Page 5 - EM-Issue-93

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Provincial Grand Lodge
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The Provincial Grand Lodge
of Essex Freemasons has
joined over 8,000 UK
Organisations in signing the
Armed Forces Covenant
• The Provincial Grand Lodge of
Essex signed the Armed Forces
Covenant during an event at
Freemasons’ Hall in Covent
Garden on 24 March
• A senior officer from Colchester
Garrison attended the event
and signed for the MOD

On 24th March 2022 the Provincial Grand Master of Essex, Paul Tarrant, signed the Armed Forces
Covenant with Major Kevin Fitchett, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Colchester Garrison who was
given a warm welcome at the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge at Freemasons’ Hall in
London, the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England.
The Covenant is a Government policy to help the Armed Forces Community, which includes veterans, bereaved
families and service personnel with adaptive needs, in areas such as healthcare, education, accommodation
and employment. It is an obligation on the whole of society including voluntary and charitable bodies, private
organisations and individuals, all of whom are asked to recognise our Armed Forces and offer respect, support
and fair treatment.
V.W.Bro. Nick Franklin, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, explained “Members of HM Armed Forces
sacrifice some of their civilian freedoms and put themselves in harm’s way in the defence of our realm so
it is important that they should receive our support and we have an obligation to ensure that they get fair
treatment which is the primary purpose of this Covenant.”
Major Fitchett said: “Essex Freemasons have a long and positive relationship with the Armed Forces
in Essex, particularly by supporting military charities both through funding and their members’
direct involvement. It is a privilege to have been invited to celebrate the Freemasons signing up to
the Armed Forces Covenant and we look forward to working together to benefit the Armed Forces
Communities in Essex.”

One Freemason who did more than any other
person to change the unwanted way people used
to regard the Services in peacetime was Rudyard
Kipling. Never a soldier himself, his Barrack
Room Ballads and other poems conveyed the
foibles of soldiers to the hearts and minds of a
population which began to appreciate far more
the dangers and hardships of military life. This
change helped foster numerous military charities
and welfare organisations, many of which still
survive.
Government policy today encourages public
appreciation with the Armed Forces Covenant
which the 8,000 plus Essex Freemasons will
support through their four important guiding
principles of Integrity, Friendship, Respect and
Charity.

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