Page 4 - Essex Mason (Issue 91)

Provincial Grand Lodge
P r o v i n c ia l G r a nd L od g e

W.Bro Paul William Tarrant

A Man for all Reasons By Tony Hales
Provincial Communications Team

ringing a feeling of hope and the start of a new
Provincial Grand Master and Bgrowing season, Spring is the favourite season
ovincial Grand Master and
Pr
of the year for Provincial Grand Master and Most
Most Excellent Grand Superintendent Excellent Grand Superintendent Designate (PGM/
Most Excellent Grand Superintendent
DESIGNATE
DESIGNA TE MEGS Des) of Essex Freemasons, Paul Tarrant. When
Graham Redman, the Deputy Grand Secretary (DGS)
of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), called
him to ask whom he thought the next PGM might
be, Paul happily gave three or four names. The DGS
then said “What about you Paul?”. Feeling astounded
he replied “I will have to think about this and have a
long discussion with Jenny fi rst”. The next step was a
Zoom meeting with the Pro Grand Master, the Grand
Secretary and the DGS. Jenny, Paul’s wife, was also
invited to make sure she would be happy for Paul to
accept the Mastership of the second largest Provincial
Grand Lodge in UGLE.
Born in 1954 in Leigh-on Sea, Paul fi rst knew about
Freemasonry from his father, Colin, a member of Thames
Mouth Lodge No. 6994. His mother Ann also became
an Essex Freemason, but it was David Badger, whom
he met at the Little Theatre Club in Westcliff, a local
amateur dramatic (am-dram) society, who proposed
him into Lodge of Fraternity No. 5916 in 1983. Famous
for its ‘Fraternity Working’, David and Paul were part
of a team that fi rst put the ritual in writing. Never
considering himself to be a ‘career-mason’ Paul said
“Being a member of Freemasonry is the best decision
made in all my years. I have never been ambitious, I
simply love seeing members enjoying themselves with
a focus on charity, which is a good thing”. In addition to
his love of Freemasonry, there are many other reasons
why Paul was selected.

Educated at Westcliffe High School for Boys (Grammar)
and Southend College of Technology, where he gained a
Diploma in Business, Paul began a distinguished career
which led to senior roles at Racal Electronics managing
the Government Data Network, at HM Customs and
“I will have to think about this Excise in technical architecture management including
and have a long discussion that for the DirectGov website, in programme and
with Jenny fi rst” development management, including the multi-
million pound redevelopment of Government Banking
facilities. From being a ‘tax-collector’ Paul was posted
to DEFRA, where he coordinated the work of a diverse
and federated structure of over 70 agencies to reduce

costs in IT by 33%. Paul’s fi nal career move was to Mark Masons Hall as Grand Secretary which also started with a drive to
reduce waste, increase effi ciency and give a better service to all members with IT systems developments including the re-
writing of KeyStone Online.
With Mark Master Masons alone accounting for over 43,000 members and Mark Masons Hall being responsible for the
administration of many of the Masonic Orders in which Paul holds Grand Rank he found the whole experience “wonderful and
marvellous” giving him a valuable understanding of other Orders which will be a signifi cant advantage in his new role. Seven
years ago, Paul had a stroke and took the brave decision to stand down as a Grand Secretary. He is proud of the ‘fatherly-
advice’ given by Jack, their son, who was then 21. With his father worried about what he would be able to do in the future, Jack
was adamant that ‘getting better was all in the head’. He was right and inspired Paul to come to terms with life when things
were really bad and make a successful journey back to recovery. Today, Jack works for the Royal Society of Chemists and Paul
is a role model for all stroke sufferers.
As with us all, Paul thought highly of his immediate predecessor, the late Rodney Lister Bass OBE, who Invested him as an
Assistant Provincial Grand Master (APGM) in 2017, saying “It is a real shame he has passed on; I was surprised in many ways
by Rodney’s breadth of ideas and will do my best to emulate him”.
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