There can be few braver acts of Masonic friendship than a Lancastrian setting foot in Yorkshire on Yorkshire Day itself. Yet that is precisely what Deputy Grand Superintendent of West Lancashire David Barr cheerfully did on Saturday 1 August, journeying east to join the companions of the Provincial Grand Chapter of Yorkshire, North and East Riding.
The 1 August is no ordinary date in the white rose county. Yorkshire Day, first celebrated in 1975, marks the anniversary of the Battle of Minden in 1759, when soldiers of a Yorkshire regiment are said to have plucked white roses from the hedgerows and worn them in tribute to comrades who had fallen. It is a day when Yorkshire folk wear their county’s white rose with unmistakable pride. For a man who wears the red rose with equal conviction, an appearance on such an occasion was always going to prompt, in Dave’s own words: “A sharp intake of breath.”
Happily, the warmth of the welcome soon settled any lingering echoes of the Wars of the Roses. Dave was received not as a rival but as a friend, taking his place alongside a distinguished line-up of visiting Deputy Grand Superintendents; from Northumberland Philippe Pagès, from Lincolnshire Mike Rix and from Durham Clinton Leeks, together with their host from Yorkshire, North and East Riding, Hiltendra Thaker. Five neighbouring Provinces, gathered under one roof, a quiet reminder that the ties of the Royal Arch reach far beyond any county boundary.
It is in moments like these that the character of Freemasonry shows itself most clearly. The good-natured rivalry of rose against rose is worn lightly, a source of laughter rather than division, while the deeper bonds of companionship, respect and shared purpose run steady beneath. Whether in Preston or across the Pennines, the companions of the Royal Arch speak the same language of friendship and fellowship.
Dave returned home to West Lancashire having flown the flag, perhaps we should say the red rose banner, with characteristic good humour and grace. He extends his warm thanks to the Grand Superintendent and companions of Yorkshire, North and East Riding for their generous hospitality, and looks forward to welcoming his eastern neighbours to West Lancashire before too long. The red rose and the white rose may have their differences on 1 August. In Freemasonry, they meet as friends every day of the year.
