Worthy Knights, this is the first occasion on which I have been able to address you at our Annual Divisional Conclave, albeit in a virtual capacity.
May I first pay tribute to my predecessor, R. III. Kt. Roger Bricknell. I thank him for his excellent leadership and management of the Division over the last 10 years. It was unfortunate that Roger’s retirement came during the Covid-19 pandemic, as we were unable to celebrate this with him in person. We were however able surprise him with some gifts (iWatch, several bottles of Jura whiskey), presented to him by his wife Jane during our virtual General Purposes Committee meeting. He has informed me that he is currently enjoying his gifts especially the Jura whiskey. We hope to be able to celebrate with him in person later in the year when we can meet face-to-face.
I have already made mention of the Official guests attending our meeting today. It is a real pleasure to see you all, especially all those guests from further afar who normally would not be able to attend our meeting due to distance or other masonic business. We welcome you all.
Under normal circumstances this would have been a very special annual general meeting for us in Hampshire and Isle of Wight. At this meeting we would have been celebrating the 150th Anniversary of our Division, the 150th Anniversary of Naval and Military Conclave as well as the installation/confirmation of an Intendant General. These celebrations will now take place at a special meeting to be held on Saturday 13th November 2021 at Botley Masonic Centre, at which we hope to welcome the Grand Sovereign and his team to celebrate this historic occasion with us.
While I am mentioning anniversaries, we have a couple of Knights in the Division who have achieved some milestones within the Red Cross. Firstly, it is 28 years ago this very day that Rt. Ill. Kt. Gerry Southwell became the Intendant General of this Division. An office he held for 17 years. Congratulations Gerry and it is a pleasure to have you with us here today.
We also have Ill.Kt. Terry Bruty, who achieved 60 years in the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine on 9th June 2021. This is a great achievement and one that is not attained by many. I am just sorry that we have not able to celebrate in person but I am assured that we will celebrate this accomplishment later in the year. Hearty congratulations Terry from myself and the entire Division.
Over the last year the Past Intendant General and I have been unable to attend meetings or social events in person but have been able to attend many of them in a virtual capacity. I congratulate all the conclaves for finding ways to continue communicating with their members and for inviting us to join them at their virtual meetings. I wish to thank all those who have been involved in the supportof and communication with our members and their families and those effected by the Covid pandemic. Their involvement in these activities shows the true Christian beliefs that all in our Order profess.
May I extend my congratulations to all those who will be appointed to or promoted in Grand Imperial Conclave this year. They are:
- R.Ill.Kt Roger Bricknell who is to receive the honour of Knight Commander of Constantine
- Ill.Kt. Michael John Goody promoted to the rank of Past Grand Chamberlain
- Ill. Kt. Malcolm Reston Melbourne Lloyd promoted to the rank of Past Grand Chamberlain
- P.Kt. Mark Ian Denton appointed to the rank of Past Grand Standard Bearer (L)
- P.Kt. Mark Eric Gannaway appointed to the rank of Past Grand Vice-Chamberlain and
- P.Kt. Stuart John Wooldridge appointed to the rank of Past Grand Vice-Chamberlain
They are all very well deserved and follow many years of dedicated service to the Order.
The Grand Sovereign recently announced the rescheduling of the Grand Imperial Conclave meeting from July until 12th October 2021 and further details should be received soon regarding the arrangements. I do hope that many of the Knights will be able to attend this meeting to see the aforementioned knights receive their honours from the Grand Sovereign.
There are a number of changes in personnel taking place today with some moving to more senior offices and some retiring from office. I wish to thank them all for their service. I especially wish to thank Ill Kt Graham Brown, who has served the Division in an exceptional manner as Divisional Marshal and previously Divisional Deputy Marshal. He steps down due to circumstances beyond his or our control. His advice and guidance has been invaluable to my predecessor and myself. Many thanks Graham.
I congratulate all those that have been appointed or re-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. I would remind you all that you are expected to attend as many official visits as you can, that also includes those promoted to a Past Divisional Rank this year, as we treat you all as active officers for this year. This invitation will extend to those that were appointed to Past Divisional Rank last year, as you were unable to attend meetings during your year due to the masonic suspension. We would love to see as many of you attending our official visits as possible.
With the resumption of masonic meetings, recruitment and retention must be our major preoccupation for the coming year. You are all well aware that the best method of recruitment is for each member to make approaches to individuals about joining us. I would remind Sovereigns and Viceroys that they should be bringing in an individual each, in their year of office. But this does not mean that the rest of us can stand back and watch, we must all assist in the recruitment of new members into our wonderful Order.
Worthy Knights, I have found the initial part of my tenure as the Intendant-General somewhat strange, having only been in office for less than 3 months and only able to attend virtual meetings, however it has been stimulating, encouraging and above all enjoyable. I am very much looking forward to visiting all our Conclaves and other Divisions and meeting you all. We are a truly Christian Order and we should never forget it.
I thank all those who have organised and participated in the meeting today, making the whole event go so smoothly.
Worthy Knights may I thank you all for attending. I look forward to being with you in person soon. Let us all part with the watchwords of our wonderful Order
FAITH UNITY and ZEAL
God bless you all
R.Ill.Kt. Steven Groeger
26th June 2021.