New Welcome Lodge No. 5139

"...it was intended from the start as a ‘class lodge’ for Labour MPs and officials which would assist relations between the new Labour government and Freemasonry. " - Hamil & Presscott

"...they didn't want their attempts at assimilation to get messed up by some fool who just didn't know how to act right... Didn't know what spoon to use... Or pick up the wrong fork..." 

- Bro. Steve Cokely, 

White Financing of Black Leadership, 1993

Gordon Brown - Not a Freemason

"...clearly, he did not know how to reciprocate the President's flashy flesh-pressing, resulting in what looks like a dreadfully 'wet fish' handshake from the PM.

Failing to grasp how to perform the 'homeboy', three of his fingers even slipped up inside the sleeve of Mr Bush's jacket..." - Daily Mail

‘THE MASONS’ CANDIDATE’: NEW WELCOME LODGE NO. 5139 AND THE PARLIAMENTARY LABOUR PARTY

John Hamill 

United Grand Lodge of England 

Andrew Prescott

University of Sheffield

The claim made by Herbert Morrison and Hugh Dalton that Morrison was denied the leadership

of the Labour Party in the 1935 election by the votes of Labour MPs who were members of a

masonic lodge to which Arthur Greenwood belonged has been repeated by several historians, but

without considering the character of the lodge. This article is a detailed examination of the genesis,

membership and activities of the lodge in question, NewWelcome No. 5139, consecrated in 1929.

The documentation relating to the establishment of the lodge claimed that its purpose was to make

Freemasonry more accessible to the working classes, but the pattern of lodge membership suggests that it was intended from the start as a ‘class lodge’ for Labour MPs and officials which would assist

relations between the new Labour government and Freemasonry. 

Following the formation of theNational Government, the lodge’s character changed, and membership eventually became open to allmen associated with the Palace of Westminster. It is argued that New Welcome Lodge had littleimpact on the 1935 leadership election. It is shown that the claim made by the anti-masonic writers Stephen Knight and Martin Short that Clement Attlee was a freemason misconstrues Dalton’s memoirs; no evidence that Attlee was a freemason has ever been found.

One well-known point at which the history of the British Labour Party intersects with

the history of Freemasonry is the election of Clement Attlee as leader of the Labour

Party in 1935. George Lansbury’s resignation as leader shortly before the 1935 general

election created a crisis and the parliamentary party appointed Attlee as interim leader on

condition that a full leadership ballot would be held once the general election was out of

the way. This leadership election was held in November 1935. Attlee was by no means

the favourite. His conduct of the general election campaign had been undistinguished.

He faced powerful challenges from Herbert Morrison, whose candidature was energeti-

cally promoted by Hugh Dalton and who was seen as the front runner, and Arthur

Greenwood, who had strong trade union support.1 Morrison and his supporters after-

wards claimed that he was defeated because of masonic machinations.2 It was suggested that a group of freemasons within the Labour Party supported Greenwood, a member of

their masonic lodge, in the first ballot. When Greenwood finished bottom of the ballot,

the freemasons allegedly switched their votes in the next ballot to Attlee, thus denying

Morrison the leadership. Thus, it has been claimed, Attlee owed his ascent to the party

leadership to masonic influence. However, these allegations have been repeated without

investigation of the history and character of the masonic lodge. An examination of the

records of the lodge’s history held by the United Grand Lodge of England suggests that

the claims made as to the influence of the lodge on the Labour leadership election were

exaggerated, but also provides remarkable insights on the reaction of some English

freemasons to the prospect of a Labour government in 1929.

The suggestion that a masonic lodge influenced the 1935 leadership election was first

made by Hugh Dalton in his memoir, The Fateful Years, published in 1957. Dalton wrote

that:

Later it came to my knowledge that on November 22nd, four days before the Party meeting,

there was held a meeting of a Masonic Lodge to which at that time a number of Labour

MPs and some Transport House officials belonged. A list of members of this Lodge was

shown to me. No doubt voting for the Party leadership was discussed, formally or informally,

at this meeting, and Greenwood was the Masons’ Candidate. Most members of the Lodge

were closer friends of his than of the other two candidates. I have very little knowledge of

Freemasonry and no strong feelings either for or against it. But the incident has, I think, some

historical interest.3

Dalton gave more circumstantial information about this masonic lodge in his political diary, published by Ben Pimlott in 1986. Dalton found out about the lodge’s existence during a conversation with William Nield of the Labour Party’s Research and Policy Department at the House of Commons on 6 April 1938. Nield showed Dalton ‘a document of some interest’. Dalton described it as follows:

It was a summons to a special meeting of the New Welcome Lodge, dated four days before

the meeting of the Parliamentary Party at which Attlee was re-elected Leader after the last

election. This Lodge is masonic and appears to cater especially, though not exclusively, for

Labour MPs. The secretary summoning the meeting was Scott Lindsay [the Secretary of the

Parliamentary Labour Party]. He canvassed me for Greenwood at the time and, in reply to my

obvious point of doubt,4 told me that Greenwood promised that, if elected Leader, he would

never be out of control on important occasions. A full list of members of the Lodge was on

the back of the summons. The list included Sir Robert Young, Joe Compton, A. Short,

Major Milner, J. W. Bowen, Rev. H. Dunnico, Colonel L’Estrange Malone, Colonel H. W.

Burton (a Tory M.P. and the only one in this galère), Jack Hayes, F. J. Bellenger, Willie

Henderson, F. O. Roberts, Greenwood himself (these two appear to have joined about the

same time), W. Dobbie, Ben Tillet[t], George Hicks, Lord Kinnoul[l] (now dead).5

Dalton declared that ‘This is a surprisingly large number, and some of the names are

very surprising’. Dalton recalled that he had invited Bellenger to a meeting at his flat on

20 November 1935 designed to rally support for Morrison and to encourage Morrison to

stand for the leadership. Dalton had been embarrassed when news of this meeting had

been leaked to the press, and he now wondered if Bellenger, as one of Greenwood’s

fellow masons, had been responsible. Nield told Dalton that he had shown the lodge

summons to Herbert Morrison, who had said ‘I have got a copy locked up in my drawer.

Someone sent it to me a few days after the election’.6

Labour History Review, Vol. 71, No. 1, April 2006

‘THE MASONS’ CANDIDATE’:

NEW WELCOME LODGE NO. 5139 AND THE PARLIAMENTARY LABOUR PARTY

John Hamill Andrew Prescott

United Grand Lodge of England University of Sheffield

The claim made by Herbert Morrison and Hugh Dalton that Morrison was denied the leadership of the Labour Party in the 1935 election by the votes of Labour MPs who were members of a masonic lodge to which Arthur Greenwood belonged has been repeated by several historians, but without considering the character of the lodge. This article is a detailed examination of the genesis, membership and activities of the lodge in question, New Welcome No. 5139, consecrated in 1929. The documentation relating to the establishment of the lodge claimed that its purpose was to make Freemasonry more accessible to the working classes, but the pattern of lodge membership suggests that it was intended from the start as a ‘class lodge’ for Labour MPs and officials which would assist relations between the new Labour government and Freemasonry. Following the formation of the National Government, the lodge’s character changed, and membership eventually became open to all men associated with the Palace of Westminster. It is argued that New Welcome Lodge had little impact on the 1935 leadership election. It is shown that the claim made by the anti-masonic writers Stephen Knight and Martin Short that Clement Attlee was a freemason misconstrues Dalton’s memoirs; no evidence that Attlee was a freemason has ever been found.

One well-known point at which the history of the British Labour Party intersects with the history of Freemasonry is the election of Clement Attlee as leader of the Labour Party in 1935. George Lansbury’s resignation as leader shortly before the 1935 general election created a crisis and the parliamentary party appointed Attlee as interim leader on condition that a full leadership ballot would be held once the general election was out of the way. This leadership election was held in November 1935. Attlee was by no means the favourite. His conduct of the general election campaign had been undistinguished. He faced powerful challenges from Herbert Morrison, whose candidature was energeti-cally promoted by Hugh Dalton and who was seen as the front runner, and Arthur Greenwood, who had strong trade union support.1 Morrison and his supporters after-wards claimed that he was defeated because of masonic machinations.2 It was suggested

Address correspondence to Andrew Prescott, Centre for Research into Freemasonry, Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield, 34 Gell Street, Sheffield S3 7QW, e-mail: a.prescott@shef. ac.uk

© 2006 Society for the Study of Labour History doi: 10.1179/174581806X103862

Published by Maney Publishing (c) The Society for the Study of Labour History

10 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

that a group of freemasons within the Labour Party supported Greenwood, a member of their masonic lodge, in the first ballot. When Greenwood finished bottom of the ballot, the freemasons allegedly switched their votes in the next ballot to Attlee, thus denying Morrison the leadership. Thus, it has been claimed, Attlee owed his ascent to the party leadership to masonic influence. However, these allegations have been repeated without investigation of the history and character of the masonic lodge. An examination of the records of the lodge’s history held by the United Grand Lodge of England suggests that the claims made as to the influence of the lodge on the Labour leadership election were exaggerated, but also provides remarkable insights on the reaction of some English freemasons to the prospect of a Labour government in 1929.

The suggestion that a masonic lodge influenced the 1935 leadership election was first made by Hugh Dalton in his memoir, The Fateful Years, published in 1957. Dalton wrote that:

Later it came to my knowledge that on November 22nd, four days before the Party meeting, there was held a meeting of a Masonic Lodge to which at that time a number of Labour MPs and some Transport House officials belonged. A list of members of this Lodge was shown to me. No doubt voting for the Party leadership was discussed, formally or informally, at this meeting, and Greenwood was the Masons’ Candidate. Most members of the Lodge were closer friends of his than of the other two candidates. I have very little knowledge of Freemasonry and no strong feelings either for or against it. But the incident has, I think, some historical interest.3

Dalton gave more circumstantial information about this masonic lodge in his political diary, published by Ben Pimlott in 1986. Dalton found out about the lodge’s existence during a conversation with William Nield of the Labour Party’s Research and Policy Department at the House of Commons on 6 April 1938. Nield showed Dalton ‘a document of some interest’. Dalton described it as follows:

It was a summons to a special meeting of the New Welcome Lodge, dated four days before the meeting of the Parliamentary Party at which Attlee was re-elected Leader after the last election. This Lodge is masonic and appears to cater especially, though not exclusively, for Labour MPs. The secretary summoning the meeting was Scott Lindsay [the Secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party]. He canvassed me for Greenwood at the time and, in reply to my obvious point of doubt,4 told me that Greenwood promised that, if elected Leader, he would never be out of control on important occasions. A full list of members of the Lodge was on the back of the summons. The list included Sir Robert Young, Joe Compton, A. Short, Major Milner, J. W. Bowen, Rev. H. Dunnico, Colonel L’Estrange Malone, Colonel H. W. Burton (a Tory M.P. and the only one in this galère), Jack Hayes, F. J. Bellenger, Willie Henderson, F. O. Roberts, Greenwood himself (these two appear to have joined about the same time), W. Dobbie, Ben Tillet[t], George Hicks, Lord Kinnoul[l] (now dead).5

Dalton declared that ‘This is a surprisingly large number, and some of the names are very surprising’. Dalton recalled that he had invited Bellenger to a meeting at his flat on

20 November 1935 designed to rally support for Morrison and to encourage Morrison to stand for the leadership. Dalton had been embarrassed when news of this meeting had been leaked to the press, and he now wondered if Bellenger, as one of Greenwood’s fellow masons, had been responsible. Nield told Dalton that he had shown the lodge summons to Herbert Morrison, who had said ‘I have got a copy locked up in my drawer. Someone sent it to me a few days after the election’.6

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 11

A year later, Dalton was to encounter New Welcome Lodge once more. On 24 May 1939 he noted that:

Bellenger engages me in conversation on the Terrace and asks whether I have ever considered becoming a Mason. I say no. He then explains how useful this association is and tells me that there is a Lodge at the House of Commons, called the New Welcome Lodge, to which a number of Labour MPs belong. ‘Greenwood’, he said, ‘is a member’. He assured me that there was no politics in Free Masonry, but that there was a wonderful sense of fellowship, etc. I thanked him for his suggestion but said I did not feel that I would care to join. I added, ‘There is a good deal of talk going round about this Lodge’. ‘There ought not to’, said he, slightly embarrassed I thought.7

Far from reassuring him as to the benign character of New Welcome Lodge, Dalton’s conversation with Bellenger encouraged him to see a distinct masonic bloc in the Labour Party which supported Greenwood and was opposed to Morrison. Dalton increasingly propagated the view that support for Attlee was being orchestrated by the freemasons in order to ensure that Morrison would never become leader. In his diary entries for the party conference at Southport at the beginning of June 1939, he notes that ‘I tell Francis Williams a few things, e.g. about the Masons, which he did not know, on the last morning of the Conference’.8 Attlee was at that time ill and was awaiting a prostrate operation. Ellen Wilkinson published an article suggesting that the time was ripe for a change in leadership. In Dalton’s view, opposition to any change in the party leadership was led by masonic supporters of Greenwood:

The Masons had been going actively about, swearing that they would have Ellen’s head on the charger and alleging an immense and far-tentacled intrigue to impose Morrison upon a reluctant and indignant Parliamentary Party... The Masons, though no doubt hoping that Attlee will come through his operation all right, would like him to retire upon grounds of health in a month or two and Greenwood to get the leadership, but for the moment they concentrate on indignation at this attempt to stab a sick man in the back.9

Dalton urged Wilkinson  ‘if attacked, to counter by spilling some Masonic beans’. Dalton declared that ‘whereas Attlee is quite virtuous, in spite of all his inadequacies, Greenwood and the Masons are a scandal, and this is a chance to expose them’.10 Dalton afterwards had a conversation with Albert Alexander about the leadership issues.

I mention to him the Masonic matter, of which he seems ignorant — I suppose he is not a Mason himself in some other Lodge? — but he agrees with me that it would be a scandal and an impossibility for Greenwood to lead the Party.11

Dalton’s view of the influence of New Welcome Lodge on the 1935 leadership elec-tion is now well established in labour history, having been repeated for example by Ben Pimlott,12 Richard Whiting,13 David Martin,14 and Andrew Thorpe.15 The suggestion of a masonic dimension to Attlee’s ascent has continued to reverberate to the present day. In 1984, Stephen Knight published an attack on Freemasonry, which portrayed it as a malign secret network underpinning the British establishment. He cited the 1935 Labour leadership election in support of his claims, but misrepresented the facts as reported by Dalton:

Two men in particular seemed to have achieved high office in the Labour Party directly through membership of the Brotherhood: Attlee, Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951, and

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12 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Arthur Greenwood, Deputy Leader of the Party from 1935. On 22 November 1935 a masonic Lodge whose members included Transport House officials and several Labour MPs held one of its regular meetings. The party meeting to select a new Leader was fixed for 26 November. Three men were in the running. Even though Attlee was a Mason, it was Green-wood, a member of the Transport House Lodge, who was, according to Hugh Dalton, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1945 and 1947, ‘the Masons’ Candidate’.16

In an unusually generous comment on Freemasonry, Knight added:

First, of course, this is not an example of Freemasonry at work in Parliament but inside an individual party, which is quite different. Secondly, considering the facts coolly, it is hard to see much that is sinister in them. Freemasons getting together in secret to decide whom they as a group want to have as leader seems no different from the Tribunites, the Manifesto Group or any other sub group within a party doing the same thing.17

Generous Knight may have been, but freemasons would not agree with him. The discussion of religion and politics at masonic meetings is forbidden. As the Book of Constitutions of the United Grand Lodge of England states, ‘no private piques or quar-rels must be brought within the door of the lodge, far less any quarrels about religion, or nations, or state policy’. The relevant constitution goes on to declare that freemasons ‘are resolved against all politics, as what never yet conduced to the welfare of the lodge, nor ever will’.18 In principle, freemasons using their membership for party political purposes would be subject to the masonic disciplinary process. In a letter to the former Labour MP Sir Herbert Dunnico in 1940, the then Pro Grand Master of United Grand Lodge of England Lord Harewood observed that ‘It is the great strength of English Freemasonry that we take no part in politics, and that our Lodges contain only those who are obedient to the laws and loyal to the “Sovereign of their native land”’.19 This of course assumes that republicans could not be masons, an irony which Charles Bradlaugh pointed out during his short career as an English freemason.20

Although Knight cites Dalton’s memoirs as his source, at no point either there or in his diary did Dalton suggest that Attlee was a freemason. He merely portrays him as the beneficiary of a masonic vote. Nevertheless this suggestion that Attlee was a freemason was repeated by Knight’s follower, Martin Short, who stated that:

According to Hugh Dalton (the future Chancellor of the Exchequer) both Attlee and his rival Arthur Greenwood were Masons. Dalton says that a Masonic caucus of MPs and Transport Union officials backed Greenwood in the leadership ballot. He came third, so in the run-off the Masons switched their votes to Brother Attlee. This ensured his victory over the non-Mason, Herbert Morrison.21

Short corrects Knight’s error in describing the lodge as ‘the Transport House Lodge’, and correctly identifies it as the New Welcome Lodge:

The New Welcome Lodge has been one of British politics’ longest and best kept secrets. Persistent rumours that a lodge existed somewhere in Parliament have been laughed off until now because of false tales that it meets within the Palace of Westminster. In fact it meets five times a year at Freemasons’ Hall.

The allegations made by Knight and Short about Attlee’s election received extensive publicity. When Short’s book came out in 1989 he was publicly challenged by Attlee’s

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 13

son, the 2nd Earl Attlee, in the letters page of the Daily Telegraph to produce evidence for Clement Attlee having been a freemason.22 So certain was Lord Attlee that his father had not been a freemason that he offered £1,000 to a charity of Short’s choice should he produce any evidence that his father had been a freemason. Grand Lodge was intrigued by this public challenge and the then Pro Grand Master, Lord Cornwallis, invited Lord Attlee to lunch at Freemasons’ Hall to discuss it. His Lordship accepted and John Hamill was present at the lunch. In his role as Grand Lodge’s Librarian and Curator, Hamill had been asked when the Knight book appeared to conduct a search of the membership registers to see if Attlee had been a freemason under the United Grand Lodge of England. His name does not appear in the registers of English Freemasonry. Over lunch Lord Attlee stated that after his father’s death he had gone through all his papers and had found no evidence for his having been a freemason. There were papers referring to other organizations to which his father had belonged but nothing even remotely connected with Freemasonry. He believed that even had his father been a member for only a very short time reference to it would have survived in his personal papers or diaries or within family memory.

This fact was confirmed to John Hamill by another member of the family, Clement Attlee’s daughter, Lady Felicity Harwood. Her husband, Geoffrey Harwood, became a freemason. He and John Hamill were members of the same London lodge, Honour and Generosity No. 165. Geoffrey always brought her to the ladies’ dinners of the lodge and, after his death in 1988, the lodge continued to invite her and on a number of occasions Hamill was her escort for the evening. She was adamant that her father could not have been a freemason without some record of it having survived in his papers or within family memory. She added that she would have found it strange if he had been a freemason for, in her words, ‘he was not a clubbable man’.

Although Knight and Short misrepresented Dalton’s report by claiming Attlee as a freemason, the central claim made by Dalton, that there was a masonic lodge to which several Labour MPs, including Arthur Greenwood belonged, was correct. There are two lodges connected with the Palace of Westminster. The first is the Gallery Lodge No. 1928, formed in 1881. Its membership originally consisted of journalists, particularly those in the parliamentary ‘lobby’, Hansard writers and others from the world of publish-ing. Like many lodges formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by particular groups, it has in the last few decades lost its original membership ethos, and such members of the press and Hansard writers as the lodge has today are all retired — the membership has been opened to others so that the lodge can survive.23 The second lodge with parliamentary connections is that for which Dalton saw a summons in 1938 — New Welcome Lodge No. 5139, the subject of this paper. That the lodge, since its formation in 1929, has had parliamentary connections is beyond doubt. The reasons for its formation, however, have been the subject of much conjecture and the existing primary source material does not put them beyond doubt.

Until the middle of the nineteenth century, a masonic lodge simply served the town or city in which it was based. While the membership of a lodge might reflect local social networks or groupings, there was no formal requirement that prospective members should belong to a particular profession or social group. The only exceptions were military lodges formed for members of particular regiments. From the late nineteenth century, non-military masonic lodges began to be formed whose membership was

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14 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

restricted to particular social groups. This development began with lodges for old boys of particular schools,24 which in turn led to the creation of lodges associated with uni-versities and medical schools.25 These school and university lodges paved the way for the establishment during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries of many ‘class lodges’, so called because they were restricted to a particular class of membership. Many of these lodges were formed to serve professional men working in the emerging public sector, such as those for employees of school boards.26 A number of lodges were formed for members of new county and borough councils27 — the study of such lodges would be a fruitful area of research for historians of local government. By the 1930s, there were lodges for every conceivable profession.28

Although the growth of lodges restricted to certain professional or social groups was not restricted to the metropolitan area, it was a marked feature of London Freemasonry. This reflected London’s growth in the nineteenth century. As the professional classes moved out of central London into the new suburbs, geographically based lodges became increasingly less viable and lodges based around common professional, social and leisure interests became more attractive.29 The Gallery Lodge is a good example of such a pro-fessionally based lodge in London. Another was the Insuranto Lodge No. 3733, conse-crated at Freemasons’ Hall in London on 6 July 1914, whose members were officials of insurance companies, building and friendly societies.30 A founder of Insuranto Lodge and one of its first masters was Percy Rockliff, who had been the first secretary of the New Tabernacle Provident Society, established in East London in 1896 with an initial membership of 20 members. When Rockliff retired as secretary of the society in 1932, it had 23,000 members, who shared in an annual Christmas distribution of £30,000.31 From 1905, Rockliff was also secretary of the London and County Permanent Benefit Society, now part of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society. At various times secretary of the Joint Committee of Approved Societies and president of the Faculty of Insurance, Rockliff was a particularly distinguished figure in the insurance world.

Rockliff and Insuranto Lodge took a leading role in the establishment of the New Welcome Lodge. The minutes of the Insuranto Lodge record that, on 1 July 1929, the lodge passed the following motion proposed by Rockliff:

That the members of Insuranto Lodge No. 3733 do recommend for the favourable consider-ation of the MW Grand Master, the petition for the formation of a new lodge to be known as ‘The Lodge of Citizenship’.32

This was the lodge which was to become ‘The New Welcome’. For a new lodge to be formed, it is necessary for the petitioners to fill out a formal petition to the Grand Master giving details of the intended founders, the nomination of the first Master and Wardens together with their choice of name for the new lodge and its intended place and dates of meeting. The petition has to be accompanied by a letter from the founders giving their reasons for forming the lodge and justifying their choice of name. The proposal for the new lodge has also to be supported by an existing lodge. The petition for the lodge proposed by Rockliff and the Insuranto Lodge survives.33 Of the eleven who signed the petition,34 seven were officials of insurance companies and mutual societies and members of Insuranto Lodge, including Rockcliff himself, George Royle, a former mayor of Bedford who was President of the New Tabernacle Society, and George Canter, formerly Secretary of the Post Office Employees’ Approved Society and Secretary of the

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 15

National Incorporated Beneficent Society. The other signatories to the petition were sitting Labour MPs, namely John William Bowen, General Secretary of the Union of Post Office Workers; Charles Sitch, Secretary of the Chainmakers’ and Strikers’ Asso-ciation; the Sheffield trade unionist, Alfred Short; and the non-conformist minister, Herbert Dunnico. Bowen was the only one of the founders who was both a member of Insuranto and an MP, and perhaps provided a link between the two groups. Curiously, although Dunnico, Short, Bowen and Sitch were identified as MPs in the summons for the consecration of the lodge, no details are given of their parliamentary affiliation in the petition. It could be that they omitted it in deference to Freemasonry’s non-political stance and because they did not regard membership of parliament as being their principal profession. Conspiracy theorists might suggest that this information was omitted for more sinister reasons.

Preserved with the original petition for the lodge is a series of letters to the Grand Secretary, Sir Philip Colville Smith, from Rockliff and William Appleton, the Secretary of Insuranto Lodge, who was Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions from 1907 to 1938.35 These are printed in full in an appendix below. The correspondence shows that discussions about the new lodge had been going on for some months. It seems that the story started in December 1928 with the consecration of a new masonic chapter attached to the High Cross Lodge No. 754 in Tottenham (the lodge to which Charles Bradlaugh had been admitted in 1865). Rockcliff was a member of this lodge, serving as its master in 1929, and was one of the founders of the new chapter. Among those officiating at the ceremony was Colville Smith himself and George Royle, who was to be one of the founders of New Welcome. According to Appleton, an address was made during the ceremony by Prebendary George Perry, Rector of St Vedast, Foster Lane and a former Mayor of Finsbury, in which he lamented the difficulty of persuading less wealthy men to become freemasons. Colville Smith expressed his approval of Perry’s speech, and spoke to Appleton about his feeling that Freemasonry could play a part in creating greater social harmony. Appleton wrote to Colville Smith to say how much he had appreciated this conversation, and to say that he had discussed the matter ‘with a Fellow Mason who mixes very freely amongst the ordinary workmen’ (presumably Rockcliff) and promising to write again after further discussion. Rockcliff himself reported to Colville Smith in January that he and Appleton had been ‘giving earnest thought to the subject of the proposed new Lodge’.

On 31 January 1929, Appleton wrote to Colville Smith with a detailed memorandum proposing the formation of a Lodge of Citizenship which would seek to take forward the ideas expressed at the High Cross ceremony. The lodge would adopt principles of ‘economic administration’ in order to encourage the ‘better social type of manual and clerical worker’ to join Masonry ‘without importunity’ or neglect of their families. The level of subscriptions would be kept to a minimum and, instead of the sumptuous dinners usually associated with masonic meetings, the meal after meetings of the new lodge would be ‘of that simple and homely character which is, even today, associated with some provincial, and many rural lodges’. In order to prevent undue claims by members of the lodge on masonic charities, the lodge would form its own masonic charitable association (a similar fund was already operated by Insuranto Lodge). Appleton hoped that these details would be sufficient to allow a petition for the formation of such a lodge to be granted.

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16 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Rockcliff followed up Appleton’s letter with one of his own on 5 February, declaring that the aim of the new lodge was to ‘bring home to the industrial section of the com-munity the principles and tenets of the craft’. While Freemasonry to some extent broke down social barriers in rural areas, he observed, it was less successful in this respect in metropolitan areas. While the new lodge would begin in London, it would seek to set up offshoots elsewhere in the country. The aim would be to recruit members who ‘by permeating the ranks of the industrial classes, would become missioners for and exem-plars of the advantages which Masonry confers, not only upon its members, but upon those with whom its members come into daily contact’. These masonic emissaries would help calm social unrest: ‘Masonry would exercise a steadying influence (“as citizens of the world”) upon those who are brought within its fold, and help to render nugatory any unsettling influences which might be at work in factories and elsewhere’.

Despite the encouragement they had received from Colville Smith, it was evidently felt that the proposal of Rockcliff and Appleton required further consideration, and it was not until six months later in August 1929 that the formal petition for the lodge was submitted, accompanied by the formal letter explaining the rationale for the new lodge required by the rules. This was composed by Rockcliff and again described the aims of the founders in terms similar to those he had used in his earlier letter. The lodge was intended to spread ‘knowledge of the principles and practice of Freemasonry amongst other than wealthy members of the community in crowded urban areas’. While it was aimed at the less well-off, it would still preserve ‘such a dignity in its proceedings as to make membership of it desirable’, while practising such economies in its administration to ensure that membership fees were at a reasonable level. Rockcliff proposed three names for the lodge: the 1929 Lodge (to mark the year of its founding), the Civitas Britannicus Lodge; and the New Citizen Lodge.

Apart from this correspondence, no other documents about the formation of the lodge exist in the Grand Lodge archives. On the face of the information supplied by these documents, the intent of the founders was laudable, even if in masonic terms it was somewhat political, and to our modern minds, somewhat patronizing. Rockliff and Appleton were correct in their view that it was difficult for ‘the better social type of manual and clerical workers’ to gain admittance into London lodges. In the context of the widespread establishment of ‘class lodges’, the petition for the proposed Lodge of Citizenship was not unusual. However, the political concerns expressed by the founders and their declared intention of using the lodge to promote social harmony were extremely unusual. The lodge petition was approved, but there was some further discus-sion about the lodge name. The name eventually decided upon was New Welcome Lodge, presumably reflecting the declared intention of offering working-class candidates a warm welcome.

It is clear from the correspondence that New Welcome Lodge was regarded as a sensitive project. This is evident from the exchanges about the design of a badge for the lodge. Rockliff had asked the Grand Secretary whether a representation of Big Ben could be used as the lodge badge.36 The Grand Secretary had ruled this out. The masonic jeweller, Harry Bladon, made a design based on a drawing of the open door of the entrance to the monumental new Freemasons’ Hall at Great Queen Street in London, built as a masonic peace memorial. This was again vetoed by the Grand Secretary. Rockliff wrote again asking whether the design could be amended and saying that it was

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 17

difficult to think of other ideas for an emblem: ‘Friendly Society designs, of which there are quite a number, are of the hackneyed class and type’.37 Eventually, Bladon produced a more generic design of a door opening to reveal a masonic tessellated carpet.38

The new lodge was consecrated on 1 November 1929 at the lodge room in 10 Duke Street, St James’s, by Colville Smith as Grand Secretary.39 Rather than being secretive, as Martin Short described it, the arrival of New Welcome Lodge was widely reported in the press, as was common with masonic events at that time. The Daily Telegraph carried a report headed ‘Freemasonry. New Lodge with Many MPs’,40 while ‘Lounger’ in the Sporting Times gave a lengthy account of the ceremony and the banquet afterwards at the Jules Restaurant in Jermyn Street.41 The consecration was also reported in detail in the publicly available newspapers published for freemasons. The description of the purpose of the new lodge in the masonic press differs from that given in the letters of Appleton and Rockliff. It was described simply as a lodge for MPs. The Masonic Record in reporting the consecration of New Welcome welcomed ‘this new and striking devel-opment in Freemasonry shielded as it is by the exclusion of all political discussions from its meetings.’42 Likewise, the weekly newspaper, the Freemason, declared that ‘Masonry happily knows no politics, but that is, happily, also no reason why politicians should not benefit by the teaching and practice of the Craft and do their utmost to make its usefulness known among their friends and supporters.’43

Comments such as these suggest that, while Appleton and Rockliff may have claimed in their correspondence with Grand Lodge that the aim was to establish a lodge which would attract working men, the intention was somewhat different — the lodge was in fact a parliamentary ‘class lodge’. The four candidates for membership proposed at first meeting of the lodge were all Labour MPs, namely Robert (later Sir Robert) Young, recently appointed Deputy Speaker, James Shillaker, Joseph Cotton, and William Watson Henderson, the son of the new Foreign Secretary, Arthur Henderson.44 In February 1930, Scott Lindsay the secretary of the Parliamentary Labour Party was initiated in the lodge, and he became secretary of the lodge in December 1931. Between the foundation of the lodge and the end of 1934, 47 men joined the lodge.45 Of these, 25 were or had been Labour MPs, together with the Labour peer Lord Kinnoull. The only Conservative MP to join the lodge during this time was Col. Henry Burton, who was already a member of another masonic lodge, Wickford Lodge No. 4220 in Essex. Burton was a provincial officer in Essex at the same time as Herbert Dunnico and joined the lodge while Dunnico was Master. His membership of the lodge was probably due to this personal connection.

Among the Labour MPs who joined New Welcome Lodge were, as Dalton noted, such distinguished figures as Greenwood, Ben Tillett, and Frederick Roberts, the Minister of Pensions in 1924 and from 1929-31. Some of the MPs who joined New Welcome were already members of other lodges, such as Cecil L’Estrange Malone, who had previously been initiated in Athlumley Lodge No. 3245. The majority were, how-ever, new to Freemasonry and were initiated in New Welcome Lodge. Some of these MPs proved to be enthusiastic masons and afterwards attained national rank under the United Grand Lodge of England, such as James Milner, a Junior Grand Warden,46 Charles Ammon, also a Warden, and William Henderson, a Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies. Of the 21 men who joined the lodge before 1935 who were not members of either house of parliament, some were messengers or clerks in the Palace

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18 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

of Westminster, while others were apparently connected with the catering and entertain-ing arrangements for the lodge. These recruits also included some who were sons of members of the lodge, such as Dunnico’s son Herbert, who was initiated by his father. A special dispensation was obtained from Grand Lodge so that Dunnico junior, who was under twenty one, could be initiated while his father was master of the lodge47 A handful of initiates in the lodge were prominent in the Labour movement, but did not serve as MPs, such as William Spence, General Secretary of the National Union of Seamen, and George Gibson, General Secretary of the Mental Hospital and Institutional Workers’ Union and the first General Secretary of the Confederation of Health Service Employees on its formation in 1946.

Occasionally, personal and political connections can be traced which apparently explain the membership of the lodge. For example, Rockliff was a member of the Dental and Opthalmic Benefit Board. Jack Hayes, the Labour Whip, was Secretary of the British Optical Association, and this may explain how he came to be one of the first to join the lodge. Hayes had been Parliamentary Private Secretary to Frederick Roberts in 1924. Malone, who joined the lodge in 1931, was MP for Northampton, where Roberts was Secretary of the local Labour party. The combined influence of Hayes and Malone probably explains the fact that Roberts was proposed for membership at the meeting when Malone joined the lodge. Roberts was joined in his initiation by Albert Bellamy, his then PPS, even though Bellamy was gravely ill. When Bellamy died a few weeks later, Malone was appointed as Roberts’s PPS.

Nevertheless, the membership of the lodge was far from secret. The Times referred to the lodge as ‘consisting largely of Labour MPs’ in a report of a meeting of Grand Lodge in 1931,48 and carried a report of the installation of Sir Robert Young as Master of the lodge.49 Above all, masonic newspapers such as the Freemason published regular reports on meetings of the lodge. These reported notable initiations, such as those of Tillett,50 Roberts and Greenwood,51 and gave reports of speeches which provide a valuable insight into how members of the lodge perceived Freemasonry. For example, Alfred Short, on his installation as master in 1931, stated that members of the lodge were imbued ‘with the true Masonic Spirit for Social Service’ and declared that the aim of the lodge was ‘Social Service through the Craft’.52 Likewise, Fred Kershaw on his installation stated that the lodge was composed

of men who had spent long years in benefiting the conditions of their fellow creatures, men who moved in immense circles of influence ... If these men could interpret in its true sense, in the spirit of brotherhood, all that Masonry stood for, both in Parliament and elsewhere, it was obvious that their work in all spheres of activity would be for the betterment of the world. There could be no finer achievement than for their members .. . to in future bring the great spirit of brotherhood to bear upon the body politic.53

Some  of  the  most  striking  speeches  at  lodge  meetings  were  made  by  Arthur Greenwood. These suggest that Greenwood was deeply committed to the ideals of Free-masonry. The Freemason reported at length the speech made by Greenwood following his initiation:

What has attracted me to this magnificent Order is that it is a brotherhood of men bound together by loyalty, by friendship and common objects. I am young in your midst. I hope I shall not be a stumbling block in your great Craft, but a stepping stone. Political earthquakes

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 19

happen to have given me a temporary prominence, but my heart is with the rank and file. I therefore do not suppose that I shall ever be an illustrious figure in Freemasonry, but I hope it will always be said of me that I have been a loyal Brother who has done his best to bring distinction to the Order; to make Freemasonry what it ought to be and to stand by all Brother Masons. I have pledged my word tonight, and I never pledge it lightly.54

Perhaps the most powerful exponent of this theme of Freemasonry as means of pro-moting brotherhood was Herbert Dunnico, one of the founders of the lodge and its master from 1930-1. Dunnico’s mastership saw not only the initiation of Greenwood, Roberts and many others, but also one of the most remarkable events in the history of the lodge, the initiation of the former transport workers leader, Robert Williams.55 Williams was by 1931 in a parlous state.56 He had left the Transport Workers’ Federation in 1925 when it effectively collapsed following the formation of the TGWU. He had lost his position as general manager of the Daily Herald after the TUC ceased to be sole proprietor in 1930. By 1931, this former member of the Communist Party and supporter of the Bolshevik revolution was relying on the charity of friends and income from occasional freelance journalism in support of the National government. Dunnico, also a supporter of the National government, felt that Freemasonry might help Williams. In welcoming him to the lodge, Dunnico made a speech which was evidently intended to address Williams’s personal situation. He described how Freemasonry was a reflection of ‘a Power working itself out towards harmony and concord’, and went on:

This great movement of theirs, whilst it knew no party, sect or creed, was composed of men conscious of their own weaknesses and defects; and for that reason it was never presumed to judge others. It existed to foster the spirit of mutual understanding and good will. Lasting things come slowly. Those that come quickly, go quickly. In Masonry they made new friends who were bound to them by the most solemn pledges.57

Dunnico concluded by declaring that ‘he had never done Bro. Williams any greater favour than in initiating him into their great order’. In replying, Williams noted that he entered the lodge ‘bereft of everything that mattered in the shape of worldly goods’. Instead, he had found something more valuable — comradeship and friendship. He hoped that the confidence reposed in him would be justified and he pledged himself to help promote fealty to Freemasonry. However, in the wreck of his life, Williams found it impossible to keep his promise. It must have been very difficult for him to afford the costs of lodge membership. He never attended another meeting or paid any dues, and, in 1933, he was automatically excluded from the lodge. Three years later, he committed suicide.

Dunnico’s charitable attempt to help Williams by enrolling him in New Welcome seems to be the only example of an attempt to put into action the proposal of Appleton and Rockliff to create a lodge which would be accessible to those who could not otherwise afford to become freemasons. How can the discrepancy between the stated intentions of Rockliff and Appleton in founding the lodge, and its actual character as a well-heeled parliamentary lodge dominated by Labour MPs be reconciled? The answer to this question might have remained a mystery had it not been for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the lodge in 1980.58

For that occasion, a brief history of the lodge was produced, which gave a completely new reason for the formation of the lodge. It baldly states:

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20 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

The intention was to form a Lodge with parliamentary connections which would enable those Members of Parliament and Officials of the Labour Party, finding difficulty in joining other Lodges, to enter Masonry without prejudice to the feelings against the Craft which existed in some circles in which they moved. There were already a number of Members of Parliament who were active Masons, and their support was enlisted for the formation of the new Lodge. It is of interest that even at this early stage, the Founders of the Lodge were restricted in the number of Members of Parliament who joined and in fact only four of the original Founders were serving Members of Parliament.

The history then goes on to record recollections of the formation of the Lodge by Percy Rockliff in the late 1930s:

In the early months of 1929 Sir Colville Smith asked Bro Rockliff to call and see him at Freemasons’ Hall.

At this interview, the Grand Secretary informed Bro. Rockliff that the then Prince of Wales (afterwards King Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor) was somewhat concerned at the number of occasions on which ballots, taken in Lodges, appeared to be used to exclude from Masonry Labour MPs seeking membership therein. HRH had therefore suggested to the Grand Secretary that a Lodge might be formed specially for the purpose of enabling Labour MPs and officials to become Masons if they so desired.

It was known to Bro. Rockliff that, at annual Labour Conferences, motions had for years appeared upon the Agenda papers designed to exclude Freemasons from holding offices in the Trade Union movement. Latterly, these motions had been rendered nugatory by moving ‘next business’ when the objectionable item was reached on the Agenda. Notwithstanding this, the Grand Secretary thought that the idea of the Prince of Wales should be proceeded with. Would Bro. Rockliff, as Secretary of Insuranto Lodge, undertake the formation of a new Lodge, for this express purpose, by taking charge of a petition for its creation?

At a further meeting with Sir Colville Smith, Bro. Rockliff was informed that the Pro Grand Master (Lord Ampthill) had suggested, after consultation with the Prince of Wales, that the proposed name of the new Lodge should be changed to ‘New Welcome’ as being more indicative of its purpose. To this variation Bro. Rockliff at once agreed.

Bro. Rockliff next paid a visit to the House of Commons where he met Bro. Dunnico and other MPs with whom he discussed and agreed personnel for filling the three principal chairs.

The only source for this information is Rockliff’s recollections. A search of the Grand Secretary’s private letter files and letter books reveals no correspondence between Colville Smith and Rockliff or Appleton other than the documents we have already quoted. Rockliff’s account, however, does fit with the events and the early history of New Welcome Lodge whilst the correspondence clearly does not. That raises the ques-tion of whether or not the correspondence was a ‘blind’ to ensure that the new lodge came into being without the embarrassment of Freemasonry being seen to involve itself not just in politics but in party politics.

We believe that the answer to that question has to be yes. Such a conclusion receives support from the way in which, once the lodge had been consecrated and its character was clear, the ‘open door’ badge, agreed with such difficulty, was dropped and replaced by 1930 with the design used today, incorporating the portcullis of the House of Commons.59 Moreover, it is striking that, apart from Henry Burton, a fellow provincial officer of Dunnico, none of the Conservative and Liberal MPs who were at that time

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 21

freemasons, such as Thomas Shaw,60 Kingsley Wood,61 and Harry Crookshank,62 joined the lodge, although they sometimes visited its meetings. It might seem as if Colville Smith, Appleton and Rockliff were in grave danger of mixing Freemasonry and politics, but we have to put the event in the context of its time. Clearly, like many others, the rulers of Freemasonry were apprehensive about the prospect of a Labour government in 1929 and may have felt that there was a risk that the new government would take a dim view of Freemasonry. They evidently considered it judicious to build bridges with the labour movement, and New Welcome Lodge was intended to ensure that Freemasonry had some ‘friends in court’.

In that sense the formation of New Welcome Lodge is understandable — although strictly speaking it could be claimed that it offended against the principle of Freemasonry not involving itself in politics or allying itself to one particular party. Presumably the justification was that in promoting the New Welcome Lodge the founders were not allying themselves to a particular party, but were ensuring that Freemasonry remained inclusive and was not excluding a particular group because of their political allegiance. To have admitted that, either within Freemasonry or in public, would have been coun-terproductive, hence the smoke screen of the formal correspondence. Once the lodge had been established, the founders felt more confident about declaring their motives. Rockliff stated in 1930 that:

The Lodge had put an end to suspicions about Masonry which had existed in the minds of some people, and which were entirely groundless; but the creation of their Lodge and its existence for 12 months had dispelled them, and in that respect he was conscious that they had done very good work indeed.63

Whether there had been incidences of lodges blackballing Labour MPs the masonic records do not reveal. Similarly there is no documentary evidence that the idea for the lodge came from the then Prince of Wales. He was an active freemason from 1919 until his accession to the throne in 1936, and he continued his active connection for a number of years after the Abdication and remained a member of a lodge until his death. The suggestion would certainly fit with his known comments on social conditions. As the heir to the throne any suggestion he made relating to Freemasonry would certainly have been taken seriously.

In 1931, however, there had been a further ‘political earthquake’. At the General Election following the formation of the National Government, Labour parliamentary representation was reduced to 52. At the first meeting of the lodge after the election, Sir Robert Young, who had himself lost his seat at the election, remarked that:

The Lodge was unique, in that of the Officers, only two were not defeated Members of Parliament. A few months ago they could point with pride to the large number of MPs in their Lodge; now their only claim to distinction was the number of ex-MPs.64

The potential pool of members for New Welcome Lodge had shrunk dramatically. In 1932, only one MP (Ernest Hicks) was initiated in the lodge and in 1933 two (James Milner and William Dobbie). The lodge membership was sustained by Labour MPs who were already members of other masonic lodges, such as Harry Nathan, and by the initiation of Transport House officials and former MPs such as Ben Tillett. In 1934, no MP came forward to be initiated. According to the anniversary brochure of the

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22 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

lodge, Dunnico suggested that there should be a discussion ‘concerning the Parliamentary nature of the Lodge’ and an emergency meeting was held on 19 June 1934 at the Piccadilly Hotel. In the usual opaque way of twentieth-century lodge minutes those for that meeting simply record ‘that there was much frank discussion and the W[orshipful] M[aster] summed up the situation which was concurred with by all present as an honourable understanding’.65

It must be assumed that the  ‘honourable understanding’ was that for the future members of the lodge could be sitting MPs of any party or work in some capacity in the Palace of Westminster, for from that meeting all subsequent members of the lodge have fulfilled one of those criteria. The initiations in 1935 and 1936 were mostly of staff of the House of Commons, although one significant Labour figure, Robert Morrison, was initiated in 1936. The first Conservative MP to be initiated in the lodge was Sir Walter Liddall in 1937. By 1940, sitting members of all three main parties were in the lodge and, since the Second World War, the membership of the lodge has been chiefly drawn from the staff of the Palace of Westminster.

As we have seen, Dalton’s information about the membership of New Welcome Lodge was accurate. How much credence then should be given to his claim that a masonic bloc vote helped defeat Morrison and ensured Greenwood’s appointment as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party? The meeting of the lodge in November 1935 which excited Dalton’s alarm was in fact reported in detail in the masonic newspaper, the Freemason.66 The purpose of the meeting was to install William Warne, the solicitor to Pearl Assurance who had been one of the founders of the lodge, as master, rather than to compare notes about the leadership election. The report in the Freemason stressed particularly how the masonic ceremonial avoided any reference to the recent general election. The dinner after the meeting was held at the Connaught Rooms, and offered, according to the Freemason, ‘a feast of oratory’. As treasurer, Arthur Greenwood was one of the speakers at the dinner. Greenwood followed masonic protocol by avoiding any direct political reference in his speech, but he used this as a source of humour. ‘Thirty one million people during the past few weeks had been indulging in a general election’, he declared, ‘but, of course, the lodge had no knowledge of it’. Greenwood added that ‘The lodge was especially a parliamentary lodge, but its membership was not confined to any political party, but was open to those whose duties were in connection with the House of Commons. They had tried to confine its activities exclusively to the House of Commons, but somehow or other they found themselves with two members of the House of Lords’. Greenwood concluded by strongly affirming that ‘The members, what-ever political views they held, had endeavoured to uphold all the traditions of Masonry, and he was convinced they had succeeded’. A number of distinguished masonic visitors attended the meeting, including a representative from New South Wales and members of Warne’s mother lodge, Insuranto. This again illustrates how the meeting was far from being a gathering of a Labour coterie to discuss the forthcoming Labour leadership election.

To judge from the report in the Freemason, not only was there no overt political discussion at this meeting, but there would have been little time for any plotting in a packed evening of masonic ritual, dinner and lengthy speeches. This would perhaps not have been enough to convince Dalton that there had not been any masonic manoeuvres against Morrison, but closer analysis of the voting figures suggest that the

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 23

masonic influence was unlikely to have been decisive in the outcome of the election Only ten members of the lodge (including Greenwood himself) were Labour MPs in November 1935, a tiny proportion of Labour’s total parliamentary strength of 154. The vote for Greenwood in the first round of the leadership election was 33, and it seems that of these 30 switched to Attlee. At least twenty of those who voted for Greenwood and then Attlee were not members of New Welcome. In short, by whatever permuta-tion of the voting figures, there were simply not enough sitting MPs who were members of New Welcome to have influenced the outcome one way or the other. Even if all the members of New Welcome had supported Morrison in the first ballot, he still would have secured fewer votes than Attlee. In any case, as has been seen, the lodge was at this time beginning to lose its predominantly Labour Party character. It appears that, far from being the ‘scandal’ suggested by Dalton, New Welcome Lodge was instead, as Arthur Greenwood put it in a speech on the occasion when Frederick Roberts and others received the masonic degree of Fellow Craft, ‘a haven where [members of the lodge] could cut clean away from politics and come together in a spirit of real brotherhood’.67

APPENDIX ONE

Correspondence supporting the petition for the establishment of New Welcome Lodge

The following letters from William Appleton and Percy Rockcliff to Sir Philip Colville Smith are preserved with the petition for New Welcome Lodge in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London.

1

Letter from Appleton to Colville Smith, 5 December 1928

Please let me say how much I appreciated the conversation we had on Friday evening last.

Since then, I have talked very frankly with a fellow Mason who mixes very freely amongst the ordinary workmen. We have come to no definite conclusions because we are faced with questions of expense and also the more important question of securing the right type of men. Perhaps after further consideration and enquiry, I might write you again.

2

Letter from Rockcliff to Colville Smith, 15 January 1929

Bro. W.A. Appleton and myself are giving earnest thought to the subject of the proposed new Lodge and have compiled a list of names for final selection. I am also hoping to be able to draft at an early date the memorandum in support of the granting of a charter thereto.

I trust to be in a position to write you further within the next fortnight.

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24 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

3

Letter from Appleton to Colville Smith, 31 January 1929

At the recent consecration of the High Cross Chapter, a ceremony at which you assisted, the Rev. Prebendary Perry, P[ast] G[rand] C[haplain], in the course of the oration, spoke of the difficulty, particularly in non-rural areas, of spreading the practice of Masonry amongst the less wealthy members of the community. Later in the evening, you also adverted to the subject and expressed the very definite opinion that Masonry would not only exercise a beneficent influence upon social outlooks, but would also provide oppor-tunities for the expression and gratification of certain very human, but entirely com-mendable instincts. The Right Worshipful P[rovincial] G[rand] M[aster] also expressed interest in, and approval of, the desire to develop our Order in the direction indicated.

What was said that evening has been seriously considered by brethren who are anxious to promote the aims adumbrated at the High Cross consecration. One has already volun-teered to meet the costs of foundation, and out of very extensive Masonic experience, has made many suggestions for the economic administration of the Lodge, if and when it is constituted.

Economic administration is, indeed, a matter of serious importance if the better social type of manual and clerical worker is to be encouraged. Many of these would, undoubt-edly, welcome Masonry, and would enter without importunity, but they have families to bring up, and it seems certain that Grand Lodge would regard as contrary to the spirit of Masonry, any course which might be detrimental to the children of such men.

It is hoped, that by paying the Tyler a fee per meeting, to eliminate his usual profit on the purchase of clothing; and, by care, in other directions, to bring down the first year costs to new entrants to a sum not exceeding £5 5/-; this to include;

(a)  Initiation fee (covering Grand Lodge dues)

(b)  Clothing when M[aster] M[ason]

(c)  First year’s subscription to the Lodge

It is suggested that the Lodge shall be named the Lodge of Citizenship; or, alternatively, the Citizenship Lodge; but those who are seeking to crystalise the idea adumbrated on the night of the High Cross consecration, would gladly consider names which experience suggests would be more suitable.

It is recognised that the annual subscription must necessarily be kept at a low figure and that, since meetings must be fairly frequent if the new Lodge is to achieve something of its purpose within a reasonable measure of time, the menu provided, following the meetings, must be of that simple and homely character which is, even today, associated with some provincial, and many rural Lodges.

It is also recognised that the securing of dining facilities in Central London may present some difficulty, in view of the character of the meal to be provided, but the business and personal influence of those associated with the formation of the Lodge, will, it is believed, enable this difficulty (if it be such) to be overcome. Assuming it to be requisite to partake of a meal at a place apart from the meeting place of the Lodge, it is hoped that

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 25

Grand Lodge would be able to offer accommodation for the latter, if necessary, in the Temple at a reasonable fee.

One other matter has been present in the minds of the intending Founders, namely the support to be given to the Masonic Institutions. It is understood that no undue claim has been made upon the resources of those Institutions by members of the Army and Navy Lodges, and every endeavour will be made to inculcate, amongst those who join the new Lodge, the spirit of self-help and benevolence through the formation of a Masonic Charitable Association (or the utilisation of an existing one), and the collection of contributions thereto, within the means of the contributors, at stated (short) periods.

It is hoped that the foregoing will be sufficient to secure the promise of a Charter following upon the presentation of a Petition in the usual way. If, however, further information  is  required,  W  Bro.  Percy  Rockliff  A[ssistant]  G[rand]  D[irector]  of C[eremonies] (Secretary to the Joint Committee of Approved Societies and well-known in the Friendly Society world — the thrifty section of the industrial community) and myself would be glad to confer on the subject with the authorities at Freemasons’ Hall.

It is believed that the Insuranto Lodge No. 3733 would, if required, sponsor the new Lodge.

In conclusion, the promoters trust that Grand Lodge would give the new Lodge a good ‘send-off’ by the presence, at its consecration, of some of the principal officers, and thereafter continue to show, by attendance at its meetings, sustained interest in its future progress on the course mapped out for itself.

4

Letter from Rockliff to Colville Smith, 5 February 1929

The idea underlying the formation of the proposed Lodge is to bring home to the industrial section of the community the principles and tenets of the Craft.

It is doubtless true that, in rural areas, social barriers are to some extent broken down in certain lodges which exist in those areas. But, as regards great centres of population, the same position can hardly be said to obtain.

It is recognised that a Lodge of the character proposed, if centred in London, would be to some extent localised as regards the area from which it could draw recruits without involving its members in substantial travelling expenses. It has, however, been shewn by the Epworth Lodge, for example, that offshoots into the provinces of a successful Lodge, having a definite purpose are both possible and popular; and this is anticipated as regards the Lodge of Citizenship.

The type of recruits to Masonry which it would be the aim of the new Lodge to attract are persons who, by permeating the ranks of the industrial classes, would become missioners for and exemplars of the advantages which Masonry confers, not only upon its members, but upon those with whom its members come into daily contact — ‘So that when a man is said to be a Mason the world may know etc...’

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Moreover it is strongly felt by the promoters that Masonry would exercise a steadying influence (‘as citizens of the world’) upon those who are brought within its fold, and help to render nugatory any unsettling influences which might be at work in factories and elsewhere.

5

Letter from Percy Rockcliff accompanying the formal petition for New Welcome Lodge, 1 August 1929

In sending you the enclosed petition for a new lodge — the Lodge of Citizenship — I beg to say that some of the signatories thereto were impressed, at a recent Consecration, by an oration delivered by a Past Grand Chaplain, in which he referred particularly to the difficulty of spreading a knowledge of the principles and practice of Freemasonry amongst other than wealthy members of the community in crowded urban areas.

It is felt by the promoters of the new lodge that, with the upward trend in Lodge fees which has been observed for some years past, desirable citizens, who would welcome association with the Craft, have been deterred from joining.

The aim of the promoters of the lodge will be to preserve such a dignity about its proceedings as to make membership of it desirable and, at the same time, to practise such economies on its administrative side as to enable its fees to be maintained at a reasonable figure.

It is intended to use the facilities afforded by one of the Masonic Benevolent Associations to ensure easy, yet withal systematic, support by the Lodge members of the Charitable Institutions connected with the Craft.

In order also that those entering into association with Masonry through the lodge, may not be debarred for a long period from serving the lodge, it has been agreed by the Founders that, apart from the first W[orshipful] M[aster] (whose selection is necessary because no Founder other than a P[ast] M[aster] has served the office of Warden for a year), no one who has already passed the Chair shall proceed through the Chair of the new Lodge. This fact in a measure accounts for the restriction which the Founders have imposed upon themselves and their friends as regards the number of Founders.

With respect to the name chosen for the new Lodge, if any difficulty is presented thereby, may I submit as alternatives

(a)  The 1929 Lodge (to mark the year of its founding)

(b)  The Civitas Britannicus Lodge  (there is already a Civitas and several Britannic

Lodges — but no combination of the two)

(c)  The New Citizen Lodge (There is already one Citizen Lodge).

APPENDIX TWO

Membership of New Welcome Lodge No. 5139, 1929-1939.

Details of membership are taken from the register of the United Grand Lodge of England. When a member is initiated into a lodge, or becomes a joining member from

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 27

another lodge, the lodge secretary is required to send the appropriate form to Grand Lodge so that the individual can be registered as a member of that lodge. Information in the Grand Lodge register is derived from these returns. Additional information about masonic offices is taken from reports in the masonic newspaper The Freemason, from the returns made by the lodge, and from the brochure issued in March 1980 by New Welcome Lodge to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Information about public offices is taken from Who’s Who, Times obituaries and Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees (eds.), Who’s Who of British Members of Parliament: a Biographical Dictionary of the House of Commons, Hassocks, Harvester Press, 1976-1981, unless otherwise stated. To give an idea of the changes in the character of the lodge, the following is a list of members of lodge in the order in which they joined the lodge. Founders: Rockcliff; Rev. H. Dunnico; Short; Royle; Smith; G. W. Canter; J. W. Bowen; Burnes; Makepeace; Sitch; Warne. 1929: Young; Shillaker; Compton; Henderson. 1930: Tout; Lindsay; Holmes; Wilshire; McKeigue; Hayes; R. Bowen; Stambois; Kershaw; G. W. G. Canter; Gilpin; Ammon; Ames. 1931: Malone; Greenwood; Haycock; Roberts; Bellamy; Mason; Mills;

J. P. Gardner, sen.; Muff; Adams; H. R. Dunnico; Bradley; Burton; Kenworthy; Sandell; Howell; Williams; Rosbotham; Hughes. 1932: Tillett; Hicks; Pusey; Tracey; Gibson. 1933: Kinnoull; Milner; J. P. Gardner, jun.; Nathan; Dobbie. 1934: Spence. 1935: Keir; Bellenger; Wilding; Lush; De Silva. 1936: Bowtell; Bolting; Morrison. 1937: Frankel; Goodman; Liddall. 1938: Truelove; Silkin; Robbins; Smith; Cant. 1939: Ashby; Isaacs.

Adams, Albert Madge. Initiated, 17 Apr. 1931. Described in Grand Lodge register as a commercial traveller of Earlsfield, age 47.

Ames, John Richard Woodland (1872-1947). Joining member from Isma Lodge No. 5009, London, 14 Nov. 1930. W[orshipful] M[aster] of Isma Lodge, of St Leonard Lodge No. 1766, London, and of Kingsgate Lodge No. 4882, Broadstairs. Business consultant. From 1901-8 undertook research into factory organisation. A founder of Industrial League and Council in 1915 (Hon. Sec. 1915-8, and Sec. and General Manager, 1918-24). Among the companies with which he was associated were WM Publicity Service, Red Triangle Cement and John Ames and Partners Business Consultants. Chairman, Incorporated Sale Managers’ Ass. Exec. member, British Peace Award, 1924. Member, Ministry  of  Labour  Appointments  Comm., 1919-28.  Exec.  member,  International Chamber of Commerce, 1931-3. Member, British Council of the International Scientific Management  Congress.  Among  the  journals  edited  by  him  were Current  Opinion (1918-24) and Modern Building Construction (1927-31).

Ammon, Charles George PC, DL, MP, JP, created 1944, 1st Baron Ammon of Camberwell (1873-1960).68 Initiated, 11 Jul. 1930. WM, 1941-2. Report of his initiation in The Freemason, 16 Aug. 1930, p. 106. P[ast] G[rand] W[arden], U[nited] G[rand] L[odge of] E[ngland]. A postal worker. Active in the Fawcett Ass. from 1893, eventually becoming its chairman. Organising sec. of Union of Post Office Workers on its formation in 1920. LCC member for North Camberwell, 1919-25 and 1934-46, serving as Chairman from 1941-2. Labour parliamentary candidate for North Camberwell, 1918. Labour MP for North Camberwell, 1922-31 and 1935-44. Labour Party whip, 1923. Member of the NEC, Labour Party, 1921-26. Parliamentary Sec. to Admiralty, 1924, 1929-31. Temporary Chairman of Committees, 1943. PC 1945. Deputy Speaker of

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28 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

the House of Lords and Government Chief Whip in the Lords. Chairman, National Dock Labour Corp., 1944-50. Vice-Pres., Ass. of Building Societies and Metropolitan Ass. of Building Societies. Director, Municipal Mutual Insurance and Atlas Building Soc. National Pres., Brotherhood Movement, 1929, 1945. Pres., UK Band of Hope. Methodist lay preacher.

Ashby, Henry Abraham. Initiated, 12 May 1939. Dining Room Superintendent.

Bellamy, Albert MP, CBE, JP (1870-1931). Initiated, 13 Feb. 1931. Report of his initiation in The Freemason, 7 Mar. 1931, pp. 573-4. Railway engine-driver. Pres. of the Amalgamated Soc. of Railway Servants in 1911 and played an important part in the railwaymen’s strike of that year. First Pres. of NUR, 1913. Unsuccessful candidate for General Sec. of the NUR in 1917, the year in which he retired as Pres. Member of various War Pensions tribunals, 1917-27. Labour parliamentary candidate at Wakefield, 1918, 1922. Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, 1928-31. Parliamentary Private Sec. to Rt. Hon. F. O. Roberts, Minister of Pensions, 1929-31. Roberts was initiated as a freemason at the same meeting of the lodge as Bellamy, and it was presumably for this reason that Bellamy decided to join the lodge. He was already extremely ill by the time he was initiated and died six weeks later.

Bellenger, Capt. Rt. Hon. Frederick John PC, MP (1894-1968). Joining member,

8 Mar. 1935. Estate agent. Conservative member of Fulham Borough Council from 1922-8, then joined Labour Party. MP for Bassetlaw, 1935-68. Financial Sec., War Office, 1945-6. Sec. of State for War, 1946-7.

Bolting, Ernest Charles MBE. Initiated, 13 Mar. 1936. WM, 1954. Also member of Fairmead Lodge No. 6894, Loughton, of which he was WM. House of Commons messenger.

Bowen, Sir (John) William CBE, MP (1876-1965). A founder of the lodge. WM, 1932-3. Report of his installation as WM in The Freemason, 19 Nov. 1932, pp. 297-8. Initiated in Insuranto Lodge, 6 July 1925 (where he was proposed by G. W. Canter, also a founder of New Welcome Lodge). L[ondon] G[rand] R[ank]. P[ast] A[ssistant] G[rand] D[irector of] C[eremonies], UGLE. Left school at 11 and became a telegraph messenger, eventually becoming a postman. Chairman, Postmen’s Federation from 1904. Treasurer of Postmen’s Federation and Sec., Postmen’s Federation Mutual Benefit Soc., 1919. First General Sec. of Union of Post Office Workers, 1920. Selected by Postmen’s Federation as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Newport (Gwent), in 1918 and unsuccessfully contested the seat again four times to 1924. Labour MP for Crewe, 1929-31. Chairman, Workers’ Travel Ass. Chairman, Ruskin College, Oxford. Member of LCC 1940-61 (Chairman, 1949-52).

Bowen, Richard. Initiated, 11 Apr. 1930. Described in the Grand Lodge register as ‘Dept Manager’ of Swansea, aged 48. Presumably a relative of J. W. Bowen.

Bowtell, Frank. Initiated, 13 Mar. 1936. House of Commons messenger, of Fulham, age 45.

Bradley, Robert John. Initiated, 8 May 1931. WM, 1945-6, and afterwards Sec. of the lodge. Caterer of the House of Commons.

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 29

Burnes, Charles William (d. 1945). A founder of lodge. Initiated in Insuranto Lodge No. 3733, 3 Jan. 1916 (where he was proposed by Rockliff), and WM, Insuranto Lodge, 1929. L[ondon] R[ank]. Formerly Sec. of Hearts of Oak Benefit Soc. (retired by 1929).

Burton, Col. Henry Walter OBE, MP (1876-1947). Joining member from Wickford Lodge No. 4220, Rochford, 8 May 1931. Prov[incial] G[rand] S[enior] W[arden], Essex, 1931. Retired from distinguished army career in 1922. Conservative MP for Sudbury 1924-45. Played prominent role in developing sugar beet industry and was committee member of British Beet Soc. Chairman of Grosvenor House Ltd.

Cant, Harry Evelyn (1880-1960). Joining member, 13 May 1938, from Gallery Lodge No. 1928, where he had been initiated in 1924. Journalist. Reporter on Bath Herald and Bath Chronicle, 1898-1915. Editorial staff of Exchange Telegraph Company, 1915-45, becoming agency’s political correspondent in 1922. Sec. of Parliamentary Lobby Journal-ists for many years, becoming Chairman in 1937. Ramsay Macdonald had a special affection for him, and he accompanied Macdonald on his visits to the United States.

Canter, George William CBE (d. 1953). A founder of lodge. WM, 1933-4. Initiated in Insuranto Lodge, 5 July 1920 (where he was proposed by Rockcliff). Sec. of Insuranto Lodge and WM, 1935. LGR. Grand Pursuivant, UGLE, 1947. Sec. of the Post Office Employees Approved Soc. Sec., National Incorporated Beneficent Soc. At time of his death, Vice-Chairman and Governor of Charing Cross Hospital.

Canter, George William Gould. Initiated, 9 May 1930. WM, 1938-9. Report of his installation (by his father) as WM in The Freemason, 26 Nov. 1938, pp. 305-6. Son of

G. W. Canter, one of founders of lodge. Described in Grand Lodge register as civil engineer of Twickenham, age 25. Afterwards P[ast] Prov G[rand] D[eacon] for Essex.

Compton, Joseph MP, JP (1881-1937). Initiated, 13 Dec. 1929. Began work at the age of 11 in a solicitor’s office, but ran away and became a coachbuilder. At 20, became a member of the National Union of Coachbuilders and five years later Hon. Sec. of Glasgow branch. Became a full-time union official in 1908, and Ass. General Sec. in 1915. Member, Manchester City Council 1919-25. Labour parliamentary candidate at Swindon, 1918, 1922. Labour MP for Gorton division of Manchester from 1923-31. Chairman, House of Commons Kitchen Comm., 1929-31. Chairman, NEC, Labour Party, 1933.

De  Silva,  Albert  Edward.  Initiated,  10  May  1935.  Parliamentary  clerk  of  W. Kensington, age 34.

Dobbie, William CBE, MP (1878-1950). Initiated, 9 Jun. 1933. Coachpainter in the London and North Eastern Railway Works at York. Member of York City Council from 1911. Lord Mayor of York, 1924, 1948. President, NUR, 1924-7 and 1931-3. Labour parliamentary candidate at Barkston Ash (W. Yorks.) 1924, Clitheroe 1929, and Stalybridge and Hyde 1931. Labour MP for Rotherham from 1933 until his death. Member of NEC, Labour Party, 1932-5, 1941-2.

Dunnico, Rev. Sir Herbert MP, JP (1875-1953).69 A founder of lodge and its first S[enior] W[arden]. WM, 1930-1. A report of his installation as WM in The Freemason,

22 Nov. 1930, pp. 325-7. Initiated in Warner Lodge No. 2256, Chingford, 11 Oct. 1921.

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30 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Joined Newbury Park Lodge No. 4458 shortly after its foundation in 1922 and was WM, 1931. Chaplain of Janus Lodge No. 4456, Loughton. Master of Isthmian Lodge No. 4556, Loughton. Prov. Grand Chaplain, Essex, 1932. Past Ass. Grand Chaplain, UGLE. Obituary in The Freemason’s Chronicle, 10 Oct. 1953, p. 116. Left school at the age of 10 to work in factory, but, teaching himself, obtained a scholarship at Nottingham University. Became a baptist minister in 1902. Pres., Liverpool Free Church Council, 1914. Pres., Liverpool Labour Party and Liverpool Fabian Soc. Labour MP for Consett (Durham) 1922-1931. Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman of House of Commons Committee of Ways and Means 1929-31. Unsuccessfully contested Wednesbury as National Labour candidate in 1935. Sec. of the International Peace Soc. from 1916, and Hon. Warden of the Robert Browning Settlement, Southwark, from 1932.

Dunnico, Herbert Rathbone DL, JP (1910-82). Initiated, 8 May 1931. Only son of Rev. Herbert Dunnico. A special dispensation was obtained so that he could be initiated before the age of 21 while his father was WM of New Welcome Lodge. A report of his initiation is The Freemason, 30 May 1931, p. 766. WM, 1956-7. A founder of Aldborough Lodge No. 5586, Essex, 1935, and WM, 1942. Prov. J[unior] GW, Essex, 1956. JGD, UGLE. Past Z., Pitsea Chapter No. 4387, Essex. Assistant Prov. Grand Master of Mark Masons, Essex, 1969-76, and held office in various other masonic orders. At the time of his initiation, his father’s parliamentary sec. Warden, Robert Browning Settlement, 1932-82. Director, International Peace Soc., 1953. Active as a magistrate in Essex. Commissioner of Inland Revenue from 1950.

Frankel, Daniel MP (1900-88). Joining member, 8 Jan. 1937. WM, 1950-1. Mayor of Stepney, 1928-9. Member, LCC for Mile End, 1931-46. Labour MP for Mile End, 1935-45.

Gardner, James Patrick MP, JP (1883-1937). Initiated in New Welcome Lodge,

13 Mar. 1931. An architectural sculptor. Member of Hammersmith Borough Council 1919-22, 1928-37. Labour parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith North, 1922. Labour MP for Hammersmith North, 1923-4, 1926-31.

Gardner, James Pius. Initiated, 10 Mar. 1933. Described in the Grand Lodge register as an insurance official, age 30, of Hammersmith. Apparently, the son of James Patrick Gardner.

Gibson, George CH (1885-1953). Initiated, 8 Jul. 1932. Leaving Scotland to seek work in England, he became an attendant at a mental hospital near Manchester. From 1913, General Sec., National Asylum Workers’ Union. First General Sec. of COHSE on its formation in 1946. Member of General Council, TUC, 1928-48, and Chairman, 1940-1.

Gilpin, George Frederick MBE. Initiated, 9 May 1930. WM, 1939-41. LGR. House of Commons clerk.

Goodman, Col. Albert William MP (1880-1937). Joining member, 12 Mar. 1937. Unionist parliamentary candidate at Bromley and Bow (against George Lansbury), 1929. Unionist MP for N. Islington 1931-7.

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 31

Greenwood, Rt. Hon. Arthur CH, PC, MP (1880-1954).70 Initiated, 13 Feb. 1931. Report of his initiation in The Freemason, 7 Mar. 1931, pp. 573-4. Treasurer of lodge from 1931. Labour MP for Nelson and Colne, 1922-31, and Wakefield 1932-54. Parlia-mentary Sec., Ministry of Health, 1924. Minister of Health, 1929-31. Deputy Leader of Labour Party, 1935-54. Minister without Portfolio and Member of the War Cabinet, 1940-2. Lord Privy Seal, 1945-7. Paymaster-General 1946-7. Minister without Portfolio 1947.

Hay, Rt. Hon. George Harley, 14th Earl of Kinnoull (1902-38). Initiated, 13 Jan. 1933. Succeeded to Earldom in 1916. At first sat as a Conservative, but in 1930 became a member of the Labour Party. Stood as Labour candidate in LCC and Marylebone Borough Council elections. In 1936, offered his trawler to the Spanish government for conveyance of food supplies for women and children in Madrid.

Haycock, Alexander Wilkinson Frederick MP (1882-1970). Initiated, 13 Feb. 1931. A Canadian, his father was the leader of the Free Trade Party in Canada. Labour parlia-mentary candidate at Winchester, 1922. Labour MP for Salford West, 1923-4, 1929-31. Organising Sec., Manchester Norman Angell League. Pres., Manchester and Salford ILP Federation.

Hayes, John Henry MP (1889-1941). Initiated, 14 Mar. 1930. WM, 1936-7. A report of his installation as Master of New Welcome, illustrated with caricatures of members of the lodge by the well-known cartoonist Fred May, is The Freemason, 21 Nov. 1936, pp. 353-4. The son of a police inspector, Hayes was a sergeant in the Metropolitan Police, 1909-19. General Sec. of the National Union of Police and Prison Officers, 1919. Labour parliamentary candidate for Edge Hill (Liverpool), 1922. Labour MP for Edge Hill 1923-31, unsuccessfully contesting the seat again in 1935. Parliamentary Private Sec. to F. O. Roberts, Minister of Pensions, 1924. Vice-Chamberlain of the Royal House-hold, 1929-31. Labour Whip, 1925-31. Sec., British Optical Ass. and Registrar of Joint Council of Qualified Opticians.

Henderson,  William  Watson MP, PC, created  1945,  1st Baron Henderson of Westgate (1891-1984). Initiated, 10 Jan. 1930. PAGDC, UGLE. Son of Rt. Hon. Arthur Henderson MP, Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs 1929-31. Began his career as a journalist with the Daily Citizen in 1912. Lobby correspondent of the Daily Herald 1919-21. Sec. of Joint Press and Publicity Department of TUC and Labour Party, 1921-45. Private Sec. to Rt. Hon. John Hodge, Minister of Labour, 1917. Labour parliamentary candidate, Bridgwater, 1919-21. MP for Enfield, 1923-4 and 1929-31. Parliamentary private sec. to Rt. Hon. Wedgwood Benn, Sec. of State for India, 1929. Personal assistant to Rt. Hon. Arthur Greenwood, Minister without Portfolio and member of War Cabinet, 1940-2. Lord in Waiting to the King and Government Whip in the House of Lords 1945-8 and Additional Member of Air Council 1945-7. Under-Sec. of State for Foreign Affairs 1948-51. PC 1950. Representative of the Labour peers on the parliamentary comm. of Labour Party 1952-5. Director, Alliance Building Soc. 1955-75 (Chairman 1966-72).

Hicks, Ernest George CBE, MP (1879-1954). Initiated, 11 Mar. 1932. Began work as general builders’ youth at age of 11. National Organiser for the Bricklayers’ Soc. 1912. General Sec. of the Operative Bricklayers’ Soc. 1919. First General Sec., Amalgamated

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32 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Union of Building Trade Workers, 1921-40. Pres., National Federation of Building Trades Operatives, 1919, 1936-7. Pres., TUC, 1926-7. Chairman, Trades Union Unem-ployment Insurance Ass. Labour MP for E. Woolwich, 1931-5. Member of the Exec. Comm. of PLP, 1931-5. Parliamentary Sec., Ministry of Works, 1940-5. Among the many organisations with which he was associated as Pres. or Director were the Federa-tion of Trade Union, Labour, Socialist and Co-operative Clubs, the Incorporated Opthalmic Council, and National Camps Corp. Member of the London livery company of Glaziers and Paviours.

Holmes, Alan. Joining member from Capper Lodge No. 1076, London, 14 Mar. 1930. Described in Grand Lodge register as ‘Asst. Manager’, resident in Kennington, age 35.

Howell, George William John BEM. Initiated, 12 Jun. 1931. House of Commons storekeeper.

Hughes, Hector Samuel James, QC, MP (1887-1970). Joining member from Tyrian Lodge No. 415 (Irish Constitution), 13 Nov. 1931. WM, 1946-7. Forced to leave school at 14, obtained post in civil service and attended law lectures at Trinity College Dublin. Helped organise Irish General Strike in 1913. Founder member, Socialist Party of Ireland, 1918, and James Connolly Labour College and Irish Co-operative Labour Press, 1920. Called to Irish Bar, 1915, and to English Bar, 1923. KC Ireland, 1927. KC England, 1932. Joined Fabian Soc. in 1929 and Haldane Club in 1931. Labour parliamentary candidate at North-West Camberwell, 1931, 1935. Labour MP for Aberdeen, 1945-70. Member of Board of the Church Army.

Isaacs, Rt. Hon. George Alfred MP, DL, JP (1883-1979). Joining member, 10 Nov. 1939. PJGW, UGLE. Began work in printing trade at age of 12. General Sec., National Soc. of Operative Printers’ Assistants, 1909-45. Member of General Council of TUC, 1932-45, and its Chairman in 1945. Mayor of Southwark, 1919-21. Labour MP for Gravesend, 1924; N. Southwark, 1929-31, 1939-50; Southwark 1950-9. Parliamentary Private Sec. to J. H. Thomas as Sec. of State for Colonies, 1924. Parliamentary Private Sec. to 1st Lord of Admiralty, 1942-5. Minister of Labour and National Service, 1945-

51. Minister of Pensions, 1951.

Keir, Lt.-Cdr. David Edwin MBE (1906-1969). Initiated, 11 Jan. 1935. Lobby corre-spondent of News Chronicle and Chairman, parliamentary lobby journalists, 1938-9. Liberal parliamentary candidate on four occasions. Married in 1939 Thelma Cazalet-Keir, Conservative MP for Islington East from 1931-45. Member LCC, 1925, and alderman, 1931. Chairman of Ramsey Macdonald Centenary Committee, 1966.

Kenworthy, Hon. Commander Joseph Montague, MP, succeeded as 10th Baron Strabogli 1934 (1886-1953). Joining member from Navy Lodge No. 2612, 8 May 1931. Distinguished naval career from 1902, joining the Admiralty War Staff in 1917 and becoming Assistant Chief of Staff, Gibraltar, 1918. Parliamentary candidate as a Liberal at Rotherham, 1918. Liberal MP for Central Hull, 1919-26. Re-elected as a Labour MP for Central Hull in Nov. 1926, and served as Labour MP for the seat until 1931. Pres., UK Pilots Ass., 1922-5. Chairman, British Section of Inter-Parliamentary Union, 1929-

31. Chairman, Advisory Comm. on Sea Fisheries, 1926-32. Chief Labour Party Whip, House of Lords, 1938-42.

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 33

Kershaw, Fred OBE, JP, created 1947, 1st Baron Kershaw of Prestwich (1881-1961). Joining member from Insuranto Lodge, 9 May 1930. Initiated in Insuranto Lodge, 15 Apr. 1929 (proposed by Rockliff, who performed the ceremony of initiation, seconded by Canter). WM, Insuranto Lodge, 1929. WM, New Welcome Lodge, 1937-8. Report of his installation as Master of New Welcome in The Freemason, 27 Nov. 1937, pp. 387-

8. Master of Athene Lodge No. 5349, Sutton. LGR, Jan. 1947. PGW, UGLE. Pres., National Ass. of Trade Union Approved Soc., 1924-26. Chairman, Courts of Referees (Unemployment Insurance Act), 1927-47. Member of several royal commissions on health and industrial insurance. Active in co-operative movement. Supporter of total abstinence. Deputy Speaker, House of Lords. Lord-in-Waiting to George VI, 1949-51.

Liddall, Sir Walter Sydney CBE, MP, JP (1884-1963). Initiated, 12 Mar. 1937. Local manager of Scunthorpe Savings Bank, eventually becoming Chairman. Played prominent part in bringing about the amalgamation in 1919 of the two urban districts of Scunthorpe and Frodingham and the two parishes of Crosby and Ashby. Chairman, Scunthorpe UDC, 1920-1, 1923-4, 1924-5. Conservative parliamentary candidate for Don Valley (W. Yorkshire), 1929. National Conservative MP for Lincoln, 1931-45. Rotarian.

Lindsay, Hugh Scott (1879-1959). Initiated, 14 Feb. 1930. Sec. of lodge from Dec. 1931. Ass. Sec., Parliamentary Labour Party, 1906-18. Sec., Parliamentary Labour Party, 1918-44. Formerly member of headquarters staff of NUR.71

Lush, Charles Hastings. Initiated, 10 May 1935. Parliamentary clerk of Westminster, age 29.

McKeigue, Matthew Joseph. Initiated, 14 Mar. 1930. Described in the Grand Lodge register as a ‘Theatrical Mgr.’ of Charing Cross Road, aged 48. Apparently initiated to assist with entertainment for the lodge dinners. The Freemason, 1 Aug. 1931, p. 79, notes that musical entertainment was ‘under the direction of Bro. McKeigue’.

Makepeace, Francis Lucas (1883-1968). A founder of the lodge. Initiated, Liverpool Lodge No. 1547, Feb 1913. WM, Insuranto Lodge, 1925. Hon member of Insuranto Lodge, 4 Jul 1966. LR. PAGDC, UGLE. Actuary. Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Malone, Lt.-Col. Cecil John L’Estrange MP (1890-1965).72 Joining member from Athlumney Lodge No. 3245, London, 9 Jan. 1931. WM, New Welcome Lodge, 1942-

4. A pioneering naval aviator, Malone had a distinguished war record and in 1918 was appointed First British Air Attaché at the British Embassy in Paris and Air Representative to the Supreme War Council in Versailles. Elected to parliament for East Leyton as a coalition liberal in 1918 but resigned the whip in Nov. 1919 and represented the British Socialist Party. Joined the Communist Party in July 1920. Imprisoned for six months after speaking against intervention in Russia, and was deprived of OBE awarded to him in 1919. Stood for parliament as Labour candidate at Ashton-under-Lyne in 1924. Labour MP for Northampton, 1928-31. Parliamentary private sec. to Rt. Hon. F. O. Roberts, Minister of Pensions (initiated in New Welcome Lodge at the next meeting after Malone had joined the lodge), 1931. Served with City of Westminster Civil Defence 1942-3 and with the small vessels section of the Admiralty, 1943-5.

Mason, John. Joining member from Shepherd’s Bush Lodge No.1828, 13 Mar. 1931. Police Inspector.

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34 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Mills, John Edmund MP (1882-1951). Initiated, 13 Mar 1931. An engineer. Chairman, Shop Stewards’ Comm., Woolwich Arsenal. Joint Sec., Woolwich Towns Comm. for Alternative Work. Alderman, Woolwich Borough Council. Pres., National Housing Council, 1921. Labour MP for Dartford, 1920-2, 1923-4, 1929-31. Parliamentary Private Sec. to Hon. J. Wedgwood as Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster, 1924.

Milner, Rt. Hon. James PC, DL, MP, MC and Bar, created 1951, 1st Baron Milner of Roundhay (1889-1967). Initiated, 10 Mar. 1933. WM, 1944-5. JGW, UGLE, 1953-

4. Solicitor in his father’s practice in Leeds. Member of Leeds City Council, 1923-9, and Deputy Lord Mayor 1928-9. Labour MP for S.E. Leeds, 1929-51. Parliamentary Private Sec. to Rt. Hon. C. Addison, Minister of Agriculture, 1930-1. Temporary Chairman House of Commons and Chairman of Standing Committees, 1935-43. Deputy Chair-man of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker, 1943, 1945-51. Chairman, British Section of Inter-Parliamentary Union. Trustee, Liverpool Victoria Friendly Soc. Vice-Pres., Ass. of Municipal Corporations and Building Soc. Ass. Patron, Leeds Trustee Savings Bank.

Morrison, Robert Craigmyle PC, DL, MP, JP, created 1945 1st Baron Morrison of Tottenham (1881-1953). Initiated, 8 May 1936. WM, 1949-50. Began career as school-master. Member of Wood Green UDC, 1914-9. Member of Middlesex Co. Council, 1919-25. Labour MP for N. Tottenham 1922-31, 1935-45. Parliamentary Private Sec. to

H. Gosling, Minister of Transport, 1924. Parliamentary Sec. to Prime Minister, 1929-31. Chairman, Food Waste Board, Ministry of Supply, 1941-9. Parliamentary Sec. to Ministry of Works, 1948-51. Lord-in-Waiting to the King and Government spokesman in the House of Lords, 1947-8.

Muff, George MP, DL, JP, created 1945 1st Baron Calverley (1877-1955). Initiated 17 Apr. 1931. Began work as ‘doffer’ in a Bradford spinning mill at age of 10. Founder of National Young Liberal Movement, 1905. Chairman, Yorkshire Young Liberals Union until 1919, when joined Labour Party. Parliamentary candidate as Independent Radical, South Bradford, 1918. Member of Bradford City Council, 1922. Labour parliamentary candidate at Chester, 1922-3, and Hull East, 1924. Labour MP for Hull East, 1929-31, 1935-45.  Prison  magistrate, 1933-54.  Pres.,  West  Riding  Magistrates  Ass., 1954. Vice-Pres., British Boy’s Brigade. Lay preacher.

Nathan, Col. Harry Louis PC, TD, FBA, FSA, DL, MP, JP, created 1940 1st Baron Nathan (1889-1963). Joining member, 12 May 1933. WM, 1948-9. Active in a number of lodges he was given the brevet rank of PSGD in UGLE in 1950 and promoted to PJGW in 1953. A London solicitor. Liberal parliamentary candidate at Whitechapel and St George’s, 1924. Liberal MP for NE Bethnal Green from 1929. Resigned the Liberal Whip in Feb. 1933 and sat as an independent until June 1934, when he joined the Labour Party. Sat until 1935, when he unsuccessfully contested S Cardiff for Labour. MP for Wandsworth Central, 1937-40. Under-Sec. of State for War, 1945-6. Minister of Civil Aviation, 1946-8. PC 1946. Pres., Royal Geographical Soc., 1958-61. Chairman, Royal Soc. of Arts, 1961-3. Chairman, Westminster Hospital, 1948-63. Master of two London livery companies, the Pattenmakers and the Gardeners.

Pusey, William James MBE. Initiated, 13 May 1932. House of Commons Messenger.

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 35

Robbins, Alan Pitt, CBE (1888-1967). Joining member, 13 May 1938. Initiated in Gallery Lodge No. 1928, Dec. 1913. WM, Gallery Lodge, 1932. Honorary Member of Gallery Lodge. PAGDC, UGLE. Son of Sir Alfred Robbins, who as London correspon-dent of the Birmingham Post was one of the earliest parliamentary lobby journalists and a very prominent freemason, serving as Pres. of Board of General Purposes of UGLE from 1913-31. Sir Alfred initiated three of his four sons, including Alan, in Gallery Lodge in the presence of Lord Ampthill, Pro Grand Master. Reporter on Yorkshire Observer, 1904-8, and Birmingham Post, 1908-9. Member of editorial staff of The Times, 1909-53. Parlia-mentary Correspondent, 1923-38; News Editor, 1938-53. Chairman of Parliamentary Lobby Journalists, 1925. Sec. General of General Council of Press, 1954-60. Livery Representative in Court of Stationers’ and Newspaper Makers’ Company, 1962-3.

Roberts, Rt. Hon. Frederick Owen PC, MP, JP (1876-1941). Initiated, 13 Feb. 1931. A report of his initiation is The Freemason, 7 Mar. 1931, pp. 573-4. Apprenticed at the age of 13 as a compositor, Roberts became Sec. of the Northampton branch of the Typographical Ass., then organizing sec. for the Midlands and a member of the NEC. Member of the Administrative Council of the Printing Trades Foundation. Sec. of Northampton Labour Party and Northampton Trades Council and an Honorary Life Vice-President of both bodies. Labour MP for West Bromwich, 1918-31, 1935-41. Minister of Pensions, 1924, 1929-31. PC 1924. Chairman, NEC, Labour Party, 1926-7. Member of General Comm. of the National Trade Union Club.

Rockliff, Percy OBE (1869-1958). A founder of the lodge and its first WM, 1929-30. Initiated in High Cross Lodge No. 754, Tottenham, 1904. WM, High Cross Lodge, 1929. A founder of Insuranto Lodge No. 3733, serving as WM in 1916, and Sec. from 1924-1950. While WM of Insuranto, Rockliff established a Royal Arch Chapter associated with the lodge. Also member of Borough of Shoreditch Lodge No. 3064, Crowstone Lodge No. 3298, Southend-on-Sea, and Orient Lodge No. 3703, Kenya. Held the following ranks from UGLE: AGDC, 1928; PGD, 1936. The first Sec. of the New Tabernacle Provident Soc., established in east London in 1896 with 20 members. When Rockliff retired as Sec. in 1932, 23,000 members shared in a Christmas distri-bution of £30,000.73 From 1905, Sec. and afterwards Trustee of London and County Permanent Benefit Soc., now part of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Soc. At various times Hon. Sec. of Joint Committee of Approved Societies, Vice-Pres. of the Insurance Institute, Chairman of the Insurance Committee for the County of London and Pres. of the Faculty of Insurance.

Rosbotham, Sir Samuel Thomas, MP, JP (1864-1950). Joining member from Stanley of Bickerstaffe Lodge No. 3511, Ormskirk, 10 Jul. 1931. P Prov. ADC. For 20 years, Chairman of Ormskirk Branch of Lancashire Farmers’ Association and from 1905 mem-ber of Lancashire Co. Council. Labour MP for Ormskirk, 1929-31, thereafter a National Labour MP, resigning Oct. 1939.

Royle, Sir George CBE, JP (1861-1949). A founder of the lodge and its first Treasurer to 1931. Initiated in Sir William Harpur Lodge No. 2343, 14 Dec. 1893, where he served as a steward. WM, Stuart Lodge No. 540, Bedford. WM, Insuranto Lodge, and hon. member of Insuranto Lodge, 1944. WM, Robert de Parys Lodge No. 5000, Kempston. Past Assistant Grand Registrar, UGLE. Barrister. Mayor of Bedford, 1903. Chairman of

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36 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

the Bedfordshire National Health Insurance Comm., 1912-48. Member of the National Savings Comm., 1916-45. Pres., National Incorporated Beneficent Soc. and Counties Benevolent Ass. Local Director, Commercial Union Assurance. Royle was Pres. of the New Tabernacle Provident Soc., of which Rockcliff was Sec., at the time of the establishment of New Welcome Lodge.74

Sandell,  Frederick  James  BEM.  Initiated,  2  Jun.  1931.  House  of  Commons messenger.

Shillaker, James Frederick MBE, MP (1870-1943). Initiated, 13 Dec. 1929. The son of a policeman, Shillaker claimed that at the age of 16 he had written a leaflet which secured a wage increase for the City of London police. One of the founders of the Fawcett Ass., a union of post office sorters established in 1890. In 1892, joined the Islington Labour party and afterwards served on Acton Council. Assistant editor, T.P.’s Weekly, 1903-17. Deputy Regional Director, Northern Region, Ministry of Pensions, 1919-23. Labour MP for Acton, 1929-1931.

Short, Alfred MP (1882-1938).75 A founder of the lodge and its first JW. WM, 1931-

2. Report of his installation as WM in The Freemason, 21 Nov. 1931, pp. 302-3. Initiated in Yarborough Lodge No. 554, London, 23 Jan. 1920. LR. Reports of his death and funeral in The Freemason 78 (1938 pt 2), pp. 111, 124. Sec. of the Sheffield Branch of the Boilermakers’ Soc. 1911-9, and member of Sheffield City Council, 1913-9. Chairman, Management Comm., General Federation of Trade Unions, 1922. Only received an elementary education, but after the First World War, read law and was called to the bar in 1923. Labour MP for Wednesbury, 1918-31. Parliamentary Under-Sec. for Home Affairs 1929-31. Re-entered parliament as MP for Doncaster, 1935.

Silkin, Lewis CH, PC, created 1950 1st Baron Silkin of Dulwich (1889-1972).76 Joining member, 14 Jan. 1938. Solicitor, founding firm of Lewis Silkin and Partners. Member of LCC, 1925-45. Chairman of Housing and Public Health Comm., LCC, 1934-40, and Chairman of Town Planning Comm. 1940-5. Labour parliamentary candidate at Wandsworth Central 1922, Stoke Newington, 1924, and Peckham 1935. Labour MP for Peckham 1936-50. Minister of Town and Country Planning 1945-50. Deputy Leader of Labour Party in the House of Lords, 1955-64.

Sitch, Charles Henry MP, JP (1887-1960).77 A founder of the lodge. Initiated in Yarborough Lodge No. 554, 15 Mar. 1925. Studied at Ruskin College, where he was supported by a grant from the Chainmakers’ Ass. established by his father. Played a prominent part in trade union organisation in the Black Country before the First World War, serving as Sec. of the Hand-hammered Chain Branch of the National Federation of Women Workers, Sec. of the Anchorsmiths, Shackle and Shipping Tacklemakers Ass., and President of the South Staffordshire and Worcestershire Federation of Trades Councils. Succeeded his father as Sec. of the Chainmakers’ and Strikers’ Association in 1923. Elected Liberal member of Rowley Regis District Council, 1913, but resigned from Liberal party in 1916. Labour MP for Kingswinford (Staffordshire), 1918-31. His electoral defeat meant that his personal income was reduced to a mere £2 per week. In 1933, convicted of defrauding the funds of the Chainmakers’ Association and sent to prison for nine months. From 1937 until his death he was employed as a local organiser by Reynolds’ News (afterwards Sunday Citizen).

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 37

Smith, Henry Norman, MP (1890-1962).78 Joining member, 13 May 1938, from Gallery Lodge No. 1928, where he had been initiated in 1931. Member of editorial staff of Daily Herald, 1919-30, accompanying Ramsay Macdonald as Prime Minister to North America, 1929. Later associated with Reynolds News and John Bull. Labour parliamentary candidate in Faversham, 1931, 1935. Labour MP for Nottingham South, 1945-55. Smith was a prominent advocate of social credit.

Smith, Joseph Sidney (d. 1951). A founder of the lodge. Initiated in Skelmersdale Lodge No. 1658, London, Sep. 1898. Master of Bushey Park Lodge No. 2381, 1913. Master of Corium Lodge No. 4041, associated with Leathersellers’ Company. Had been hon. member of Insuranto Lodge for some years before becoming a joining member, 7 Oct. 1946. Prov. GSD for Middlesex. LGR. Past Ass. Grand Superintendent of Works, UGLE, and member of the Board of Benevolence. Director, Peoples Land Building and Dwellings Co. Ltd.

Spence, William Robert CBE (1875-1954). Joining member, 11 May 1934. Went to sea at the age of 15. Joined National Union of Seamen in 1911, becoming District Sec. for South and South West coast in 1913. General Sec., National Union of Seamen, 1928-42.

Stambois, Charles Edward Montague. Initiated, 11 Apr. 1930. Described in Grand Lodge register as cognac shipper aged 43 of Marlow. Stambois was a Russian émigré who was naturalised on 22 Sep. 1921.79 He contributed an article on ‘The Great Cognac Brandies’ to Harper’s Wine and Spirit Gazette in 1933. Presumably joined New Welcome Lodge to assist with catering arrangements.

Tillett, Benjamin MP (1860-1943).80 Initiated, 8 Jan. 1932. A report of this ceremony was published in The Freemason, 16 Jan. 1932, p. 435. Sec., Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers’ Union from its inception in 1887 its amalgamation with the TGWU in 1922. One of the founding members of the ILP and of the Labour Party. Alderman of LCC, 1892-8. Parliamentary candidate in W. Bradford, 1892, 1895, Eccles, 1906 and Swansea, 1910. Labour MP for N. Salford, 1917-24, 1929-31. Chairman, General Council of the TUC, 1928-9. Pres. of TUC, 1929. In later years, heavily involved with Moral Rearmament League.

Tout, William John, MP (1870-1946). Initiated, 10 Jan. 1930. Sec. of the Todmorden Weavers’ Ass., member of Executive Comm. of Amalgamated Weavers’ Ass. and of Legislative Council of United Textile and Factory Workers’ Ass. Labour parliamentary candidate for Fylde (Lancashire), 1918. Labour MP for Oldham, 1922-4. Labour MP for Sowerby division of Yorkshire West Riding, 1929-31, unsuccessfully standing for the same seat in 1935.

Tracey, Herbert Trevor CBE (1884-1955). Initiated, 8 Jul. 1932. Studied for Method-ist ministry. Assistant editor, Christian Commonwealth, 1911-7. Organised and directed Labour Party Press Bureau, 1917-20. Industrial correspondent at Labour headquarters, 1922. Organised and took charge of TUC Publicity Department, 1926, having control of TUC publicity arrangements during General Strike. Editor of Brotherhood Outlook, 1920-5, Industrial News, 1926-50, and Labour, 1933-50. Publications included The British Labour Party: its history, growth and leaders (1948).

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38 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Truelove, Frederick. Initiated, 14 Jan. 1938. WM, 1951-2. Parliamentary Journalist.

Warne, William Henry (d. 1958). A founder of New Welcome Lodge. First Sec. of the lodge to Dec. 1931, and WM, 1935-6. Report of his installation as WM in The Freemason, 30 Nov. 1935, pp. 371-2. Initiated in Insuranto Lodge, 6 Oct 1924. Assistant Sec. of Insuranto Lodge from Apr. 1925, and Sec. of the Insuranto Lodge Masonic Charitable Association from 1925. LGR. Solicitor to the Pearl Assurance Company.81

Wilding, Norman William. Initiated, 8 Mar. 1935. Library Clerk of East Sheen, age 28.

Williams, Robert (1881-1936). Initiated, 10 Jul. 1931. Described in the Grand Lodge Register as ‘Publicity Officer’, age 50, resident in Kensington, and in a report of the meeting in The Freemason (1 Aug. 1931, p. 79) as publicity manager of the Daily Herald. Williams did not appear again after his initiation and automatically ceased membership on

14 July 1933, having paid no subscriptions to the lodge. Williams was at this time living on the charity of friends and perhaps was unable to afford the costs of membership of New Welcome lodge. A port labourer from Swansea, Williams was active in the National Amalgamated Labourers Union and was elected to Swansea Council in 1910. He became the first full-time Sec. of the National Transport Workers Federation in 1912. Williams sought during the period to 1918 to promote consolidated industrial representation in the transport industry. He welcomed the Russian revolution and opposed British military intervention in Russia. Stood as Labour parliamentary candidate in Aberafan in 1918, but joined the Communist party in 1920. Expelled from Com-munist party in 1921 after failing to support miners’ strike. From 1922, General Manager of Daily Herald, but lost this position in 1930 when TUC ceased to be sole proprietor. Wrote in support of National Government from 1931. Made precarious living as freelance journalist from 1931 and committed suicide in 1936.

Wilshire, Frederick Allan (1868-1944). Joining member from Tyndall Lodge No. 1363, Downend, and Western Circuit Lodge No. 3154, 14 Mar.1930. Had little formal education, leaving school at 14. Had a successful career as a professional musician in the West Country before deciding in his late forties to read for the Bar. Called to the Bar in 1914 and joined the Western Circuit. Sat frequently as deputy crown court judge and deputy recorder, eventually being appointed Recorder of Bridgwater. President of the Bristol and District Brotherhood Federation, Pres. of Bristol and Clifton Dickens Federation, and President of Bristol Monday Musical Club. Presumably joined New Welcome Lodge to assist with entertainment.

Young, Sir Robert OBE, MP (1872-1957). Initiated, 8 Nov. 1929. WM, 1934-5. Report of his installation as WM in The Freemason, 24 Nov. 1934, pp. 353, 358. A Scottish locomotive engineer, Young became a full-time official of the Amalgamated Soc. of Engineers in 1906. Became General Sec. in 1913, resigning on his election as Labour MP for Newton (Lancashire) in December 1918. Chairman of Committee of Ways and Means and Deputy Speaker, Jan.-Oct. 1924 and 1929-31. Defeated at the election in October 1931, he returned to parliament for the same constituency in 1935. Temporary Chairman of Committees 1935-48; Member of the Select Comm. on National Expenditure, 1940-44; Chairman of the Select Comm. on House of Commons

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 39

Procedure, 1945-6. Retired as MP in 1950. Independent Chairman, Opthalmic Benefit Approved Soc., 1937-48. Chairman, National Temperance Federation from 1935, Chair-man of Parliamentary Temperance Group from 1935, and Pres. of Workers’ Temperance League from 1944.

References

1 B. Donoughue and G. Jones, Herbert Morrison: Portrait of a Politician, London, Phoenix Press, 2001, pp. 239-243. Morrison had support from the influential New Statesman: see K. Martin, Editor: A Second Volume of Autobiography 1931-45, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1969, p. 64.

2 H. Morrison, Herbert Morrison: An Autobiography by Lord Morrison of Lambeth, London, Odhams, 1960,

p. 164.

3 H. Dalton, The Fateful Years, London, Frederick Muller Ltd., 1957, p. 82.

4 Namely that Greenwood had a drinking problem.

5 B. Pimlott (ed.), The Political Diary of Hugh Dalton 1918-40, 1945-60, London, Jonathan Cape in association with the London School of Economics and Political Science, 1986, pp. 223-5.

6 Pimlott, Dalton Diary, pp. 224-5.

7 Ibid., p. 265.

8 Ibid., p. 267.

9 Ibid., p. 268.

10 Ibid., p. 268.

11 Ibid., p. 269.

12 B. Pimlott, Labour and the Left in the 1930s, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977, p. 74.

13 In his account of Greenwood’s life in the Dictionary of Labour Biography, 11, 2003, p. 88.

14 In his entry on Alfred Short in the Dictionary of Labour Biography, 9, 1993, p. 257.

15 In his entry on Greenwood in G. Rosen (ed.), The Dictionary of Labour Biography, London, Politicos Publishing, 2001, p. 237.

16 S. Knight, The Brotherhood: the Secret World of the Freemasons, London, Granada, 1984, pp. 207-8.

17 Knight, Brotherhood, p. 208.

18 Constitutions of the Antient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons under the United Grand Lodge of England, London, Freemasons’ Hall, 1979, p. 9.

19 Lord Harewood to Herbert Dunnico, 13 March 1940, in possession of Dunnico’s grandson, Clive Dunnico.

20 A.  Prescott,  ‘“The  Cause  of  Humanity”:  Charles  Bradlaugh  and  Freemasonry’,  Ars  Quatuor Coronatorum 116, 2003, pp. 15-64.

21 M. Short, Inside the Brotherhood: Further Secrets of the Freemasons, London, Grafton Books, 1989, p. 418.

22 The following is all based on personal knowledge of John Hamill.

23 See further L. H. Powell, Gallery Lodge No. 1928: A History of the First Press Lodge, London, privately printed, 1968.

24 Q. J. Gelder, School Freemasonry, ‘A Very English Affair’, privately printed, n. d., pp. 20-52; A. H. Turney, Federation of School Lodges: In Celebration of Fifty Years 1947-1997, Cardiff, privately printed, 1997.

25 On university lodges, see D. Knoop, University Masonic Lodge, Sheffield, J. W. Northend, 1945.

26 For example, Crichton Lodge No. 1641 was founded in 1876 by officials connected with the London School Board: A. Prescott, ‘The study of Freemasonry as a new academic discipline’ in A. Kroon (ed), Vrijmetselarij in Nederland: Een kennismaking met de wetenshappelijke studie van een ‘geheim’ genootschap, Leiden, OVN, 2003, pp. 8, 16; and a London School Board Lodge No. 2611 was established in 1896, which still exists.

27 For example, London County Council Lodge No. 2603, founded in 1898 by members of the council for those who held public office in the county. This was renamed the Greater London Council Lodge in 1986 and on the abolition of the GLC became the Greater London Lodge.

28 An article on ‘Class Lodges’ in The Freemason, 12 November 1932, p. 275, gives an impression of the bewildering variety of class lodges: ‘The Telegraph Cable Lodge is for employees of the Eastern

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40 John Hamill and Andrew Prescott

Telegraph Extension Company. The Sir Walter Raleigh provides a Masonic home for the tobacco trade .. . Especially appropriate is the name (Galen) of the Lodge where chemists and druggist congre-gate. Lodge Hiram is meant for architects, the Chartered Accountants’ describes its own purpose, the Britannic for engineers...Evening Star is the well-chosen name of the Lodge where employees of the Gas Light and Coke Company may see the light. Members of the Metropolitan Water Board meet in a lodge aptly named Aquarius.’

29 On this process, see further A. Prescott, ‘Freemasonry in suburban London 1860-1930: a case study’, Transactions of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research, 92, 2002, pp. 41-82.

30 Insuranto Lodge was closed in 2004 because of declining membership, and its records deposited in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London.

31 Obituary, The Times,  5 Nov. 1958. The records of the New Tabernacle Friendly Society are deposited in Hackney Archives.

32 Minute books of Insuranto Lodge, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London, GBR 1991 ELM/ 600.

33 In the series of lodge petitions at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

34 The signatories were Rockcliff, Royle, Joseph Sidney Smith, Canter, Dunnico, Bowen, Charles Burnes, Francis Makepeace, Short, Sitch and William Warne. For further details of their masonic and civil careers, see Appendix two below.

35 The following letters are all filed with the petition at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London.

36 Percy Rockliff to Sir Phillip Colville Smith, 9 December 1929 in lodge returns: Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London.

37 Percy Rockliff to Sir Phillip Colville Smith: lodge file, Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

38 Used on the summons for the consecration of the lodge, a copy of which is on the lodge file at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

39 The Unionist MP and judge, Sir Walter Greaves-Lord was listed in the summons as acting as Senior Warden in the ceremony, but press reports state that he was unavoidably detained, and his place was taken by J. C. F. Tower.

40 5 November 1929; copy on the lodge file at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

41 9 November 1929; copy on the lodge file at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

42 Masonic Record, 10: 109 (Dec. 1929), p. 109.

43 The Freemason, 9 November 1929, p. 357. See also The Freemason, 2 November 1929, p. 329.

44 The Freemason, 9 November 1929, p. 357.

45 For further details, see appendix two below.

46 On Milner’s appointment as Junior Grand Warden, see Freemason’s Chronicle, 2 May 1953, p. 139.

47 The Freemason, 30 May 1931, p. 766.

48 The Times, 6 March 1931, p. 20.

49 Ibid., 10 November 1934, p. 18.

50 The Freemason, 16 January 1932, p. 435.

51 Ibid., 7 March 1931, pp. 573-4.

52 Ibid., 21 November 1931, p. 302.

53 Ibid., 27 November 1931, p. 387.

54 Ibid., 7 March 1931, p. 573.

55 Reported in Ibid., 1 August 1931, p. 79.

56 On Williams, see the entry on him by G. A. Phillips in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

57 The Freemason, 1 August 1931, p. 79.

58 The New Welcome Lodge No. 5139, 50th Anniversary Meeting, 14 March 1980, London, privately printed. No pagination. A copy of this brochure is in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

59 This badge is used on the menu for the banquet held at the House of Commons in November 1930, when Dunnico was installed as Master: lodge file, Library and Museum of Freemasonry.

60 Shaw attended a joint meeting of New Welcome and Newbury Park Lodge No. 4454 in 1931: The Freemason, 25 April 1931, p. 689.

61 Wood was initiated in a military lodge in Woolwich and held office in Insuranto Lodge as a steward continuously from the time of its foundation until his death in 1943: Freemason’s Chronicle, 25 September 1943.

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New Welcome Lodge And The Labour Party 41

62 Crookshank attended the installation of Sir Robert Young as Master of New Welcome in 1934: The Freemason, 24 November 1934, pp. 353, 358.

63 The Freemason, 22 November 1930, p. 327.

64 Ibid., 21 November 1931, p. 303.

65 Details in New Welcome Lodge: 50th Anniversary Meeting.

66 The Freemason, 30 November 1935, pp. 371-2.

67 The Freemason, 11 July 1931, p. 31.

68 On Ammon, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography,  1,  1972, pp.  21-4, where his masonic membership is not noted.

69 Who’s Who and other reference works give Dunnico’s year of birth as 1876. His grandson, Clive Dunnico, informs us that he was born on 2 December 1875. This is confirmed by the index of birth registrations.

70 On Greenwood, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography, 11, 2003, pp. 83-91, where his masonic membership is noted.

71 Labour Who’s Who: a biographical directory to the national and local leaders in the labour and cooperative movement (London: Labour Publishing Company, 1924), p. 132.

72 On Malone, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography, 7, pp. 159-65, which does not note his masonic membership.

73 Obituary, The Times, 6 Nov. 1958, p. 15.

74 The Times, 16 Dec. 1929, p. 9.

75 On Short, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography, 9, 1993, pp. 255-8, which notes his masonic membership.

76 On Silkin, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography,  10,  1999, pp. 179-82, where his masonic membership is not noted.

77 On Sitch, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography, 2, 1974, pp. 344-6, which does not note his masonic membership.

78 On Smith, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography,  11, pp.  253-62, 2003, where his masonic membership is not noted.

79 Naturalization certificate for Charles Stambois, 1921: National Archives, HO 144/1688/407268.

80 On Tillett, see further Dictionary of Labour Biography,  4,  1977, pp.  177-85, where his masonic membership is noted.

81 Freemason’s Chronicle. 16 Oct. 1937, p. 149.

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