THE REPORT OF THE PROVINCIAL GRAND ALMONER

During the last twelve months there have been quite a number of applications processed by the Lodge Almoners and myself. Most of the applications have been successful however a few were turned down owing to the applicants not meeting the necessary criteria.

There are also several applications currently going through committee stages with Grand Charity, the RMBI and the RMTGB.

Although I am not aware of every single application, a survey of the Lodge Almoners would indicate that in the last twelve months the brethren of Bristol and their dependants have received a total of approximately £112.000.00 in aid from the various Charities. This total is broken down as follows:-

Royal Masonic Trust for Girls and Boys	68.7%
Bristol Masonic Benevolent Institution	19.6%
Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution	5.9%
Grand Charity	4.1%
Others	1.7%

Another aspect of the Provincial Almoner’s role is to visit brethren, widows and occasionally dependants from provinces other than Bristol but who now reside in the Bristol area. This is quite a rewarding and interesting part of the Provincial Almoner’s role as it gives one an opportunity to meet with people from other Provinces and establish contact with the Almoners or Provincial Grand Almoners of other Lodges and Provinces.

As a result of these contacts one lady has now become an associate member of the Bristol Masonic Widows Association, and the family of one elderly mason has established contact with his mother Lodge with a view to returning all his regalia. The gentleman in question is 100 years old but unfortunately has lost all memory of his masonic career.

Last November my wife and I were invited by one of the Bristol beneficiaries to attend the Remembrance Day Service at the Royal Masonic School for Girls at Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The lady is herself an ‘Old Girl’ and her daughters are currently being educated at the school. After the service there was a demonstration of school drill by the pupils, which culminated with 200 students forming a giant square and compass. This was followed by lunch and a tour of the school. I would strongly recommend anyone to visit the school and see how well our charitable donations are being spent.

On the 22nd November last year the four main Charities hosted a Provincial Grand Almoners’ Conference at the Masonic Centre in Birmingham. This conference was the first of its kind and was primarily designed to bring the Provincial Almoners and Charity representatives together to discuss any issues connected with the overall applications and administration process. As well as most of the staff from each of the Charities being present there were also Almoners and their assistants or representatives from thirty-six provinces in attendance.

During the morning session there were talks from each of the Charity representatives and each talk was followed by some very lively question and answer sessions.

At the end of the morning session we divided into six groups and during lunch discussed various ways in which communications and administration could be improved between Almoners and the Charities. My particular group was made up of the Provincial Almoners from the provinces of Wiltshire, Somerset, Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Jersey. After lunch the suggestions from each group were collated and summarised and then the various representatives were given an opportunity to make their initial response. The two main issues arising from this session were:

• A general desire for the Charities to work more closely together, preferably under one roof enabling them to cross-refer with one another if and when required.
• The potential introduction of one standard application form that would be common to all the Charities.

The conference proved to be a great success and everyone concerned agreed that it should be repeated at least once a year.

This year at the March meeting of the Bristol Installed First Principals Chapter, a beneficiary of the Royal Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls gave an illustrated talk on “What Masonry has done for my family”. This lady and her daughter gave a most interesting and passionate account of what Masonic charity is all about from the receiving end and just how much it means to those in need. The talk was very well received and proved to be quite an ‘eye opener’ for many of those who attended. It is hoped that this talk may be repeated to a larger audience at some time in the future.

My second year in office has been most interesting, rewarding and enjoyable and if any member of the province requires further information, I would be most happy to provide it.

As this is my first report as Provincial Grand Almoner I hope that it meets the requirements, if there is any further information required I shall be happy to provide it.


W.Bro. Hugh Stevens
Provincial Grand Almoner