HistoryChapter 3                           579St Bryde 

The war of 1914-18 was the greatest catastrophe in the history of mankind and many books have been written on the subject, forming various points of view. I therefore only intend writing as to the effect of the war on our Lodge directly and of how the true spirt of Masonry shone through those dark days. Even then, in the hour of their greatest trial, the Brethren practised their craft.

Soon after the start of hostilities the Provincial Grand Lodge formed a War Fund to benefit the dependants of the Brethren of the Middle Ward Lodges who were in the forces. On 9th. September 1914 it was passed in the Lodge that four monthly contributions of £5 be paid to the P.G.L. War Fund. At the same meeting the R.W.M. Bro. J.Smith announced that three Brethren of the Lodge Bros. Millar, Patterson and Smith had answered the Roll Call of their country and, to a hearty cheer from the Brethren , the R.W.M. wished them "God Speed". Some Brethren of the Lodge were already engaged at the front and the Secretary of the Lodge was instructed to write to them. At a subsequent meeting the Secretary read a letter from Bro. Joseph Reid, on active service, expressing pleasure he had felt when he received a letter from the Lodge.

An indication of how inadequate the resources of the army were at the beginning of the war, came in a circular from Grand Lodge on 23rd. September 1914 appealing for field glasses to be sent to the R.W. Immediate Past Grand Master, The Marquis of Tullibardine for use of the Scottish Horse Brigade.

Grand Lodge adopted a notice on the 4th. February 1915 "that any Lodge may after due notice and by a majority, pass a motion freeing members on active service from their annual contributions, without losing their good standing". The Lodge too was doing all it could to help the dependants of the Brethren in the forces. The R.W.M., having made enquiry as to the best form of relief, reported that it was practically no use trying to send parcels to the front, but that payments of rent arrears for the dependants at home saved a lot of suffering.

The R.W.M. also intimated that Bro. Joseph Reid, serving with the Cameron Highlanders, had been taken prisoner by the Germans and that he had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The Balance Sheet for 1915 states that 13 Brethren of the Lodge were now serving in the forces. The R.W.M. Bro. J. Robertson informed the Lodge that he and the W.S.W. Bro. G. Taylor had been called up for military service and that he hoped the Lodge would be successful in the future under the care of the I.P.M. Bro. T. Robertson.

The year 1916 saw a major change in Grand Lodge Law No.181. It was now compulsory for a candidate to produce an application form, stating name, age, profession and that he had never been refused admission etc. In fact the application form is basically the same as the one in use today. The revision of the Law also compelled each Lodge to have an Enquiry Committee whose duties would be "To fully enquire into and report upon the character and qualifications of every candidate for membership". At the first meeting of the Lodge Enquiry Committee 29 gentlemen were interviewed and recommended for membership.

At the next regular meeting Bro. J. Nimmo initiated 29 candidates and, according to Lodge minutes, created a record for the Province by conferring the Degree on so many candidates. Although many of the Lodge Brethren were on active service during the war years, the Lodge met regularly and towards the end of the war years a dramatic upsurge in the number of candidates seeking admission was recorded , in 1918 no less than 88 candidates were initiated.

Early in 1917 the Lodge arranged for a concert to be held in the Public Halls to entertain wounded soldiers from the Hillpark hospital. A letter was received from the Manager of the Lanarkshire Tramway Company , wishing the Brethren well in their efforts and enclosing free travel passes for soldiers and their nurses attending the concert.

The year also saw another reigning R.W.M. of the Lodge called up for military service, Bro. G. Wallace informed the Lodge that he would therefore be unable to fulfil his duties to the Lodge.

The beginning of 1918 saw the return of Bro. J. Robertson P.M. (who had been called up whilst R.W.M. ) He was welcomed back into the Lodge by the R.W.M. J. Espie who expressed the wishes of the Brethren that he return swiftly to good health. Bro. J. Robertson in reply asked the Brethren to remember the case of Bro. Joseph Reid`s family.

Bro. Joseph Reid had been a prisoner in Germany since 1914, until the Hague Convention of August 1917 stated that prisoners of war who had been such for eighteen months or longer , should be interned in neutral countries. Towards the end of 1917 Bro. Reid was sent to neutral Holland and was to remain there until the end of the war.

During his stay in that country he helped found a Lodge which was indeed unique, because although many Lodges have been formed under interesting and peculiar circumstances, nowhere in our Masonic history is there any record of a prisoner of war Lodge being founded by authority. This unique Lodge "Willem Van Orange" (so named after the Dutch Prince who became our King William III ) was formed by 25 Brethren from England , 7 from Scotland , 8 from Ireland, and 1 Canadian. It was given the number 118 under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands and Bro. Reid was duly elected the first Senior Steward of the Lodge. It is worthy of note that after the war the Lodge transferred to the Grand Lodge of England , now numbered 3976 E.C. it still meets in London to this day.