A few months ago I was briefly in possession of a small collection of what are known as Masonic Jewels - the medals of a former Freemason from the United Grand Lodge of england and a member of a similar body - the Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes.
They belonged to my former neighbour and reflect a little snatch of history - especially that of the Second World War and post-War colonial period. In a way those days never really leave us - one of the jewels is marked Cyrenica - a part of Libya that is again associated with demands for independence. The other locations - Oman, Cyprus, Iraq and Egypt all reflect RAF postings in the dog days of empire.
I post one of my pictures below, and the rest are to be seen, with my other collections of photographs, lower down the page on the right hand side.
Oh - and for all the conspiracy theorists that pass through this site - no I am not a Freemason.
The medals are interesting...do you know what the RAOB is all about Paul? My dad was in them and always harped on about me 'joining' the Buffs when I was old enough. I never got involved I was frankly put off by the aprons, gloves, medals etc and secretive nature of the organisation itself. My old man said it was to do with the Queen, which didnt help. When he died the RAOB turned up en masse and gave him something like a Guard of Honour at his funeral and it all looked very military, and lots of them were very respectful towards us and spoke highly of him, but it makes me wonder why?...if you have any answers i'd appreciate it!
Posted by: dave perkins | June 21, 2012 at 09:48 AM
Hi Dave - I don't know much more than you about the RAOB. My uncle was in the Freemasons and they performed rituals, attended dinners and provided mutual aid for fellow Masons.
I am not sure that is particularly sinister, but people are suspicious when anyone with a particular role in society comes together with others behind closed doors. Perhaps the answer is to join them and see what they are up to?
More generally all these organisations seem to be in terminal decline. I have done security at a few Masonic events, and the average age is never less than 50+, and often 60+. Think the Conservative Party without the A list.
Posted by: Paul Stott | June 21, 2012 at 11:09 AM
yeah I dont think I missed out on a great social life by not joining!it rings true the thing about mutual aid my Dad often seemed to get a discount from other 'Buffs',e.g we always rented a caravan for holidays in Skegness from another member otherwise I dont think we would have had any holidays at all. I also remember lots of fundraising events with raffles, prizes, socials etc. we all got a decent xmas present from them at the annual christmas do,and there were summer beanos to the Lincolnshire coast which were always full. I never got to find out what all the fundraising was for though, and what was the aim of the RAOB? ante-deluvian apparantly means "before the flood" and is some kind of oblique Biblical reference. Think I'll still pass on your suggestion of joining them though!
Posted by: dave perkins | June 21, 2012 at 12:34 PM