The sumptuous surroundings of the Roman Suite at Liverpool Masonic Hall formed the background for a very special meeting of Victory Lodge No 6238, to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Ken Jones. director of ceremonies Len Sheppard called all to order and the lodge was opened WM Eric Palfreyman, assisted by his wardens, Peter McCarthy and Arthur Roberts, senior and junior respectively.
Having opened in the second and third degrees, Assistant to the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies, Greg Pinnington, entered the lodge and announced that Assistant Provincial Grand Master John James stood without and demanded admission. The WM announced that the lodge would be honoured to receive him.
The lodge members and visitors stood to receive John James, who was led into the lodge by Provincial Grand Stewards, Chris Bruffell, Michael Daly and Mike Fox, accompanied by Liverpool Group Chairman David Johnson and grand officer Roy Astley. Eric Palfreyman having formally welcomed John to the lodge then offered the gavel to John who on this occasion accepted the honour and occupied the chair of King Solomon.
John explained to all present we are here to celebrate a landmark achievement in the life of such a remarkable man. Paying tribute to a very popular and well-respected member of the lodge, explaining that Ken has been a member of the lodge since 1965, and there is no excuse not to celebrate this fact and applaud the achievements of a very interesting, knowledgeable and remarkable man, and on this occasion to celebrate his 60th anniversary as a Freemason.
John requested two chairs be placed on the floor of the lodge and invited celebrant Ken to come forward. Once Ken was sitting comfortably, John joined him and began the celebration. Ken has been a Freemason for 60 years, and in that time has seen eight Provincial Grand Masters come and go, and more Assistants to the Provincial Grand Master than you can shake a stick at! Ken recalling that during an earlier conversation with John, they had a conversation with regards to Alan Fletcher Ferris, a great man and a name from the past and now forgotten or even unknown to many Masons, as he was Provincial Grand Master in 1968.
Ken has probably seen and taken part in more ceremonies than could possibly be remembered, but one special ceremony exactly 10 years ago stood out, the celebration of his golden jubilee, which on that occasion was presided over by then Assistant Provincial Grand Master Mark Dimelow. John explained that Mark was looking forward to attending this evening and celebrating with Ken, unfortunately Mark is suffering from a winter bug, and sent over his best wishes to Ken.
Ken was born in April 1926 and is just short of this 99th birthday, and his early life was heavily influenced by his grandfather Jeremiah. Ken recalled that his grandfather had one book which was a Bible, which Jeremiah used to read to Ken in a fusion of Welsh and English.
Ken had a happy schooling, first at St Michael’s in the Hamlet Primary and Junior school, and then at the Oulton in Clarence Street. The latter closed before he could complete his education, and Ken spent a couple of terms at the Liverpool Collegiate which also just happened to be John’s old school. Ken explained that he wasn’t very impressed with it!
In the war years, heeding the advice of friends who had volunteered for the services before being called up, Ken applied to join the RAF. Ken explained that the RAF opened his eyes to the world. Having qualified as a ground crew electrician, he was posted to the Indian sub-continent. Mixing with people from around the world, he particularly enjoyed his time in Sri Lanka.
Ken left the RAF in 1948 and returned home, only to find that his parents had moved house to Broadgreen, which was a bit of a surprise. Life soon returned to normality, and having planned about his future, decided to become a teacher, however, the college in Bangor could not take Ken until 1950. Having learned that the BICC had vacancies and were holding interviews. Ken applied and was offered a job in the accounts department.
Not long after taking up the position, Ken began to suffer from osteomyelitis, which is an extremely painful bone infection with the possibility of long-term problems. Possibly being infected during his time on the sub-continent. The condition left Ken hospitalised for two years, and off work for nearly three! Luckily for Ken, the BICC kept his job open until he was able to return. Ken recalled that the condition was very painful and that he was deeply grateful to the BICC and so Ken gave up his ambition to become a teacher and remained loyal to BICC.
Ken rose through the ranks to become head of invoicing and credit control for the whole business and remained there for 36 years. Whilst at BICC, Ken met Margaret, they were married and were together for a total of 70 years, married for 66. They moved into Rimmer Road, and brought up two sons, Derek and Geoffrey. Ken had a happy family life and is very proud of his boys and their achievements. Derek is a teacher and Geoffrey carried on where Ken had left off and became a chartered accountant. Ken has three grandchildren, Joshua, William and Rebecca, of whom he is equally very proud.
Ken was introduced to Freemasonry through his father, who was a member of Antient Briton Lodge No 1675, and became a member of Victory Lodge at its consecration in 1946. Ken was initiated into Victory Lodge in 1965 by his father, taking the chair just 12 years later. Ken has served the lodge in many different roles, director of ceremonies for 11 years, chaplain, assistant secretary, group representative, charity steward, and more recently, as a stand-in for any position in the lodge, sometimes at short notice, when needed. Ken was promoted to Past Provincial Junior Grand Deacon in 1987 and the very high rank of Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden in 1995.
John congratulated Ken for his exemplary service to Freemasonry over the last 60 years, and called upon group chairman David Johnson to read a certificate that the Provincial Grand Master has directed should be raised to mark the occasion. Having done so, the certificate was then presented to Ken by John and all present applauded Ken on his amazing achievement.
At the festive board, Gordon Lees, himself a member of Victory Lodge and a fellow diamond jubilee celebrant nine years ago, led the tributes. Ken, had the opportunity to respond thanking all who had attended in support of his diamond jubilee, remarking that he viewed himself as a very lucky man and that he had thoroughly enjoyed the last 60 years. It was clear from the reception to his speech that Ken is held in very high regard, and all could agree that he is indeed ‘a diamond geezer’!
Story by Mike Fox.