25 minute read
In memory: HRH The Prince Philip
Not only did the late Duke of Edinburgh share our charitable values, he was also a fellow Freemason. We celebrate a life well lived and share your memories of HRH The Prince Philip
The Duke of Edinburgh became a Freemason in 1952, at the age of 31. He was initiated into Navy Lodge, No 2612, on 5 December.
On 6 March 1953, HRH The Prince Philip progressed to the Second Degree of Freemasonry, before advancing to the Third Degree on 4 May 1953. United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) issued his Grand Lodge Certificate on 7 May that same year and he remained a member throughout his life.
The Duke of Edinburgh was born on Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He therefore held the title Prince of Greece and Denmark.
In 1939, Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy as a cadet, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Prince Louis, who was Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord. He had a long and successful career and rose to the rank of Commander.
Prince Philip was also a qualified pilot and was the first member of the Royal Family ever to fly out of Buckingham Palace in a helicopter.
As a Freemason, Philip was known to drop into meetings at his Freemasons Lodge almost unannounced. Navy Lodge has a storied past and an amazing roster of luminaries appears upon its membership roll. The lodge prides itself on being the premier naval lodge in the world, with an unparalleled history that includes four monarchs as past members – King Edward VII, King Edward VIII, King George VI and King George II of the Hellenes.
Freemasons can count other members of the Royal Family among their number, including HRH The Duke of Kent, the longest-serving Grand Master of UGLE. As well as members of the Royal Family, Navy Lodge can proudly name three winners of the Victoria Cross among its past and present members; numerous admirals, generals, vice-admirals and senior officers; as well as other notable names such as Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert Scott – known as Scott of the Antarctic – and many more.
There is also a Duke of Edinburgh Lodge, No 1182, Liverpool, which was issued a warrant on 2 July 1867 and was consecrated on 1 August 1867. The lodge was named after Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, who was then Duke of Edinburgh and the son of Queen Victoria.
In addition, there is a Duke of Edinburgh Lodge in London, No 1259, which was consecrated on 4 May 1869. The lodge was also named after Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, who became Duke of Edinburgh in 1866. On 9 April this year, Freemasons came together to pay their respects in a special edition of Time to Toast, led by The Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes.
Freemasons have also launched a campaign inviting their 200,000 members to raise funds for charities that the Prince supported. Throughout his life, he was patron, president or honorary member of some 992 organisations, with special interests in issues from technological research to conservation.
Dr David Staples, chief executive of United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), said: ‘Prince Philip was well known for his charity work, having been involved with numerous organisations. He was devoted to philanthropy, and therefore the best way to celebrate his life is by supporting the charities that the Prince himself supported.
‘For us, this was an easy decision as Freemasonry’s core values are charity, integrity, respect and friendship. The Freemasons have been quietly getting on with making society and the lives of those less fortunate better for more than three centuries.’
Turn over the page to read fond memories of Prince Philip shared by fellow Freemasons.
The Duke of Edinburgh became a Freemason in 1952 at the age of 31
Prince Philip remembered
In response to our call-out, we received a fascinating range of stories from Freemasons sharing their fond memories of the Duke of Edinburgh
I was the chief photographer of the Windsor Observer for 25 years until January 2020. I took numerous pictures of him and I really will miss him. He had a reputation as a man that was impatient with the media, but I often shrugged my shoulders and pulled away while other photographers got in his and Her Majesty’s face. Over the years they both made a point of looking straight into my camera and waving when on duty in Berkshire, so I always got a great picture. I wasn't the only one, but no one that ever got in their faces ever got ‘the look’.
I am honoured to have photographed HRH for so many years and at such close quarters. Above is one of my images from over the years. Mike Swift, Secretary, Berries Lodge No. 2928, PGL Berkshire
It was a very long time ago now, in the late 60s when I was a lowly leading seaman in Her Majesty’s Royal Navy based at HMS Vernon in Portsmouth, awaiting my aircrew course. A pipe was made for the duty coxswain (me) and crew to report to the guardroom. On arrival, I was told that I was to take some dignitaries in the Admiral’s Barge to Cowes on the Isle of Wight as it was the Cowes Festival. Despite my protestations that I’d never driven the thing before and only had a very vague idea where Cowes was, I was told to get on with it by the officer of the day. Anyway three of us, myself plus the bow and stern men, changed from working rig into sailor suits for the trip. It was glorious flat, calm weather and when the passengers arrived one of them was the unmistakable figure of the Duke of Edinburgh, who never failed to attend Cowes week as a competitor. We got underway with impressive boathook drill and due caution by me, and on leaving the harbour the Duke looked at me and jerked his head in the direction of the island as if to say ‘get a move on’. Slamming the throttles of the twin Gardner engines forward made those passengers standing sit down heavily and the rest to cling on for dear life to whatever they could. This was indeed a speedboat. Oh yes!
Smug in the knowledge that I was flying a White Ensign and an Admirals Pennant, I could do no wrong; I weaved in and out of a Cowes flotilla, their crews waving nicely. With my sailor’s collar streaming behind me like a Hells Angel’s bandana and wearing a maniacal grin, I had the thought that I’d do a bit of showboating, approaching the jetty at speed and coming to a stop at exactly the right place whilst gracefully accepting the undoubted applause of the reception committee.
The first part of the plan went well. The second saw the boat sliding under the jetty in clouds of diesel smoke from overrevving engines in reverse. Unfortunately, Prince Philip lost his hat in the process which was retrieved by my quick-thinking stern man and swung with all the grace of a fisherman landing a tuna back to the Duke.
Normally a passenger would turn to the coxswain and thank him. I simply withered under a direct narrow-eyed glare. I was not asked to return for him, but was told later that HMS Vernon had been contacted and that ‘blathering idiot’ was probably the mildest imprecation directed at me. RIP to a great man. W Bro Richard Godley PPGSwdB Province of Yorkshire N&E Ridings This is me giving a presentation to Prince Philip, who was Colonelin-Chief of REME. Taken at Electronics Branch, Malvern, HRH was visiting the unit and the equipment on show was the Clansman ATE (automatic test equipment). Clansman was the radio communication system for the Army. I remember him asking some searching questions. This was in 1984 and the only previous knowledge I had of Freemasonry was hearing singing at a masonic dinner that my grandmother catered for in King’s Lynn: ‘Worshipful Master we will take wine with you.’ I think I was around 10 or 11. In February 1991, I was initiated into Gateway Lodge No. 8474. Robert Castle
I met the Duke of Edinburgh when he accompanied the Queen on an overseas engagement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in Malta in November 2015.
Prince Philip hosted a lunch for local sponsors of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which my wife Jaqui and I attended in the grand surroundings of The Casino Maltese in Valletta.
When we were introduced, he asked what we were doing in Malta. I explained that we were ex-pats, when he interrupted me with a twinkle in his eye to ask, ‘what are you running away from?’ The weather, I replied. He laughed heartily. He and the Queen had arrived in Malta during the worst November weather we had experienced on the island in some years.
He gave a speech at the lunch. Given his age, we were expecting that the audience might need to be understanding if there was a little hesitancy in his delivery. Not a bit of it. He spoke with fluency and without notes. He struck us as a man of charisma, with a real sense of humour, but who was also consummately competent in his role. VW Bro Dr Lawrence Porter PGInsp (Malta)
My first introduction to Prince Philip was as Second Officer of the Guard for a full Royal Guard, marking a visit by the Duke to the Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose. This was some eight years before I was initiated into Navy Lodge, his lodge. David Swain, Metropolitan Grand Secretary
During the 1990s, I was a police motorcyclist in Bristol. One Friday evening I was tasked with meeting Prince Philip’s car at our force border and escorting him and his party to a private music recital at a venue in Bristol. The concert started at 7pm and was due to conclude at 10pm. Having arrived at the venue, the Duke thanked me for my help, then went inside. I stayed with the Prince’s driver and during the course of the evening he told me that they were going back to Windsor following the concert. However, because they would miss dinner, the staff had prepared some hampers for them to eat on the way back. At the end of the concert, the Prince spent longer than expected talking to his fellow guests so didn’t return to his car until 10.45pm. He apologised for being late then asked if I had eaten that evening. When I told him I hadn’t he asked his driver to open the hampers and we then spent 20 minutes stood at the back of his car sharing a selection of sandwiches, pork pies and fruit. He told me how he had loved riding motorcycles when he was younger and asked about my career and family. He was a thoroughly pleasant man with a genuine interest in people. It was an evening I’ll never forget. Richard Villis, Almoner, Safeguard Lodge 9566
In 1994, Prince Philip flew to Bermuda to present Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards to students at Bermuda Government House. He spoke with each of the awardees and I remember answering a number of questions about my studies and extracurricular activities. He was quite the character too. At the end of our conversation, he asked my father, ‘Where do you think the governor keeps his good whisky?’ They then conducted a search of Government House for the good stuff. Even though it was almost 30 years ago, meeting Prince Philip remains one of my best memories. Michael W Branco A memory I have of Prince Philip happened on 11 July 1980 during the commissioning of HMS Invincible when I was 11 years old, that he attended alongside Her Majesty The Queen. My father was a chief petty officer in charge of the Sea Dart missile system and an ex-submariner. Hence, during the celebrations he was wearing his submariner’s dolphins on his No. 1 suit. Prince Philip noticed these and came across to ask my father if he was on the ‘wrong ship’ – pointing to his dolphins. My father assured him he wasn’t and they laughed. He then looked at me and asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I replied, ‘I want to be like me dad.’ At which point my father grimaced at my incorrect grammar – just as a photographer took our picture. Somewhere in my files I have a picture of me meeting Price Philip with him laughing and my father grimacing.
As fate would have it, I did indeed join the Royal Navy in 1989 and served on submarines. I then became a chief petty officer and my final draft was onboard HMS Invincible – wearing my dolphins – on one of her last tours before she was decommissioned. Hence a chief Fell served on her at the very start and at the very end of her service! Nick Fell
From 2004 until my recent early retirement, I worked as the locomotive engineer accompanying members of the Royal Family during many journeys around the UK on the Royal Train. These often took place overnight, stabling at some heavily guarded remote location before the final drop at the destination – within 15 seconds either way of the allocated time (the most punctual train on the network).
It was often at these final destinations that we were subject to the Duke’s acerbic wit. On many occasions, walking past the locomotive cab as myself and the driver were stood to attention, he would comment, ‘You managed to find it, then?’ accompanied by a wry smile. On one such occasion, I was brave enough to retort with, ‘Yes, Sir, we have had a sat-nav installed in the cab.’ He laughed, gave me the pointed finger, and moved on. A few months later, as there were probably only around 15 to 20 trips per year, again he followed Her Majesty The Queen past the cab. I bowed my head, and was surprised to find the Duke had stopped right in front of me. I was quite taken aback, but the Duke smiled, and said, ‘Sat-nav still working, I see.’ ‘Oh yes, Sir,’ I sheepishly replied, knowing full well, such was the Duke’s knowledge, that we both knew there was no sat-nav. He laughed, winked and moved on. There are many other stories, of a similar nature, that I remember, and I have very happy memories of my time spent in the company of a truly great man. Bro Wayne Millard, Lodge of Saint Blaise No. 6113, Warwickshire.
In the early 1990s, I was working on an exhibition stand at the NEC for a home improvements company. On the stand was my colleague, Colin Deans MBE. We knew that Prince Philip was visiting the exhibition that morning and Colin said to me, ‘When he comes this way, I am going to speak to him.’ I had no idea what he had in mind, but in due course along our aisle came the Duke and his entourage. As he approached our stand, Colin walked straight up to the Duke and said, ‘Good morning, Sir, can I interest you in some double glazing?’ I flinched, but then watched, amazed, as Colin and the Duke got into a deep and animated discussion lasting three or four minutes.
When Colin returned to the stand, I asked him what they had been discussing. He explained that he knew the Duke from meetings that he’d had with him during his active rugby playing days. Colin Deans MBE was a former captain of the Scottish rugby team, and an outstanding hooker, rated by some at that time as the best they had ever seen. Martin Hugh Tarran-Jones, St Edmund Lodge No. 6451
In 1951 at the Festival of Britain, myself and two school friends were standing on a small bridge looking at something in the water when suddenly a voice boomed out, ‘Come on boys, bugger off, you are in the bloody way.’ Prince Philip, bless him, still makes me smile so many years later. What a loss to us all! Arnie Mason PAGStdB, Eldon Lodge No. 1755
I was involved in the security of VIPs when they visited Lancashire. Prince Philip had chosen to visit his shirt-maker, a company based in Bispham just north of Blackpool. He decided to
drive himself from Blackpool Airport, in a plain, unliveried Range Rover, across the busy town centre and into the venue. I managed specialists in security escort, driving and riding motorcycles, and they practiced their trade regularly. However, on this occasion the Duke tested them to their limits with his desire to drive at speed. The team had great difficulty keeping up with him and expressed the view that they had never experienced anything quite like it before. They acknowledged that the Duke was a very skilful driver. Mike PAGDC / PGStB – APGP Province of West Lancashire
During my feckless youth in the late 1950s and 1960s, I lived in Barbados for seven years – long before it became the playground of the rich it is now. During my time there, Prince Philip was making an official tour of the Caribbean with the Western Atlantic flotilla. He was to visit Barbados and open the new Queen Elizabeth hospital, and also open Parliament.
We, a bunch of ex-pats, had just founded a rugby club and challenged the Royal Navy to a match at the Garrison, the local horse track just outside Bridgetown. The match was played in the cool of the early morning and Prince Philip came to watch. The Navy narrowly beat us and we all repaired to the polo hut, which we used as our changing facility, for a glass of the local lager. Our charming and delightful visitor asked if we would like to come back to the Royal Yacht for some English bitter, but we would have to make it a quick visit as his official duties were due to begin mid-morning. We did not need to be asked twice! There was no time to change and, still in our kit, we piled into assorted vehicles and set off on the short drive to the Deep Water Harbour and boarded the Royal Yacht Britannia. We had our beer and waved the Prince off dressed in his very smart Admiral of the Fleet uniform and had more beer at the insistence of the extremely hospitable crew. I don't remember the rest. Mr Michael Francis Jackson-Croker, Bishop Auckland, County Durham
I had the pleasure of meeting Prince Philip on three occasions, serving on the Queen’s Flight 1969-1973. At that time, Prince Charles was learning to fly in a Bassett aircraft, of which I was part ‘When your father first joined the Whelp, I told him, jokingly, I wasn’t sure whether I should let him on board as he had already been sunk twice.’ (My father had survived a sinking in the North Atlantic in 1941 and also a sinking off Bougie, Algeria in 1942). They both reminisced about the time they shared in the Royal Navy and it was clear by the stories my father and Prince Philip shared that they had a strong camaraderie.
As the day drew to a close and we left the Palace, my father said he always remembered what the Prince told him when he left the ship. ‘He said we would be shipmates somewhere, sometime’ – which meant we would meet again, and he made it happen. My father sadly passed away nine years later, contentedly.
of the maintenance team. When Charles gained his pilot’s licence in August 1971, he laid on a barrel of beer for the members of the Queen’s Flight at RAF Benson, at which The Duke of Edinburgh was in attendance. Sgt John Collins and a few of us helped in collecting VIP’s ties on visits to the flight, so, on that day, we approached Sir Archie Whinskill, Equerry to the Queen, to ask if we could have the Duke’s tie. During the beer call, Prince Philip came to our small group and, after a chat, said, ‘I believe you chaps would like my tie’, and started to take it off. However, John said to Prince Philip, ‘Sorry, Sir, not like that, like this’, and then cut his tie below the knot with a pair of scissors, to add to our collection. He took it with good humour, and asked about our collection. John replied: ‘Sir, you are in good company, along with Sir Douglas Bader’. Bro Norman Shanks MBE, Charity Steward, Sodbury Vale Lodge
My father, then Petty Officer Lawrence Crabtree, served in the Royal Navy during World War II on various ships including HMS Whelp where he served as a gunnery officer alongside Prince Philip in 1944. Over the years following the war, he spoke many times of his time in the Navy, but what he recalled most was the time spent with Prince Philip.
During his later years, my father had mentioned to one of his golfing colleagues that it would be nice to see Prince Philip once again. His colleague, unbeknown to my father, wrote to the Duke of Edinburgh in February 1997 and on 10 April 1997 my father received a letter from Buckingham Palace, sent by Captain the Hon James Geddes, GREN GDS which read:
‘Mr Hollas, a friend of yours, wrote to the Duke of Edinburgh in February with the hope that you may once again meet His Royal Highness as you once served together on HMS Whelp during the war. His Royal Highness remembers you from that time and has asked me to enquire whether you would like to attend one of the Royal Garden Parties this summer and meet Prince Philip again.’
My father promptly replied that he would look forward to meeting Prince Philip at the Royal Garden Party on 24 July at Buckingham Palace. My father and I received our official invitations from Her Majesty The Queen on 13 June. At the Garden Party, when we were presented to Prince Philip, he turned to me and said, W Bro Alan Crabtree, Lodge of Peace No. 322, Provincial Senior Grand Deacon
I had the great honour of being presented with my Long Service and Good Conduct Medal personally by HRH Prince Philip. A very proud day for me and my family. Pete Crimmins
I encountered Prince Philip in the early 1970s when he was taking part in a carriage driving competition at Lowther Park near Penrith. As a member of the then Royal Army Pay Corps – Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve – attached to B Company of the Northumbrian Volunteers based in Kendal, I was part of a group from the company tasked to provide communications cover for the event – which was taking place over a sizeable area of the estate. I and a couple of colleagues were manning the base station situated in the centre of the course in an elevated position in the grounds of the estate.
As we were checking the equipment on the Saturday morning before the event started, one of the course marshals came to check on progress. While we were chatting to him, he pointed out a dark
coloured Range Rover, with a distinctive registration, pulling up at a chicane obstacle, which was below our base station position, and remarked that it was the Duke’s vehicle.
A few minutes later, the vehicle climbed the hill and His Royal Highness got out and came over to talk to us, asking who we were and what we were doing. As the NCO in charge of the party, it fell to me to salute him and explain our role. He was very interested and spoke quite informally to everybody, expressing the wish that everything would go well for the competition, and our small part in it.
The exchange only lasted for a brief time but the marshal commented to me afterwards that, the previous evening, the Duke had attended a briefing for all the drivers involved and had just taken his seat quietly and listened to the instructions for the event, without fuss or ceremony.
It made a lasting memory, of which the key factor for me was that I had had the opportunity to salute him personally, face to face, and to have that salute acknowledged. W Bro John L Dixon PPrDepGd Reg, Johnstonian Lodge No.9301, Province of Durham
My experience took place many years ago in Sheffield when Prince Philip opened a sewage works there. After performing the opening, he turned to his audience and with a huge grin on his face, he went on as follows: ‘My family are very good at openings. We open all manner of things, hospitals, bridges, public buildings, for instance. There are so many openings that we have a rota for these duties so that we all take our turn. Now, I don't know who is responsible for drawing up that rota, but I can guarantee, strangely enough, that whenever there is a sewage works to open, my name is always at the top of the rota.’ This produced hoots of appreciative laughter from his audience. Prince Philip wished us all well and went on his way – still grinning. Bro David Moore PPrJGD, Albric Festival Lodge No. 9576, Province of Shropshire
Between 2002 and 2006, I ran a small craft brewery in the West Highlands of Scotland. In the summer of 2005, Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Prince Philip paid a visit to the village where I had my business – to visit the brewery, and the neighbouring ice wall and climbing centre.
Both of our royal guests, and Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Inverness, were, of course, charming, engaging and an absolute pleasure to host. But my young brewers were nervous at the arrival of our guests. Prince Philip clearly recognised this, left the rest of the party, came up to them and started cracking jokes, asking them if they really drank our beer or preferred ‘supermarket lager’, and put them at their ease. The Duke was on his hands and knees underneath the bar with one of my young colleagues, asking how the casks and the hand pumps and the dispense system all worked. I think he – and they – loved it. Neill Cotton, Apollo University Lodge No. 357. Lodge of Assistance No. 2773. Tivoli Libris Lodge No.2150 (PM)
My memory of Prince Philip is from the opening of a building in Plymouth many years ago. It was pouring with rain, everyone was getting wet and it was his turn to speak. He just said, ‘I am now supposed to give a speech. You are all getting wet, so I will not bother you with my speech. Let's all go inside and eat the grub that has been provided.’ Richard Howard, Lodge 5496
In 1969/70 when I was manager at Stornoway Airfield, I met Prince Philip when he was passing through to the USA. It was an awful day and he didn’t want to leave the aircraft. He asked me what I was doing and I said I was due to pick up my wife and newborn daughter from the hospital. His retort was, ‘Good God man, she’s more important than me. Go and pick her up.’ A year later, he was passing through again and his first words were, ‘How’s your wife and daughter?’ I couldn’t believe it. When you think of all the people he would have met. John Fox I was at the Holker Hall in the Lake District in about 1978 for their annual country fair, with all manner of country stalls as well as carriage driving competitions. It was a bitterly cold day with a really stiff breeze and occasional drizzle falling. I had taken refuge in the beer tent with my wife and two young children, and had just ordered (and had to instruct the barman in the making of) hot toddies. As I was sipping the steaming glass, I heard a voice over my shoulder, ‘That looks inviting. What have you got there young man?’ I thought I slightly recognised the voice, but couldn't place it, and turned, half expecting to see an old golfing friend. You can imagine my surprise when I turned around to see his Royal Highness, dressed in a long, light-coloured macintosh and a bowler hat, looking inquisitively at my glass. Words nearly failed me, but I blurted out, ‘Err, a hot toddy, Sir.’ ‘Ooh, that sounds good,’ he said, turning to the bar. ‘We’ll have a few of those,’ he suggested, with flunkies almost fighting with each other to get to the bar. He turned to me and winked and made my day. Mainly as I now had a story I could relate for the rest of my life. David F Thompson, PPrGrSuptofWorks, Acacia Lodge No. 4512, Liverpool Masonic Hall
I was on duty as a police civilian security officer at the Palace of Westminster in the early 1990s when Prince Philip was due to give a talk to a small number of people in the Cholmondeley Room. This was not an official meeting. He drove into the Royal Court in an early version of an electric car, accompanied by his protection officer and followed by an unmarked police vehicle. In he went. Some 45 minutes later he came out alone, passed me, gave me a wave, and got in his car and drove off. Some few minutes later, three police officers came running out and stared at the empty space.
I couldn't help it. I said, ‘he went that way’, pointing my finger. I never saw any other car leave the Royal Court at such speed in the rest of my career as then. I had to smile. David Sharman, Eastgate Lodge No. 6694, Halsey Masonic Hall, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire
