Members of Lodge of St George No 6048 gathered at the St Helens Masonic Hall to celebrate with Alan Prescott on reaching the remarkable milestone of 50 years in Freemasonry. Alan was initiated into the Lodge of St George on the 7 May 1975, marking 50 years this May. It was great to see so many of the younger brethren of Lodge of St George turn up to support Alan on his remarkable achievement.
The evening started with everyone gathered in the bar, having a drink and sharing memories. Alan told the tale of when he was a young fella, his dad brought home a cabbage with a piece of string tied around it. Alan would spend many happy hours pulling that cabbage around the streets when one day a fella pulled him up and said: “Alan, why are you pulling that cabbage around”? Alan looked at the man and with a tear in his eye and said “My dad couldn’t afford a collie.” You have to love him.
Assistant to the Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies Greg Pinnington asked if all the brethren could make their way to the temple to formally begin the celebration. The lodge was opened promptly at 6:30 pm, and once the lodge business was completed, the WM Paul Holden opened to the third where DC Greg Pinnington announced that Andrew Whittle, Assistant Provincial Grand Master, stood without and demanded admission. Paul said that the lodge would be delighted to receive him.
Paul welcomed Andrew to Lodge of St George and hoped that he would have a very enjoyable time, and as is his right, offered Andrew the gavel. Andy was delighted to be offered the gavel and said that on this very special occasion, he was more than happy to accept it.
After taking his place at the head of the gathering, Andrew instructed Greg to position the guest of honour, Alan Prescott, in front of him and make sure he was seated comfortably. Andrew then began recounting the remarkable life story of Alan Prescott, from his childhood to the incredibly well-respected man he has become.
Alan was born in June 1931 at Oldham to his parents, father Ernie and mother Alice, both of whom were spinning operatives in the local cotton spinning mill. Alan was one of seven children, sadly his sister Mary who lived in Oldham, and brothers James, who lived in New Zealand, Ronald who lived in Chadderton and Eric who lived in Hampshire are all deceased, but his sister Hilda who is a sprightly 88 years young lives in Llandudno and his brother David who is 84 years young lives in Rochdale.
He started his education very early at the age of three years, when after regularly following his older brothers to Stanley Road School in Chadderton are of Oldham. The head at the time said he could start early as he was obviously fascinated by the prospect of attending school. Somehow, I think Alan was just curious about what his brothers were getting up to.
As with many schools in the 1930’s and 1940’s Stanley Road School covered infants, juniors and seniors’ education, so Alan remained at the school until he was 14 years of age and sat the special entrance examination for Oldham Technical College.
Whilst at school Alan told me that rugby was the sport of his choice, and he enjoyed playing for both the school teams and teams in the local leagues. In his spare time, was a member of the Boys Brigade, starting as a Life Boy’s and progressing to become a member of the company and a senior boy. Alan would remain with the Boy’s Brigade and become an officer for several years until he commenced National Service.
At the age of 16, like most of his generation, Alan would leave full time education and start work, Alan was fortunate and obtained a bonded apprenticeship as a joiner / carpenter with a local firm Fred Ainsworth Ltd. At the age of 21 years and after completing his bonded apprenticeship the British Army came calling for Alan and he was called up for his National Service in Her Majesty’s Forces. Alan was lucky to be seconded to the Royal Airforce after initial training to maintain and repair the signal equipment on Royal Airforce bases across Europe.
Upon Alan’s return from National Service although a place was available at Fred Ainsworth’s Ltd, as per the rules of National Service, for Alan this was not what he wanted to do, so he decided to work with his brother Ron who was also a joiner / carpenter. In the mid 1970’s Pilkington’s Glass would offer the change of occupation he sought; the company was founded in 1826 as a partnership between members of the Pilkington and Greenall families, based in St Helens.
After his retirement Alan was not to be bored or tired as he dedicated himself to three important roles. The first was as a visitor for the Pilkington Family Trust who aim to provide welfare and community support services for retired Pilkington employees and their families across the United Kingdom and overseas. Alan also spent time as one of her Majesty’s Prison Inspection Board members for Liverpool Prisons, a role he enjoyed. He worked at Liverpool Prison in the Walton are of Liverpool and recalls that his role was to attend the prison anytime during the day or night as an independent person to check on the conditions in the prison.
Turning to Alan’s family life, as we heard earlier, he married the love of his life Miriam in November 1971, during their happy married life of 54 years, they have been blessed with four children, eight grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Alan let us know turn to your Masonic career, you were initiated into Lodge of St George Lodge No. 6048, on the 7 May 1975, it is of nearly exactly 50 years ago. Alan’s services to his lodge have recognised by the Province of West Lancashire a number of times, with his last promotion to Past Provincial Junior Grand Warden. It is interesting to note that Alan was exalted into the Royal Arch completing his journey in pure and ancient Freemasonry, in Ionic Chapter No 2405 and has reached the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Standard Bearer. Alan also joined another masonic Order in which he received promotion to a high rank.
Andrew’s presentation Alan’s incredible life story, with pictures, can be read by clicking here.
The brethren listened attentively to the life and times of Alan. Following this presentation, the Mersey Valley Group Chairman David Atkinson, read the certificate of achievement from Provincial Grand Master Mark Matthews. Upon receiving his certificate, all the brethren stood and gave Alan a resounding round of applause.
Upon closing the lodge, WM Paul invited everyone to attend the festive board, where the celebration of Alan’s fantastic achievement would continue.
During the festive board, the celebration continued with delicious food, great company and more stories from Alan. The evening was filled with laughter, and the affection felt for Alan was palpable. He has been a dedicated servant to Lodge of St George, and we hope this continues for many years to come. At the end of the evening, Alan was presented with his very own Lodge of St George embroidered chair, which perfectly capped off a wonderful evening spent in the company of a remarkable Freemason, brother and all-around nice guy.
The raffle at the festive board raised £140 for Masonic and non-Masonic charities, a fitting end to a remarkable evening.