Page 30 - Essex Mason (Issue 91)

General Interest - Hamilton Court

Hamilton Court’s East End It seems that throughout life, we always seem

Centurion to enjoy the number 100 and celebrate it
whenever it appears. Things like, a century in
cricket, a centennial lodge meeting, a birthday
of course and indeed any aspect of life which
involves this magic number.
At Hamilton Court we recently had our own
opportunity to celebrate this inspiring number
when one of our residents, Lily, attained her
100th birthday and I had the pleasure of
spending an hour with Lily learning about her
interesting life. The occasion was marked by
a small gathering of friends and family in the
resident’s lounge at Hamilton Court (in line
with restrictions of course) where Lily has lived
since 2003 and also with a visit from, VW. Bro.
Paul Reeves (Deputy Provincial Grand Master in
Charge). Paul presented Lily with some fl owers
and best wishes from Essex Freemasons. Lily
thought it was wonderful that “The Mayor”
had interrupted his busy schedule to wish her a
happy birthday.
Lilly was born in April of 1921, in Custom House,
London, E16, at a time when the country was still
recovering from the devastation and privations
of the First World War. Lily’s mother ( Mary) and
father (Frederick) lived with Lily and her six
siblings, four brothers and two sisters who made
a fuss of their youngest sister. The family home
was a large Georgian house in Custom House
where Frederick was a crane driver in the docks.
Lily recalls that Sundays were mostly spent
in church and she would attend her father’s
Catholic church in the morning and her mother’s
protestant church in the afternoon. Sadly, Lily’s
mother died prematurely at the age of 44 when
Lily was only 9 years old but she remembers with
great pride how her father continued to bring all
of the children up on his own.

The family continued to live in E16 for a while but eventually moved to Becton to a smaller house where she lived until
she married Henry in 1941. Henry was away in the navy for the duration of the Second World War and he arrange for
Lily to go to live in Abingdon, Oxfordshire to escape the blitz. Lily recalls, “ I landed a plum job there working for the Air
Ministry”. After the war, Lily returned to live in Ilford, Essex, where Henry and Lily were blessed with two sons, Michael
and Russell and Lily took up another “plumb” job working for Ind Coupe Brewery in Romford. Eventually, the two boys
off hand, Lily and Henry moved to a large bungalow in South Woodham Ferrrers which she remembers fondly. However,
after Henry’s death, the bungalow became too much for Lily to manage and her brother, Victor, who belonged to a lodge
in Barking, told lily of the Masonic Housing fl ats in South Woodham Ferrers and in 2003 Lily moved in to her “delightful”
little fl at ( one of forty four) overlooking the gardens.
Lily says she felt at home immediately and was delighted with her new home and she relished
the companionship of the other residents and the security felt by having an onsite warden
present should those unexpected things in life occur. In those early days, Lily said she was
more able to join in with the social life at Hamilton Court organized by the residents and the
committee and she attend outings and events regularly but these days her attendance is not
so frequent although Lily still tries to put in an appearance in the resident’s lounge for the
Christmas party.
We wish you many happy returns Lily and it has been a delight to have had you amongst us
for so many years and to continue to be of service to you. God bless.
W.Bro. Ken Turner (Hamilton Court Committee)
(Should any lodge almoner wish to have a gr eater insight in to Hamilton Court and how we may be useful to you in your work with
(Should any lodge almoner wish to have a greater insight in to Hamilton Court and how we may be useful to you in your work with
lodge members, widow’s, dependants etc., please do not hesitate to contact us. Kenturner1952@hotmail.co.uk.)
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