Sixty-five members of Devon’s Masonic Widows’ Associations came together at Buckfast Abbey for their annual summer lunch, enjoying good weather, good company and the chance to catch up with friends from across the county.
The gathering is one of the highlights of the year for the associations, which provide friendship, social activities and ongoing support for the widows of Freemasons in Devon.
Provincial Grand Master Nicholas Ball welcomed the guests and thanked Chris and Jane Oliver, who organise the annual event.
“Ladies, it’s always such a pleasure to meet you for the Summer lunch at a favourite location of ours here at Buckfast,” he said.
He also spoke about some of the wider work taking place across Devon, including Freemasons’ growing involvement with local communities and their support for the county’s hospices.
Looking ahead, he invited the ladies to join Devonshire Freemasons again at Exeter Cathedral for the Province’s Christmas carol service later in the year.
For those involved in the Masonic Widows’ Associations, however, the lunch is about much more than an annual get-together.
There are four groups currently operating across Devon — Exeter and Topsham, Teign Valley, Plym Valley and Torbay — with around 120 members between them. They arrange lunches, afternoon teas, visits and other social occasions throughout the year, as well as something much simpler but often just as important: a friendly phone call and the reassurance that someone is there.
Chris Bilyard, chairman of the Exeter and Topsham group, thanked the organisers and said the associations had recently welcomed several new members.
He added that there was still more work to do to make widows across Devon aware that the groups exist and encouraged lodge welfare officers — known in Freemasonry as Almoners — to help spread the word.
That effort has also included finding new ways for the different branches to meet one another.
Chris Oliver explained that inter-branch events have been introduced for the first time, including cream teas and fish-and-chip lunches. Although they took a little while to get going, they are becoming increasingly popular.
Two members have also recently made a rather special trip to Freemasons’ Hall in London, the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England. After lunch and a tour of the building, they were able to see the Grand Temple where their husbands had attended meetings — even taking the opportunity to sit in its principal chair.
Chris said the past year had inevitably brought some sadness as the associations lost members, but this had been balanced by new faces joining the groups.
He summed up the reason the organisation continues to matter simply: “The MWA is all about the ladies, who we feel should not be forgotten.”
The summer and Christmas gatherings are supported by the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon Benevolent Fund, helping the associations to bring members together from different parts of the county.
One part of Devon is still missing from the map. There is currently no Masonic Widows’ Association covering North Devon, and organisers would warmly welcome the creation of a group in the area.
At its heart, the organisation is not complicated. It is about keeping friendships alive, making new ones and ensuring that losing a husband does not also mean losing the friendships and community that may have surrounded a couple for many years.
And on a sunny day at Buckfast Abbey, with 65 friends gathered around the table, that sense of continuing companionship was very much in evidence.
