Provincial Lite Magazine Spring Edition

SIXTY YEARS FOR ROGER HAMMOND Have a look at page sixteen of last December’s Provincial Magazine (issue 71) and you will see that sixty-three Long Service Certificates were issued for the twelve months ending 31st October 2020. This is the highest number your Editor can recall, and a positive reflection of the longevity of our fellow Brethren and Companions.

Behind every entry in the list there is a man who has already lived a long life and doubtless has many a tale to tell. So, rather than concentrate on his Masonic career, Roger Hammond (pictured) of the Macartney Lodge No.3283, who has been a Freemason for over sixty years, gives us a little insight into the background that shaped him.

In his early years Roger lived with his parents above a Radio and Bicycle shop run by his uncle. Roger’s mother worked in the shop.

Roger’s father had a pilot’s licence, and in 1939 applied to join the RAF. Unfortunately, he failed the medical because he had to wear glasses. Instead, he got a job in the Experimental Department of Essex Aero, based in Gravesend.

Shorts of Rochester were building the Sunderland Flying Boats but were having problems getting them in the air with a full tank of fuel. A full load of fuel was essential – therefore the aircraft themselves would have to be lighter. The fuel tanks were made of aluminium, but valuable weight savings were made by constructing them in Elektron. Roger’s father discovered a method of welding them without setting fire to the material.

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