At a meeting of Grey Friars Lodge Number 4990 on March 27th 1972, the initiate was a certain Robert Joseph Farey. Fifty years and a day later, at the lodge meeting on March 28th 2022, the brethren celebrated WBro Bob’s fifty years in Freemasonry by dedicating the entire meeting to him.

WBro Bob Allison, PJGD (Group Officer), WBro Bob Farey PPSGW, CoM, Bro Craig Ablett (Grey Friars Lodge) and WBro Mark Hunt.(WM Grey Friars Lodge)

The Secretary then read the minutes from 50 years ago when WBro Bob was initiated at a meeting held at Towcester because the Princes Street, Northampton premises were being replaced with the Grosvenor shopping centre and the St George’s Ave premises were not yet ready for occupation.

There then followed a multi-media presentation around the last 50 years with a focus on the life and times of WBro Farey put together by Bro Craig Ablett. It included photographs of several brethren as they were in 1972, music of the era and much more. It highlighted significant events in the life of WBro Bob including the schools he attended, (Spencer Infant School, St James Primary School and Spencer Modern Secondary School), his apprenticeship as a signwriter with Hardwickes and included reference to events in the wider world. It listed who was prime minister at each stage, who won the FA cup and what pop music was around!

WBro Bob’s National Service with the RAF was mentioned including the fact that he became friends with George Cary who later became Archbishop of Canterbury. Bob had the task of controlling a plane carrying Princess Margaret half-way across the Atlantic and also had to deal with a distress call from another plane with an engine on fire. After National Service WBro Bob worked as a signwriter for L G Laurence before setting up his own business in 1972, the same year he became a Freemason.

Having gained a contract to sign write Curry’s vans the business thrived and the presentation showed pictures of his handiwork over the years. On the strength of the Curry’s contract Bob was able to buy the first of several caravans and motorhomes for family holidays. His signwriting including lettering in Hebrew, Italian, French and Russian.

He was responsible for the signwriting on the lodge boards around the Masonic Centre and also made the G that hangs in the Lodge room. During the discussion the brethren learned that WBro Bob Farey had never been interviewed by the past masters to check if he was a suitable person to be made a mason. On the appointed day of his interview another appointment prevented him from meeting the past masters and they never did convene a new meeting. The current Worshipful Master, WBro Mark Hunt joked that they would need to rectify that by arranging to interview WBro Bob now to check if he was a suitable candidate for masonry?

After this part of the presentation the lodge was called off and the brethren retired to take a glass of port from the Mike Britton decanter to toast WBro Farey on his special anniversary. The WM then presented W Bro Bob with a commemorative square and compasses from the lodge to mark this special occasion along with a 50-year lapel pin. W Bro Bob appeared a little overwhelmed at this stage in the proceedings.

WBro Bob Allison, WBro Bob Farey and WBro Mark Hunt

The lodge was called back on in due form and there followed a summary of WBro Bob’s masonic career in the capable hands of the lodge’s group officer, WBro Bob Allison who engaged W Bro Bob Farey in a delightful discussion of his life and times and masonic career.

WBro Bob Farey held office in Grey Friars for many years in all of the progressive posts except for Inner Guard, becoming WM in 1983 and also held active office for most of his masonic career. For many years he was the Bookings secretary at the St Georges Avenue headquarters and in 2001 he was awarded the Provincial Grand Master`s Certificate of Merit for services to the Freemasonry and the Province, and also promoted to the rank of PPGSW.

In 2005, WBro. Bob became the founding secretary of the specialist bikers lodge, Graham Milton Lodge Number 9796. Bob explained when joining Graham Milton, he was asked if he had a motorbike, but admitted that he only had a Lambretta scooter. However, this still made him eligible!

The WM then summoned the Senior Deacon to take a note to the Senior Warden, who read the note and passed it on the Junior Deacon to deliver to the Junior Warden. The JW read the note which was a request to hand over to the JD, WBro Bob’s jubilee certificate to take to the SW. The SW checked it and gave it to the SD to carry to the WM. After checking it the WM passed it to the SD and asked him to deliver it to WBro Bob Allison to present to WBro Bob Farey. This was an excellent demonstration of the roles of the Deacons as explained in the opening of the lodge.

WBro Bob Farey

At the festive board the WM, WBro Mark Hunt presented W Bro Bob with a bouquet of flowers for his wife along with a bottle of champagne so she could be part of the celebrations. The brethren took great delight in toasting WBro Bob again and he replied with a delightful and at times emotional speech. He said he had never witnessed an event quite like it in his fifty years in freemasonry, a sentiment echoed by some of the visitors, one of whom commented by email afterwards:

On previous visits to the lodge, I have seen you present lectures, an eulogy, ritual and toasts. Many years ago I was fortunate enough to attend several spectacularly successful Ladies Nights which you organised. But I have only seen a tiny portion of the huge service you have given to Grey Friars Lodge over the last fifty years. Your lodge brethren clearly do appreciate just how much your service has meant to the health and well-being of Grey Friars Lodge and indeed to the Province too. In that context, it is perhaps not as surprising as it otherwise would be, that they decided to devote the entire meeting in tribute to your contribution over these 50 years. It was a warm, fraternal and genuinely felt thank you for all you have done and I was privileged to witness the tribute.

Altogether the evening was a wonderful way to celebrate the contribution to Freemasonry in general and to Grey Friars in particular of W Bro Bob Farey PPSGW, CoM.