Herefordshire freemasons came together at masonic halls around the county to celebrate the hard work that the NHS, social carers and frontline workers have done for us, the general public, during this awful pandemic and also to remember all those who have sadly lost their lives.
The event in Hereford was honoured by the presence of Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire, Edward Harley OBE, the High Sheriff of Herefordshire, Mrs Jo Hilditch, and the Deputy Mayor of Hereford, Councillor Mark Dykes in paying homage to the representatives of the NHS, social carers and frontline workers, who were able to attend. Due to the current restrictions the celebration resulted in a cut down version of that originally planned. However, it did not detract from spirit of the day.
The day started off at 10:00 with Michael Holland the senior freemason in Herefordshire raising of the specially designed NHS flag. The raising of the flag was mirrored by numerous locations around the nation. At 11:00 a two minutes silence was observed to remember all those that had lost their lives as a result of the pandemic. Then at 1pm freemasons toasted all those that have done so much for us all.
In Kington, Arrow Lodge held an event and among the guests were the Rev Ben Griffiths, Vicar of Kington, also representing care services in the area were local nursing home workers, and a nurse who had assisted with the vaccination programme, representing the NHS. A local trumpeter played the Last Post followed by two minutes’ silence.
The Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Graham King attended the event in Leominster, organised by Royal Edward Lodge. The event was honoured by the presence of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Leominster and a further 14 visitors. These included local health care staff and social and welfare workers. Special Inspector David Taylor sounded the Last Post and Reveille before and after the two minutes’ silence at 1100am.