John Bassinder was installed as master of Lancaster Castle Lodge No 5952 in the presence of Past Assistant Grand Registrar John Lee, the representative of Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews. John was accompanied by PAProvGMs Philip Gardner and Keith Kemp with grand officers Malcolm Dewhurst, Michael Mashiter, Neil McGill and Paul Broadley.
Chris Larder, Chairman of the Lancaster and District Group, group vice chairman Daniel Crossley and group secretary Lee Fisher were joined by Provincial Deputy Grand Superintendent of Works Ken Greenwood, Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies Steven Ellershaw, Provincial Assistant Grand Standard Bearer Steven Murray, Provincial Assistant Grand Pursuivant Syd Bateson and Provincial Grand Stewards Stuart Bateson and Andy Baxter.
Matt Kneale, who was John’s seconder at Carnforth Lodge No 4951 acted as senior deacon and Paul Fuery, also from Carnforth Lodge was junior deacon. The WM, Ian Lonsdale, asked all those below the rank of a fellow craft to retire from the lodge and the WM opened the lodge in the second degree.
The WM invited Peter Whaley to act as installing senior warden, Keith Heyes to act as installing junior warden and Phil Howden to act as installing inner guard. John Stanley then presented the master elect John Bassinder. The WM addressed the John and the secretary read the Ancient Charges and Regulations. John Bassinder advanced to the east and recited his obligation as master elect with great confidence and took a seat in the lodge.
Ian then asked all those below the rank of a master Mason to retire from the lodge and opened the lodge in the third degree. Salutations were given to the grand and Provincial grand officers. The WM invited all below the rank of an installed master to retire from the lodge. Before the master Masons retired, the DC invited all master Masons of Lancaster Castle Lodge and visiting master Masons to join in the perambulations on their return.
The WM and installing master Ian Lonsdale, convened a duly constituted Board of Installed Masters and John Bassinder was installed into the chair of King Solomon according to ancient custom in fine style. The WM then invested the immediate past master.
Upon completion of the installed board, master Masons returned to the lodge, saluted and greeted the WM as he was proclaimed by Ian Coates for the first time from the east. The working tools were confidently presented by Mark Charlesworth. The WM closed the master Masons lodge by virtue and resumed labour in the second degree. Fellow crafts returned to the lodge saluting and greeting the WM as he was proclaimed by Coates for the second time from the west. The working tools were superbly presented by Bill Spencer.
The WM closed the lodge by virtue and resumed labour in the first degree. Entered apprentices returned to the lodge saluting and greeting the WM as he was proclaimed by Coates for the third time from the south. The working tools were presented and explained with great confidence by Craig Mountford. Ian Lonsdale then presented the warrant of the lodge, the Book of Constitutions, the by-laws of the lodge and the Lancaster Castle Lodge Commemorative Working Tools to the newly installed WM. The WM appointed Derek Allen as senior warden and Peter Whaley as junior warden.
At the end of the ceremony, Peter Whaley gave the address to the master, the address to the wardens was given by Phil Howden and the address to the brethren of Lancaster Lodge by John Lee. On completion of the installation ceremony, John Lee brought greetings from the Provincial Grand Master to the WM and wished him a successful, busy, happy and healthy year. He congratulated Ian Lonsdale on a superb ceremony. The WM responded that the evening had felt like a whirlwind and the IPM then presented John Lee with a list of donations that the lodge had made to Masonic and non-Masonic charities totalling £3,510. John thanked the brethren of the lodge for their very generous donations.
Organist for the evening was David Tattersall and the Master’s Song was performed by John Bates. A total of 78 brethren attended the festive board. The toast to the WM was given by Ian Lonsdale. A raffle raised £693.60, which together with an additional £35 from the master’s swindle, made an impressive of total of £728.60.
John Bassinder was born in July 1964, the first child of Eric and Helen Bassinder, in Colne, East Lancashire. His father was a serving police officer with Lancashire Constabulary and his mother was a bank clerk. John has one sister, who currently resides in Shropshire. At an early age, the family moved to Huyton, which in 1968 was still in Lancashire (now Merseyside) following a promotion in rank for his father.
John’s formative years were spent growing up in Liverpool where he attended local primary and comprehensive schools. He was educated to ‘A’ level before leaving school. John’s first job was as a civilian Fingerprint and Scenes of Crime Officer with Merseyside Police. After 4 years he left to join Lancashire Constabulary as a police officer. He was initially posted to Lancaster and held various positions within that Division, working in Lancaster, Morecambe, Garstang and latterly Carnforth. John received a Chief Constable’s commendation for bravery following the arrest of an offender armed with a large knife who had already stabbed and injured his girlfriend. He has also been awarded numerous Chief Superintendent’s commendations for Good Police Work.
Upon retiring from the police, John worked for E H Booth in the company’s Loss Prevention Department tackling organised shoplifting gangs before joining the North West Ambulance Service as a Patient Safety Incident Investigator. He was recently appointed as the first Family Liaison Officer for the Ambulance Service.
John is married to Kath, who he met later in life. They have a total of two sons and two daughters from previous marriages, together with eight grandchildren whose ages range from 17years to 10 months.
John was initiated by his proposer, Ian Lonsdale into Carnforth Lodge in 2012 and was the first candidate to be initiated at the new Kerneforde Hall. He joined Lancaster Castle Lodge and has served in all of the officer roles prior to being installed as WM.
John and Kath enjoy foreign holidays. They have spent six weeks touring Australia, a month travelling Route 66 across America and just prior to the COVID pandemic enjoyed five weeks in Canada. Their next venture is a Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas, a place very dear to their hearts and where they married 11 years ago. John is also a keen wildlife photographer.
