Photo: Steve Waterhouse

Freemasons and their families from the Province of Devonshire have raised a magnificent £3,836,625 in support of the Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys.

The result of the 2012 Festival Appeal, which lasted almost six years, was announced during a memorable night at the Riviera International Convention Centre in Torquay on Saturday 17 November 2012.

Over 600 Freemasons and members of their families gathered to celebrate during a banquet of local food before the final result was announced by RMTGB Chief Executive, Les Hutchinson.

During the announcement the Province's top performing Lodges in terms of total and per capita donations were also revealed: Loyal Lodge of Industry (No. 421) raised a grand total of £61,321 and Lodge of Union (No. 444), with only 30 members, had raised an average of £1,581 per member.

Following the cheers which greeted the final announcement, the President of the RMTGB, Mike Woodcock, thanked the members of the Province for their hard work during the Appeal and spoke about the importance of the charity's work:

“Through your kindness and generosity you have helped to support disadvantaged children of our Masonic family and many others who never had half the chances to succeed in life that most of us had. Now they have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to succeed in life.”

Also present at the Festival was Senior Grand Warden, Hon. Andrew Wigram MVO, who delivered an entertaining speech which recounted memories of his visits to Devonshire before offering congratulations to the Provincial Grand Master for Devonshire, Michael T. Penny, for his Province's achievement.

In his own speech as the 2012 Festival President, the Provincial Grand Master offered further thanks to the members of his Province and the Festival Committee who had been instrumental in the success of the Appeal and spoke of his support for the work of the Trust:

"Every child is miracle and deserves the best start in life that their circumstances allow – that is their basic right and it's their inability to control their own destiny that evokes in us feelings of compassion and care . That of course is the prime motivation of every parent and the Trust when supporting and helping members of our Masonic family."

Other distinguished guests included the Chairman of Torbay Council and a number of Provincial Grand Masters for other Provinces.

During the dinner, harpist and former RMTGB beneficiary Angelina Warburton played a variety of popular classics before a lively performance by the Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra; their trumpeter also being a beneficiary of the Trust.

Are you a Devonshire Freemason? Click here for the full results including individual Lodge totals.

Everyone at the Trust sends their thanks and best wishes to Martin Howitt for his sponsored walk from Fort William to Cape Wrath in support of Lincolnshire’s 2014 Festival Appeal.

Martin kindly provided us with the following overview of the challenge he has set himself:

This walk passes through some of the wildest and remotest parts of the Scottish west coast, indeed of the British mainland. Knoydart, for example, is considered as the most remote and unspoilt region in Britain, a great place to learn your words!

The trail starts at Fort William and heads generally north until finishing at that rugged and most north westerly tip of Scotland, Cape Wrath Lighthouse.

It is a trail of 210 miles and will generally follow the line marked out on the map. Passing through Knoydart, the Wester and Easter Ross areas and finally Sutherland it promises to be my most challenging walk, my last one being the West Highland Way (95miles) in 3 days.

This is a solo walk and my aim is to complete in a total of 9 days but with a narrowing weather window I have decided to split the walk into two sections.

Section One will be Fort William to Kinlochewe, around 95 miles and covering the remotest parts of the trail. Carrying my provisions and shelter for 2 nights whilst I negotiate the area of Knoydart I plan to complete this section in 4 days. Weather permitting I intend this to be around the 3rd weekend of October.

Section Two will be Kinlochewe to Cape Wrath, the balance of 115 miles, which I plan to have completed by April 2013, again the timing is subject to an appropriate weather window of 5 days.

With our minds and efforts presently focused on the Provinces’ 2014 Festival I thought it a good idea to use this walk to boost each Lodges contributions. So your sponsorship will be recorded under your name and will contribute to your Lodges Festival Target. You can record your sponsorship at www.justgiving.com/MartinHowitt

My wife will be monitoring my progress and will keep you updated on my JustGiving page.

I hope you consider this a worthy reason to make that one off contribution to the Festival and help not only the RMTGB but also your tireless Charity Steward.

Good luck Martin!

Bro. Rory Windridge of The Eastleigh Lodge (No. 8340) in Eastleigh, Hampshire organised a fundraising event for the RMTGB, where ten members of the lodge (average age 58 years) pulled a 30t concrete truck for one mile along a local country lane.

The oldest member of the team, aged 72 years, was W. Bro Barry Ansell who said:

“It was a good way to keep fit and help the Girls and Boys”.

The team is considering a re-run next year where it might field its ‘senior side’, including its oldest honorary member who celebrates his 101st birthday this year!

The Lodge invited W. Bro Ray Collings, Fundraising Manager of the RMTGB to attend their meeting on 20 October 2012 and give a presentation on the charity which was enjoyed by all the Brethren.

At the festive board, the funds raised from the truck pull were presented to W. Bro Ray Collings by The Eastleigh Lodge’s Charity Steward, W. Bro Steve Privett (a junior member of the team at a mere 48 years).

To conclude the evening, the Worshipful Master, Raymond Caldwell, presented a cheque from the raffle to W. Bro Ray Collings bringing the total funds raised by the Lodge to £2,600.

Thanking the members of the Lodge for their support, W. Bro Ray Collings said:

“I just cannot believe the effort and determination put in by these chaps. The Trust is very grateful for the funds raised by them and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Masons and their families”.

The Province of Nottinghamshire has launched its 2018 Festival Appeal in support of the RMTGB at a special event held in Nottingham on Sunday 22 April 2012.

An unforgettable afternoon at the Royal Concert Hall featured musical performances from the internationally renowned Cantamus Girls' Choir (Choir, background; Director Pamela Cook, right) and rising opera star Nicholas Sharratt (left).

Current RMTGB beneficiary Jasmine Elcock (centre), who has received financial support since her father was made redundant last year, sang at the concert and many other recent cases of support were highlighted throughout the event.

Following the musical performances, the Provincial Grand Master for Nottinghamshire, Robin K. Wilson formally announced the beginning of the Appeal.

During the event, the RMTGB’s President and Chief Executive both delivered short speeches which explained the history and current work of Freemasonry's oldest charity to members of the Province and many members of the public who had also purchased tickets for the event.

During his speech, President Mike Woodcock, himself a Nottinghamshire Freemason, said:

The RMTGB’s work is so important and I know that Nottinghamshire Freemasons, who have an enviable record of charitable support, will help us maintain our proud record of having never turned away a child in need because of a lack of funds.

Members of the Province, together with their families, will be aiming to raise a total of £3m during the next six years and the Provincial Grand Master reported in his speech that great progress has already been made, with over £820,000 being raised before the formal Appeal had even been begun.

For further details about the Festival, including information about donating and fundraising, please visit www.nottinghamshiremasons.co.uk or www.rmtgb.org/2018

A selection of further photos of the concert can be found on our Facebook page.

(Photo credit: Paul Hancock)