Guelph Lodge

With the country marking the end of the Second World War on Victory in Europe Day, 8^th May, we thought this was an opportune moment to remember some famous Freemasons who played a role during the War. W Bro Richard Cavanagh writes…

Prince Philip, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

The late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Prince Louis, who was Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord. He completed his initial training at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; where he was awarded the King's Dirk and a prize as the best cadet from that year’s intake. 

In 1940, the Prince joined the battleship HMS Ramillies in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  Serving  as a Midshipman, he spent the following six months in the Indian Ocean.  In January 1941 he joined the battleship HMS Valiant in Alexandria, Egypt and was mentioned in dispatches during the night action off Cape Matapan, where he was in charge of the ship's searchlight control. 

Securing promotion to Sub-Lieutenant, he returned to the United Kingdom before being appointed to the destroyer HMS Wallace, based at Rosyth, for convoy escort duties on the East coast.   Another promotion followed, this time to the rank of Lieutenant in July 1942; and in October that year, still at the young age of just 21 years, he was further appointed to First Lieutenant (second in command) of Wallace. In July 1943, HMS Wallace and the Prince took part in the Allied landings on Sicily. 

Following further training, the Prince was appointed as First Lieutenant of the new Fleet Destroyer, HMS Whelp, which subsequently joined the 27th Destroyer Flotilla and sailed for the Indian Ocean to join up with the British Pacific Fleet.  On 2 September 1945, HMS Whelp was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed their declaration of surrender.  Prince Philip continued to serve on board HMS Whelp until her return to the United Kingdom in January 1946. 

Following the war, HRH the Prince continued in the Navy, enjoying a long and successful career and rising to the rank of Commander. 

On 5 December 1952, and now the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip was initiated into Navy Lodge No 2612, becoming a Master Mason on 4 May 1953. He remained a Member until his passing in 2021.

The Duke of Edinburgh was known to drop into meetings of the Navy Lodge almost unannounced. The Lodge has a celebrated past with an impressive roster of Naval luminaries included in their membership, including three winners of the Victoria Cross, numerous Admirals, a General, Vice-Generals and Senior Officers, alongside notable explorers such as Sir Ernest Shackleton and Captain Robert Scott (‘of the Antarctic’). Indeed, the Lodge prides itself on being the premier Naval Lodge in the world and counts four monarchs as past members – King Edward VII, King Edward VIII, King George VI and King George II of the Hellenes.

In his capacity as The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip was Patron or President of some 800 organisations, varying from those with particular interests in scientific and technological research and development, to the encouragement of sport, the welfare of young people, and his life-long commitment to conservation and the environment.

King George VI

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George, Duke of York) was born on 14 December 1895 in Sandringham, Norfolk.  He served as King of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952 and was our Monarch during the entirety of the Second World War.

The early reign of George VI was dominated by the growing threat of war in Europe. In May and June 1939, the King and Queen toured Canada and the United States.  The trip, being the first visit of a reigning British monarch to North America, was intended to soften the strong isolationist tendencies among the North American public towards developing tensions across Europe and to shore up American support for the United Kingdom in any future war. Staying with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and at his private estate at Hyde Park, New York, a strong bond of friendship was forged between the President and the royal couple, which had major significance in relations between the United States and the United Kingdom during the war years which followed.

After the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United Kingdom and its self-governing Dominions declared war on Nazi Germany.  Despite the constant threat of German bombing raids, the King and Queen resolved to stay in London, officially staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the war; although also spending nights at Windsor Castle. The first night of the Blitz on London (7 September 1940) killed around one thousand civilians, mostly in the East End.  Shortly after, on 13 September, the King and Queen narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace, prompting a defiant Queen to declare: "I am glad we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the face." With their willingness to stay in London and endure the same restrictions as their subjects, such as rationing, the King and Queen were seen as being exposed to the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. In August 1942, the King's younger brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service. In 1940, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister; the King and Churchill developed a close personal relationship, with the two men meeting every Tuesday for four and a half years until the end of the war. 

Throughout the war, the King and Queen undertook morale-boosting visits throughout the country, visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and troops. The King visited military forces abroad in France in December 1939, North Africa and Malta in June 1943, Normandy in June 1944, southern Italy in July 1944, and the Low Countries in October 1944. 

With their high public profile and apparent dogged determination to be among their subjects during six years of hardship, making them both symbols of national resistance, it was unsurprising that the crowds shouted "We want the King!" in front of Buckingham Palace during the Victory in Europe Day celebrations. The King invited Churchill to appear with the royal family on the balcony, to public acclaim.

George VI was initiated in Navy Lodge No 2612 on 2 December 1919 and was Installed as its Master in 1921. An enthusiastic Freemason, he joined several other Lodges as well as various other Masonic Orders. He was the Senior Grand Warden of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1923 and Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex from 1924 until 1937.

Prior to becoming King, he was elected Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1936 and was appointed a Past Grand Master of England in 1937. He formally withdrew from Freemasonry after he was crowned King of England in 1937, but was on hand to personally install his brother, George, Duke of Kent, as Grand Master in 1939, as well as the Earl of Harewood in 1943 and the Duke of Devonshire in 1948.

The Museum of Freemasonry owns several items of regalia that belonged to King George VI including aprons, jewels and sashes, as well as an oil painting of George VI housed in Freemasons' Hall by Sir James Gunn.   

Sir Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Sir Winston was also an Officer in the British Army, a historian, writer, artist, and as well the only British Prime Minister to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature and the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.

Sir Winston Churchill originally served as Lord of the Admiralty at the start of World War Two, before succeeding Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1940.  Out of office during the 1930s, he had led the call for British re-armament to counter the mounting threat of militarism in Nazi Germany. As prime minister, Churchill oversaw British involvement in the Allied war effort against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan.

Regarded as the most important of the Allied leaders during the first half of the Second World War, Churchill has long been held in high regard by historians as a victorious wartime leader who led the effort to defend Europe's liberal democracy against the spread of fascism. For his leadership during the war, he has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as one of the top three greatest British prime ministers, often topping lists as the greatest prime minister in British history.

One of Churchill’s great strengths was his oratory; as journalist Edward R. Murrow  commented, “he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.”   Indeed, it was his ability to connect and engage with others, principally the people of Britain and it’s then Empire, as well as other world leaders, which galvanised a beleaguered nation to fight on in the face of often insurmountable odds.  Fighting the early stages of the war alone (Britain with the vital and invaluable support of the countries of its Empire), it was Churchill’s sheer force of personality that is often credited with cementing the ‘Big Three’ Alliance with Britain’s eventual powerful allies, the United States of America and Russia. 

After the United States entered the war in December 1941, Churchill worked closely with President Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin to deliver an Allied war strategy. 

Churchill was 65 years old when he became Prime Minister; but was energised by the job ahead of him. He began his premiership by forming a five-man war cabinet which included Chamberlain as Lord President of the Council and Labour leader Clement Attlee as Lord Privy Seal (later as deputy prime minister). In response to earlier criticisms that there had been no one particular minister in charge of the prosecution of the war, Churchill both created and took the additional position of Minister of Defence.

At the end of May 1940, with the British Expeditionary Force in retreat to Dunkirk and the fall of France imminent, Churchill’s Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, proposed that the government should consider a negotiated peace settlement.  However, Churchill's resolve was to fight on, the essence of his argument being that it was highly unlikely we would get better terms then than if the country continued to fight. Undeterred by the overawing odds against Britain, Churchill’s use of rhetoric strengthened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British people for a long war. 

Churchill embodied the bulldog spirit which was needed. Part of his strength as Prime Minister came in the strong speeches he delivered to inspire the nation to keep going –  and people could listen to his speeches on the radio. 'This was their finest hour', 'Never was so much owed by so many to so few.' – Churchill's speeches, with his use of emotive language, metaphor and powerful imagery strengthened Britain's resolve during times when Nazi Germany’s occupation of Europe felt immovable and during unrelenting bombing of British cities. Churchill had long understood the power of words, writing at the age of 22, "Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king."

To many British people, the Allied victory in 1945 was due largely to Churchill’s inspired leadership. He symbolised defiance, a fighting spirit and a stubborn refusal to surrender. Many people believed that Churchill was a key factor in the British victory.

On 8 May 1945, Churchill announced the end of the War in Europe in a speech broadcast from Downing Street: “We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing but let us not forget for a moment the toils and efforts that lie ahead”.

“It’s a victory of the Great British nation as a whole.  We were the first, in this ancient island, to draw the sword against tyranny.  After a while we were left all alone against the most tremendous military power that has been seen.  We were all alone for a whole year.”

Despite Germany’s surrender in May 1945, Churchill and the Conservatives were defeated in the July General Election.  No longer prime minister, Churchill served as Leader of the Opposition after the war, returning as Prime Minister in the 1951 General Election, retiring from the role in 1955.  He died on 24 January 1965 at the age of 90. 

Sir Winston was initiated into Studholme Lodge No 1591 (now United Studholme Alliance Lodge) on 24 May 1901, completing his Second Degree nearly two months later on 19 July, before becoming a  Master Mason on 25 March 1902.  His apron and apron pouch are on display in the Museum's North Gallery at Freemasons' Hall.

Major-General Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet

Major-General Sir Allan Henry Shafto Adair, 6th Baronet, GCVO, CB, DSO, MC & Bar, JP, DL (3 November 1897 – 4 August 1988) was a senior officer of the British Army who served in both World Wars; as a Company Commander in the Grenadier Guards in the First World War, and as General Officer Commanding of the Guards Armoured Division in the Second World War.

Adair enjoined the First World War in the British Army as a probationary Second Lieutenant in May 1916. From January 1917 onwards, he served in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium as part of the Grenadier Guards, taking active part in the pursuit of the retreating German Army to the Hindenburg Line.  Adair was awarded his first Military Cross on 2 December 1918  for conspicuous gallantry and resource while in command of a support company and making several personal reconnaissances under heavy machine gun and rifle fire.

With the acting rank of Captain, Adair received his second MC after the war for conspicuous gallantry at Preux-au-Sart on 4 November 1918, leading his company  to capture the line with a minimum of casualties; again whilst under machine gun fire.

He continued in the Army during the interwar years.  After a short time as Chief Instructor at 161 Infantry Officer Cadet Training Unit at Sandhurst, Adair returned to the Grenadier Guards in May 1940 as Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion with the rank of acting Lieutenant Colonel.  The battalion was heavily involved during the battles of Belgium and France; and held the perimeter against German attacks during the evacuation of Dunkirk. It was when Adair's battalion launched a counterattack which helped restore the British line which impressed Franklyn, who later wrote: “I give this example of the highest form of discipline. Last May, when my Division was being hard pressed on the Ypres-Comines Canal, I was given a Battalion of the Grenadier Guards as a reserve. After marching well over twenty miles on a very hot day, they arrived at my Headquarters at 7.30 p.m. An hour later they were put into a vital counter-attack in the half light, over unknown ground. They advanced as efficiently as if on a field day at Pirbright – and their efforts were completely successful.”

Adair was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his services in Belgium and France and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 19 September 1940. Subsequently he rose to command the 30th Independent Infantry Brigade (Guards) on 15 September 1941, with the rank of temporary Brigadier.  From 12 September 1942 until the end of the war, Adair was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Guards Armoured Division, receiving promotion to Colonel on 30 June 1943, while serving as an acting and then temporary Major-General from September 1942.

Over the next 21 months, the Guards Armoured Division trained throughout the United Kingdom, finally arriving in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 28 June 1944, seeing action during Operation Goodwood in July, and then in Operation Bluecoat from July to August.

After the successful break-out from Normandy, the division advanced across Northern France and into Belgium, helping to liberate Brussels, after making an unprecedented advance from Douai, 97 miles away, in just 14 hours. The Guards then took a leading role in the ground advance in Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the ultimately unsuccessful Allied attempt to capture 9 Dutch bridges to create an invasion route into northern Germany. 

The Guards Armoured Division’s last major action was as part of the Battle of the Reichswald (Operation Veritable) in February and March 1945. After advancing through Germany and the German surrender in May 1945 the Division remained as part of the occupying forces, converting into an infantry formation, the Guards Division, in June 1945.

Following the war, Adair served as GOC of the 13^th Infantry Division, receiving promotion to Major-General on 25 July 1946. He retired from active service on 11 March 1947, but continued to remain in the Regular Army Reserve of Officers until his 60^th birthday in 1957, reaching the official mandatory retirement age.

Sir Allan Adair was a member of the Household Brigade Lodge No 2614.  He was appointed Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England from 1969 to 1976.

Harry Billinge MBE

Harry Billinge MBE served as a sapper with the 44 Royal Engineer Commandos during the Normandy landings; landing on Gold Beach at dawn on 6 June 1944.  He was just 18 years old and became one of just four in his unit to survive the landing and the ensuing battles in France.  In an interview with the United Grand Lodge of England website blog, Forces for Good, Harry recalled his experience on D-Day.  ‘There are no words to describe that terrible day,’ he says. ‘22,442 British men died in Normandy, and it made a terrible impression on me. The sea on D-Day was red with human blood. It still brings tears to my eyes.’

Harry really rose to prominence in the twilight of his years, as one of the last remaining soldiers of World War Two, often being interviewed at international events to mark the passing of key anniversaries, such as those marking D-Day and the end of the war, as well as annual remembrance events.  Most memorably, during an interview with the BBC in 2019, Billinge is quoted as saying "Don't thank me, and don't say I'm a hero. I'm no hero, I was lucky, I'm here. All the heroes are dead; and I'll never forget them as long as I live."

In addition to his Légion d’Honneur and various other service medals, Billinge was appointed MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to charitable fundraising, including having raised over £25,000 towards the cost of construction of the British Normandy Memorial, located in a field overlooking Gold Beach.  Etched on the stone memorial are names of every British soldier who died during the Battle of Normandy.

Harry died on 5 April 2022, at the age of 96.

Harry followed his father into St John’s of Penge Lodge, No 5537 in in 1964. He also served as Master and is also a Past Master of Lodge of Fortitude, No 131 and Plym Lodge, No 3821 in the south west, after moving to Cornwall.  Harry’s extensive charitable work included selling poppies for over 60 years to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. In 2020, his efforts were also recognised by Great Western Railway, which named a train after him. 

Eric Fraser – Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge No 4

A former soldier in the First World War, Eric Fraser served as a Second Lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlanders and also the  Seaforth's 8th Battalion in France. He retired in 1921 with the rank of Captain. Fraser then enjoyed a successful career in the chemical industry during the interwar years, working for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). With 33,000 employees, ICI was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain.   

At the onset of World War Two, a large number of businessmen were seconded to the civil service to help the war effort, particularly to oversee army supply.  Fraser joined the War Office in 1939 as Assistant Director General of Progress and Statistics, and then Director of Investigation and Statistics in 1940.   In 1942, he moved to the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP)  as Director General of Equipment Production and, in April 1943, Director General of Aircraft Production, which he remained until the end of the war.

Fraser worked closely with the Minister of Aircraft Production, Sir Stafford Cripps. By 1942, aircraft production had been utterly transformed from a number of small innovative companies to becoming the largest industry in the country. The Ministry’s role was to monitor and co-ordinate activity across the industry to maximise output, particularly the production of bombers, whilst continually striving to make the industry as a whole more efficient.  Due to their considerable previous experience in large industries, MAP officials knew more about factories and production lines than Ministers and permanent civil servants.  Bringing private business practices into the machinery of state was key to driving Britain’s production to aid the war effort.  While Fraser was Director General, Cripps pioneered Joint Production Consultation Committees within each aircraft factory to allow an exchange of views between managers and workers. This practice mirrored ICI labour relations policies, which had already recognised works councils for a number of years; Fraser’s experience and business knowledge was therefore critical to developing strong labour relations and driving production.

For his services in MAP, Fraser was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1946 King’s Birthday Honours.  After the war and until his retirement in 1958, Fraser returned to ICI as Sales Controller. He also served on a number of company boards and was a committee member of the Television Advisory Committee and the British Institute of Management.

Eric Fraser was initiated in the Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge No 4 (London) in June 1943, and later also a member of the Royal Somerset House and Inverness Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry.

Private Pike

Taking a slightly more surreal turn, we celebrate Private Frank Pike.  Private Pike was not a Freemason, nor was he a real person: he is of course a much-loved fictional Home Guard Private (and junior bank clerk) from the BBC television sitcom, Dad’s Army, as portrayed by the late and much-missed actor Ian Lavender. Frequently referred to by Captain Mainwaring as "stupid boy", the character of Pike represented those young men who were not in the regular armed services but were active in the Home Guard (in Pike’s case, a rare blood type exempted him from active service). 

But whilst Pike was not a Freemason, Ian Lavender, the actor who portrayed him, was a Master Mason in Chelsea Lodge No 3098 which, since it’s consecration in 1905, has hosted over 1,000 Members from the world of entertainment.

Often exasperating Captain Mainwaring with his child-like antics and a fondness for imitating his idols on the big screen – notably Chicago gangsters – usually whilst brandishing the platoon’s Tommy gun, Pike is perhaps most famous for his run in with a German U-Boat captain.  Despite the platoon being overrun by the German prisoners of war they had captured, this didn’t deter Pike from singing “Whistle whilst you work, Hitler is a twerp; he’s half barmy, so’s his army; whistle whilst you work.”  Enraging the U-Boat captain who demands his name to go on an ominous list which would see him meet his doom should the Germans win the war, Mainwaring interrupts with the legendary line “Don't tell him, Pike!"  Similarly, legend has it that when Ian was initiated into Chelsea Lodge, when asked for his name, a member of the Lodge was also heard to cry out “Don’t tell him, Pike!”  The old ones are still the best.     

A talented actor across film, television and radio, Ian Lavender also memorably played Derek Harkinson in Eastenders, as well as several other roles during his long and distinguished career.  In 2022, after the death of Frank Williams (who played Reverend Farthing), Ian became the last surviving member of the main cast.  He passed away in February 2024 at the age of 77.

This article is part of the Arena Magazine, Issue 57 Spring 2025 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in the Arena Issue 57 here.