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On Saturday 14th March Thirty-one Brethren gathered at Minnis Bay Lodge no 8496, for an ordinary meeting but with no ceremonial work. Then the afternoon changed into something extraordinary. The Lodge was called off and seven local charity representatives were invited into the Lodge to receive charitable donations……totalling £37,500 ! The Veterans Association, Forelands Fields, RNLI Margate, Parkinsons UK, Age UK, KSS Air Ambulance and Pilgrims Hospice were all greeted warmly and presented with individual cheques. The Lodge was quiet, the brethren humble, and the charities could hardly believe it – that’s a lot of money, especially from just one Lodge. And it’s not over either.

Founder W.Bro. Graham Knox (Master in 1978) passed to higher service leaving a bequest to the Lodge of £250,000 – with one stipulation – it all had to be donated to charity. An amazing legacy and an excellent problem to solve – how do you do it? The Minnis Bay Brethren formed a committee, drew up a list of 31 charities, divided the money into chunks of £1,500 for dispersal and then each member was given three votes to nominate a charity on the list to receive a share. Their scheme ensures each charity receives a minimum of £1,500, and with more votes, comes more money. As with all the simplest schemes, the outcome denies the hard work involved in working it all out.

The money is one thing (that’s the easy part!). The reality for the charities is something else. 3,760 people in Kent are living with Parkinsons. The RNLI are building a completely new lifeboat station in Margate (keeping all crews operational whilst they rebuild). The Pilgrims Hospice needs £18 million per year to run their services. The cheque for £4,500 presented to the KSS Air Ambulance will fund a complete mission (aircraft, fuel, pilot, crew, medics, drugs, etc.). That £4,500 may just have saved someone’s life. That’s humbling.

Even into his eighties, W.Bro. Graham Knox would make the 40-mile trip from his home in Bredhurst for weekly LOI’s, and of course, every meeting. An ex-Navy gunnery officer, wounded in the Korean War, Graham then became a commercial traveller, selling cleaning products to garages. His Navy anecdotes are too fruity for print, so to hear those you’ll need to go to Minnis Bay 8496; chat to a very friendly, open and welcoming Lodge of humble masons doing something extraordinary.

Written by George Chandler