A Family Affair
It is said that George Washington was the first World Head of State to relinquish his grasp on power willingly and voluntarily to his successor, John Adams.
That is, he did it without dying in office, being violently deposed, or losing his head in a civil war.
George, being a Freemason, may well have been influenced by the actions of Worshipful Masters in his lodge, who, when a successor is duly elected, willingly hand over the gavel and place him in the Chair of King Solomon.
And so, in the spirit of George, on Thursday 3rd October, Vincent Baughan had the honour of handing the gavel to Matthew Martin and installing him as the latest Worshipful Master of The Royal Cumberland Lodge.
This was a family affair. Matthew was presented by his father, Peter, and his brothers Benjamin and Jonathan were there to witness the occasion.
Vincent said, “It was an honour to hand over the reins of power to Matthew, as he is a long-standing member of the lodge, with 24 years of service to the Craft under his belt. I am a veritable ‘blow in’, by comparison, only having done five years in the Craft.” He added, “the worst part of it was, that I had to hand over the Hall Jewel collarette, struck to commemorate the opening of the Masonic Hall in York Street in 1819 by the Duke of Sussex. But I was compensated by being presented with the Brother White’s Past Master’s Jewel.”
Matthew Martin will, with his years of experience in Freemasonry, make an excellent Worshipful Master, and the lodge and all their members wish him well for his year in The Chair.
