Corinthian & Borsdane Lodge No 2350 was opened by the WM Darryl Grundy in all three degrees and Assistant Provincial Grand Master Malcolm Bell admitted. As the gavel was offered by Darryl to Malcolm, he chose to accept it on this occasion before closing the lodge back to the first degree. The celebrant was then called to occupy a comfortable spot at the front of the Lodge.
Frank was born in February 1942 in Billinge Hospital, Lancashire, to parents Doris and Jack. Doris was a factory girl and then in later life went on to work in the Wigan market hall, and Jack was the store manager for Mark Williams Butchers, situated in Standishgate Wigan.
1942 was at the height of the Second World War, with the dreadful conflict raging across Europe, meaning many a loved one was away fighting. Rationing was in full force and life was hard, far from what we know and take for granted today. However, the question was with Frank’s father working in the butchers, did he manage to take home an extra slice of bacon or two?
The cost of living was much different than today, with the average cost of a house being £620, which equates to £25,000 today. £310 for a car, and to fill it up would cost you 10p a gallon. The weekly shop came to roughly 45p, however, most importantly a pint of beer was just 5p, with the average wage being £6 a week.
King George VI was on the throne, he of course being a Freemason holding the rank of Past Grand Master, with his brother George Duke of Kent, our current Grand Master’s father, being killed in 1942, in a plane crash in Scotland, at the time of his death he was The Grand Master.
The prime minister was another Freemason, Winston Churchill, and Frank shares his year of birth with eminent physicist Stephen Hawkins, boxer Muhammad Ali, actor and singer Michael Crawford, Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, Christine Keeler, former labour leader Neil Kinnock, Paul McCartney, Calvin Klein the fashion designer, and Jimi Hendrix.
Frank enjoyed a very happy childhood growing up in the family home at Morton Avenue with his younger brother Ken, who in later life became a bodybuilder, becoming Mr Britain. He attended Poolstock Infants, before passing his 11plus and moving on to Thomas Linacre Technical School, which was opened by the Queen in 1953.
On leaving school, Frank went to work as an electrical technician at English Electric Aviation, which later became British Aerospace, being based on Strand rad in Preston with over 10,000 people being employed by the company, and as part of qualifying, he attended the Technical College in Wigan gaining his endorsement exams. He continued working here until he went to Ferranti Electronics in Manchester where he worked on the navigation systems for the TSR 2 interceptor aircraft. And after a couple of years working there, he went on to work as a sales engineer and in 1975, was elected as a Chartered Engineer in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
Through his work, Frank got to visit and work in many countries, including spending years behind the Iron Curtain, in the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia, even learning to speak Russian and German; his work also took him all over the country and he was involved in the supplying and installing of the 30 X 15 feet LED screens in every mainline train station in the country including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds.
Frank still enjoys many hobbies and interests, and the house is adorned by the many paintings and pictures that he drew, including a scene near Millom depicting the remains of the sunken schooner Coniston, that rose for a brief period of time following a storm. The schooner sank in 1917 as it was heading back to Millom from Ireland with a cargo of pit props for local mines, sadly, several souls were lost during the disaster some of whom were never recovered. He has a great interest in sailing, even building his own boats. Another of Frank’s passions is fishing, the outdoors and wildlife, and he enjoys nothing more than taking photos of some of the wonders seen on his travels. Over the years he has visited the Galapagos islands, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, taking some amazing pictures. Frank has also had many hours of diving experience having dived in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. He also loves it closer to home especially the Scottish Highlands, and again, many of the spectacular photographs that Frank has taken are displayed in his home. Frank’s interest in wildlife and nature doesn’t just stop at taking photos, during the 1980s he was also licenced by the English Nature Bat Conservation Trust, enabling him to visit and record roosts around the area, so they could keep a record of the numbers and health of the bats. His licence also enabled him to keep bat’s that were injured until a time they could be released into the wild. He has also given talks to schools, clubs and groups in the area, and even conducted bat walks around the Yarrow Valley Country Park.
But it was in 1960 that Frank’s life was to change forever and of course for the better, when he was indulging in another great passion and interest of his, scouting, and just like all his other endeavours in which he excelled, scouting was no exception, with him becoming a Queen Scout. The scout group Frank was a member of, were holding a dance in the area. scout master Ted Haselden, who was a rep at Walker’s Brewery, managed to sell a few tickets to local publicans, and one of those turning up with her mum was a young lady named Irene, and as she handed over her coat to a young cloakroom assistant, Frank, there must have been a spark as they started chatting and arranged to meet the following week at the Empress Ballroom. They hit it off immediately and from that moment they were inseparable, and as a massive plus, Irene’s mum and dad had their own pub, The Buck’s Head in Abram. They were soon engaged, and on 20 March 1963, they tied the knot at St John’s at Abram. The marriage was a very happy one with them first moving into the pub before eventually getting their own home in Coppull, moving to their current address 46 years ago. In 1969 they were blessed with the birth of their first daughter Andrea, followed by Victoria in 1973. Frank is very proud of them both with Andrea being a school teacher, and Victoria being the manager of a travel communications business. Grandchildren Jessica, Jack, Charlie and Annie-Rose were born, and only last year Frank and Irene celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.
On 21 February 1974, Frank was initiated into Hindley Lodge No 4020, after he was proposed by George Banks, and Ernie Barlow. Frank could have joined Arrowhead Lodge No 8500 as the first candidate, as he knew a lot of the scouters who were Freemasons, but he was headhunted by George who was a regular at the pub.
Joining Masonry 50 years ago wasn’t like it was today with Frank having to wait three years before he was initiated. Once he was, he became an active member, and in 1984 he was installed as the master of Hindley Lodge. Frank’s activities weren’t confined to his lodge alone he was heavily involved in the Wigan and District Association for Masonic Research, becoming its chairman in 1985. In 1992 he was quite rightly promoted to the very high first rank of Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon, followed by a very well-deserved promotion to Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 2001. In 2002, Frank again became the master of Hindley Lodge, but sadly it surrendered its warrant the following year and Frank joined Borsdane Lodge No 6460. He became director of ceremonies in 2008, and WM in 2022 where he helped with the successful merger with Corinthian Lodge No 2350 in 2023. Away from Craft Masonry, he was exalted into Chapter of Harmony No 178 in 1976, becoming the scribe Ezra in 1981 and first principal in 1990. He was rewarded for all his hard work by being appointed as an Acting Provincial Grand Steward, and joining the Provincial Grand Stewards’ Chapter of West Lancashire No 8516. In 1997 he was were promoted to Past Provincial Grand Sojourner. He is also a member of another Masonic Order.
Frank continues to be a keen and active member of both the lodge and his community, still holding the position of sidesman in his local church, and singing in the choir. In lodge he often takes on jobs with very short notice, and with his wife Irene, have recently become members of the Wigan Masonic Fellowship, even giving them a talk on one of their visits to the Galapagos Islands.
At this point, the group chairman John Selley, read the certificate issued to Frank by the ProvGM. Frank resumed his seat in the lodge whilst the almoners report and charity collection ensued, following which the risings were given. After the first rising, Malcolm Bell and his retinue retired from the lodge and following the subsequent risings all the brethren retired downstairs for an excellent festive board.
The usual toasts were proposed and responded to, with the toast to the celebrant being proposed by his good friend Peter Gore, after which Frank gave an excellent response. The raffle raised several £100 which was all pledged to the family of John Mason following their recent tragedy. A very memorable and interesting evening celebrating the Masonic career of Frank Jones was brought to an end following the tyler’s toast, after which everyone retired very satisfied with the proceedings.
