritual and his marshalling of our Divisional team has been excellent. His promotion to V Ill Kt shortly is a fitting acknowledgement and a splendid reward for all that he has done for us. Richard, thank you for everything. Finally to the fourth member; V. Ill. Kt. John Makin has given many years of service to the Division and after serving as Divisional Assistant Recorder from 2000 to 2003, Divisional Recorder 2004 to 2009, and Divisional Viceroy from 2010 to date, he now retires from active office. I know he will continue to help and advise us and that his immense knowledge will not be lost to us. John you have my and the division grateful thanks.
I congratulate all those that have been appointed to office today. It is an honour that is well deserved by you all. I look forward to working with you during the next year.
During the visits a number of questions have occurred about the ritual. Some of the more important ones are these:-
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You have seen the Requiem procedure used at today’s meeting. You will remember that Grand Imperial Conclave has authorised the use of such a procedure. The one that has been formulated for the Conclaves is very heavily based on that used by Forest Rose Conclave. I would remind you all that it is optional. The decision to use it is entirely in the hands of the Conclave. I must thank Ill Kt Graham Roberts our new Divisional Marshal for the work he has undertaken in this field for the Division.
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Most Sovereigns are now following the baton drill in Ritual 1, but it is necessary to think this activity through in advance of doing it.
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You are well aware that I do not like to see the use of nominated candidates in our ceremonies. All candidates should participate throughout all of the ceremony. The supplementary guidance on how to achieve this, supplementing that already contained in the Ritual books 1 and 2 is in the Divisional Recorder’s Aide Memoire and also in Guidance to Conclave Marshals to be issued shortly in an updated form.
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A number of Conclaves have found it necessary to open both the Conclave and the Sanctuary on the same evening. The Conclave to carry out purely domestic activity and the Sanctuary to carry out the Appendant orders ceremony. A slight adaption of the Conclave opening and closing has been used to speed up this process and minimise the effect it may have on the Appendant orders ceremony. The details are again in the Divisional Recorder’s Aide Memoire and the guidance to Conclave Marshals. The preferred option is however still to have the Appendant Orders only on a meeting and not to have to open a Conclave at all.
We are all eagerly looking forward to the Consecration of the new Conclave in Andover on Thursday 11th October 2012. We shall be undertaking the Consecration ourselves with the Grand Sovereign being present. The new Conclave is to fill a geographical hole in our coverage within the Division. To get it started members and past members of the Divisional and Grand Sepulchre Guard have agreed to form it initially and support it through its early years. After a year’s operation it will be open to anyone to join and for the installation of candidates into the Red Cross – Hopefully from the local area.
The Christian Orders Service at Amesbury Abbey Church was a great success; my thanks go to Rt. Ill. Kt. Gerry Southwell for his organisation and all the arrangements for lunch as well as the service. Next year it will be in Amesbury again on Sunday the 14th April 2013, but this will be the last time. It is possible that after 2013 this service will occur every other year at St. Cross in Winchester, alternating with the Knight Templar family service. St. Cross was built at the same time as Winchester Cathedral by the same builders. It is in many ways a miniature of the Cathedral.
I confirm that the Divisional meeting in 2013 will be on the 4th Saturday in June at Botley – 22nd of June 2013.
Worthy Knights, I have found my first 18 months as your Intendant-General, stimulating, encouraging and above all most enjoyable. We are a truly Christian Order and we should never forget it. We should in fact emphasise it in our recruitment activity. No candidate should ever arrive at his installation in any doubt as to the relationship between the Order and his Christian beliefs.
I must extend my thanks to all who have made the arrangements for today, both with the use of this centre, the setting up and control of this Annual Conclave and the festive board to come.
Worthy Knights may I thank you all for attending today. I look forward to working with you in the next year and we part with the watchwords of our wonderful Order
FAITH UNITY and ZEAL
R.Ill.Kt. Roger Charles Bricknell
June 2012.