THE members of Granville Lodge No 3405, which meets in Bude, had cause to celebrate at a recent meeting.

Neil Parsons achieved 60 years’ unbroken membership of the lodge last December and he was presented with a certificate to mark the occasion on May 16. Generally the minimum joining age is 21 but some lodges, mainly those with a university connection will admit candidates who are 18. To achieve 60 years of membership therefore means attaining the age of at least 81.

To mark this very special occasion the Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall, Stephen Pearn, attended the lodge meeting accompanied by a large number of his officers including the two provincial wardens. Before the lodge was opened Neil was escorted into the lodge room by the director of ceremonies to prolonged and enthusiastic applause and given a prominent seat near the master’s chair. The lodge was then opened in the traditional manner before the Provincial Grand Master and his officers were admitted. They entered with full masonic ceremony. Provincial officers occupied the senior positions in the lodge and Stephen Pearn assumed the role of Worshipful Master for the remainder of the evening. That alone is a rare occurrence and the members of Granville were delighted with such an honour for their lodge.

Neil was presented to the Provincial Grand Master who presented him with a 60-year membership certificate and offered his personal congratulations as well as those of all Cornish freemasons. Neil gave a suitable reply and thanked Stephen for attending the meeting and making it a very special landmark in his long masonic membership.

After the meeting a celebration dinner was held at the masonic hall and it was very fitting that Neil sat near the board containing the names of all the past masters of the lodge with Neil’s father holding that office in 1943. Neil gave a very interesting speech about his life in general and his freemasonry with particular references to Bude where he was born. As well as his certificate he was presented with a large cake inscribed with his name and a masonic symbol together with a bouquet of flowers for his wife. This was an extremely friendly and memorable meeting of freemasons who were celebrating a great achievement of one of their members.

Neil Parsons was born in Queen Street, Bude in 1929. He attended Bude Primary School and the Grammar School. He worked briefly in Lloyds Bank before joining the Royal Navy in August 1945. After training at Torpoint and Scotland he served on a wide variety of ships. His tours of duty took him around the world even going to Christmas Island. He retired from the Royal Navy in 1969 and took up teaching. After training in Exeter he taught in Portishead near Bristol until retiring in 1988. He is currently president of Portishead Royal British Legion. He lives with his wife Thelma in a bungalow overlooking the Bristol Channel. Over the years he has visited masonic lodges in and around Bristol and last attended Granville in 2007 when he received his 50-year certificate.