100th birthday parties don’t come along often but on Monday 11th June 2012 it was the turn of the Preceptory of Croydon No. 196 to celebrate its centenary.

The meeting was in two parts. At 2.00pm the members of the Preceptory gathered with some guests for the annual Installation meeting. In the absence of the Eminent Preceptor due to a family bereavement, the new Eminent Preceptor, E.Kt. Dennis Wheeler was Installed both as Eminent Preceptor in the Temple and Eminent Prior in the Priory by the Immediate Past Preceptor, E.Kt Oluwole Richards. E.Kt. Dennis then appointed and Invested his Officers for the coming year and the Preceptory and Priory were adjourned for light refreshments.

At 5.00pm, the Provincial Officers and Bodyguard having in the meantime assembled, the Preceptory was resumed and the Provincial Prior, accompanied by the Officers of the year, entered under an Arch of Steel provided by the Provincial Prior’s Bodyguard. The formalities having been completed the Provincial Prior then outlined the purpose of the meeting.

The Preceptory of Croydon was Constituted on 14th February 1912 but not Consecrated until 11th May that year. The ceremony was not carried out by the Provincial Prior of the time, V.E.Kt. William Russell KCT, as might have been expected, but by the Great Vice-Chancellor, V.E.Kt. C. Fitzgerald Matier.

The Prior went on to explain that although the Preceptory of Croydon was most definitely a Surrey Preceptory, it had originally been Consecrated when Surrey and Kent were joined as one Province. The Province of Surrey had come into existence in 1847. But in 1880, Surrey and Kent were joined together as one Province, a state of affairs that was to last until as recently as 1956.

Interestingly, the founders were given permission, prior to the Consecration, to hold a meeting of the Preceptory in order to Install five Companions as Knights of the Order. These five new Knights then themselves became founders of the Preceptory. Of course your current meeting place was not in existence in those days and along with many other Masonic units, you initially met twice a year at the Public Hall in George Street up to the end of 1931. From 1932 to 1961 meetings were held three times a year at the Greyhound Hotel and from 12th March 1962 at the Croydon Masonic Hall.

The Prior then briefly outlined what it was like living in the UK in those days. The population was 42 million as compared with around 70 million today. Life expectancy for men was in the lower 50s and for women the mid 50s. Of every 1000 children born, 100 would die in infancy. The price of petrol, in terms of today’s prices, was about £4.00 per gallon as compared with around £6.00 now. Beer, again at today’s prices, was 60p per pint. Prices in general have risen more than 70 times in the past 100 years.

Other notable events happened in 1912: The Piltdown Man’s skull was found and the Royal Flying Corps came into being. Captain Scott and his party perished having reached the Pole and the Titanic sank. In May 1912, Ben Hogan and Sam Sneed, American golfers were born as were Perry Como and Jay (Tonto) Silverheels, the Lone Ranger’s sidekick. Wilbur Wright died in May and Bram Stoker in April.

The Prior continued that he could remember standing in the Preceptory three or four years earlier, with about half a dozen members in attendance, urging that something had to be done to try to keep the Preceptory of Croydon going and that he wanted to be present to celebrate its centenary. He could never have dreamt that within the intervening years they could have been so successful in turning the membership round to become one of the strongest Preceptories in the Province and congratulated them and wished them well for the future.

The newly refurbished Preceptory Banner was brought into the Preceptory, paraded in front of the members and visitors and re-dedicated by the Provincial Prior.

There followed an excellent video presentation by Kt. Dan Turner on the Banner itself. He said it was the product of research undertaken into the Banner and the Preceptory’s logo. The Banner had as its escutcheon, the arms of the County Borough of Croydon, first granted to the town in 1886, and Kt Dan provided an interpretation of the symbolism contained in those arms. He also showed how the logo of the Preceptory reflects the Precepts of the Order itself. The Preceptory had had a booklet printed with a fuller version of Kt. Dan’s talk and this was made available during the evening to all the members and visitors.

There followed a talk by the previous Provincial Prior of Surrey, R.E.Kt. Bryan Page, KCT, in which he outlined some of the early history of the Preceptory with a greater emphasis on the Christian basis of the Order itself.

The Provincial Prior then re-dedicated the Banner and presented it to the new Eminent Preceptor. The Centenary Warrant was read by the Provincial Vice-Chancellor and also presented to the Eminent Preceptor.

Before retiring from the Preceptory, the Provincial Prior was presented with a most generous cheque for £1300.00 for the work of the Eye Hospital of St John in Jerusalem, the principal Charity of the Order, by the Eminent Preceptor.

Following the closing of the Preceptory, all the Knights present, about 70, sat down to an excellent meal of Prawn Cocktail, Rib of Beef and Strawberry Pannecotta.