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This month includes; Jim Broadbent on staying awake and the Grim Reaper; two amazing stories found in our archives about two past Oddfellows members who were awarded the Victoria Cross; how to make friends on twitter; launch of our new online retirement course; lovely story about a family reunited after many years apart.
Citation preview
The Odd Fellows' Magazine, Feb!uary, 1945The Odd Fellows' Magazine, February, 1945
27
Another Odd Fellow V.C.An Original Member of JUYenile Lodge.
ODD FELLOW RECORDDirector Bro. J. A. JORDAN,Provo C.S. of the Melton
\oJowbray District, writes :-- "Bro. R. H. Burton, along with his brother and sister,
were amongst the original members. of the !\felton
1[owbray District Juvenile Lodge on Its formatIOn 111
1928. All three joined the Earl of 0a1l1sbor.ougl.lL?dge
on attaining the age of 16, our local hero be1l1g1I11tlated
on the 22nd February, 1939. The boy's grandfather,
Bro. R. S. Burton, was a member of the Oundle
District and became attached to the Earl of Gains-
borougl; Lodge on coming to ~[e1ton !\10wbray many
years ago and the family ha\'e always been keen
supporters of our work herc." ...
In a \'ague reference. to the explOit whlcl~ \von hUll
the premier a\\'ard Pnvate Burton tells hiS parents,
"I must have gone either bomb-happy or mad."
Pri\'ate Burton was 22 on the 29th of January. He
is a bricklayer, so is his fathcr, ~rr. Gcorge Burton,
The award of the Victoria ,Cross to Private RICHARD
HENRYBURTON,has been gazetted. •The citation reads: "In Italy on qctober 8th, .1944,
two platoons of the Duke of Wellington Regiment
moved forward to take a strongly held feature 7ffJ
metres high... . .
"The capture of thIS feature was vital III thIs stage
of operations, as it dominated all the troops on the
main access of advance and the assault troops met with
good progress to within 20 yards of the crest.
"When they came under the withering fire from
spandaus on the crest, the leadmg platoon was held up
and the platoon commander was wounded ... The ~om-
pany commander took another platoon of whIch Pnvate
Burton was runner."Through the assault the crest from which four
spandaus at least were firing, Private Surton .rushed
forward and engaging the first spandau with Ius
tommy gun killed the crew of three. When the assault
was held up under the murdero~s fire from t~o more
machine guns Private Burton with complete disregard
for his own safety dashed forward US11lgIllS tommy
gun until his ammunition \\'as exhausted.OWN INITIATIVE"He then picked up a bren gun and firing from the
hip succeeded in killing or wound11lg the crew of the
two machine guns. Through the outstand11lg courage
of Private Burton the company was then able to con-
solidate towards the slope of the feature. .
"The ellemy immediately counter ~ttacked, but Pnvate
Burton, in spite of his comrades bemg under fIre, dead
or wounded once again dashed forward on his own
initiative and directed accurate fire with his bren gun
on the enemy that they retired leaving the feature
firmly in our hands..
"The enemy later counter attacked agam on the
adjoining platoon position and Private Burton who had
placed himself on the flank brought su~h accurate fire
to bear that this counter attack als? faile<;L .
"To dislodge the company from ItS.positIOn,.Prl\'ate
Burton magnificently, gallantly and with t<;>taldlsreg~rd
of his own safety during many hours <;>ffl.erce flghtmg
in mud and continuous rain was an msplratIOn to all
his comrades."
M.P.'s Open Mind.Director Harper Leads Off.
O.B.E. FOR BRO. ASHDOWN'S SON-IN-LAW.COMMANDERH. T, MOLYNEUX,M.C., R.N.V.R" son-
in-law of Bro. B. Ashdown, P.G.M., a P.G. of the
Major Barclay Lodge, Mitcham District, has been
awarded the O.B.E. for meritorious service with the
Fleet Air Arm. Bro. Molyneux, who served with dis-
tinction in the infantry during the first World War, rose
to the rank of Captain and was awarded the M.C.
During the years of peace he became an expert pilot.
and at the outbreak of the present war he immediatel,-
volunteered and obtained a commission in the Fleet
Air Arm. A son of Bro. Molyneux is an officer in the
Merchant Navy and has twice been torpedoed.
mentary discussion might think advisable, and it was
mos~ important ~hat there should be free public dis-
CUSSIOnand ventilatlOn of the whole scheme, especially
by Friendly Societies..
There were, at present, two schools of thought. One
believed that in the interests of efficiency the country
should be ~dministered mainly from Whitehall and that
everything should be in the hands of the Government
elected by the people. The other, to which he belonged,
believed that the Government's powers should he
strictly limited. That division of opinion ran through
all parties. He favoured preservation of Friendlv
Societies, if possible, and so making use of their va;t
experience. The National Insurance Bill would be one
of the biggest ever introduced, containing possibly some
500 clauses, but as yet no Bill had been drafted.
His bias was in favour of existing institutions makincr, ~
them fit to meet new needs, and he thought they would
find that Friendly Societies would be preserved. He
fully accepted the societies' contention that'their claims
must be oonsidered with the utmost gravity before any-
thmg was done that would break down their structure.
The important thing was that the people should make
their wishes known, and he urged everyone to get in
touch with their M.P.s,It was clearly a case where democracy had got to
show that it was thoroughly alive. A decentralised
democracy was one of the great bulwarks of freedom,
and he was prepared to consider and, if necessary, to
speak upon every clause of the Bill when it came before
Parliament. He would be glad, then, to. come before
them and cU;scuss it with them, so that the great
Frumdly SOCiety movement received the treatment to
which its great intrinsic merits entitled it. (Applause.)
Bro. Stenson approved the sentiments expressed by
Mr. Colegate, and invited him to attend a conference
at Welshpool at which it was hoped Sir Wm. Beveridge
would be present.
FLGT, SGT. C. SHAWhas been awarded the B.E.M. for
meritorious service and outstanding devotion to. duty.
Bro. Shaw is a member of the Earl Grey Lodge, Ilkeston
District, passing t<l it from the Juvenile Society at two
years of age. His two children are also members of
the Juvenile Section, and his wife a member of the
Female Section.The citation says he is a most excellent organiser and
one of the most efficient N.C.O.s in the Air Force.
War Distinctions.
IT was the centenary ilf the Marquis of Stafford Lodge
of the Newport (Salop) District. It was a festive
occasion, but in a sense it was a g,rim occasion, Director
Harper was present to state the q,ase for the voluntary
friendly society in the scheme of social insurance as
outlined by the Government, and Mr. A. Colegate, M.P.
for the Wrekin Division, was present to hear and reply.
Bro. W. Frank Stenson, hon. secretary of the West
Central Counties' Group Conference, presided.The Chairman referred to the ~normous growth of the
Manchester Unity, which, he said, through good direc-
tion and wise investment, was able to payout in sick
pay half a million more than it received in contributions.
It had, he claimed, thoroughly justified its existence."BUYING INSURANCE AT THE BEST SHOP"
Director Harper, in a strong appeal for the retention
of Appro'-ed Societies under the new plan of Social
Security, said they had got to convince the public and
Members of Parliament at the next General Election
that the abolition of Friendly Societies was not in the
best interests of the general public. Lord Baldwin had
publicly stated his conviction that this couqtry ow~d
its escape from revolution and dictatorship to the Trade
Unions and Friendly Societies. Among the reasons
stated by Sir 'V111.Jowitt for disposing of Friendly
Societies was the difference in benefits received by
members of different societies. It appeared that people
were 11at to be allowed to buy their insurance at the
hest shop, but Sir William had overlooked the fact that
the amount of State insurance benefit was laid down
hy Parliament. The Government had also told the
Manchester Unity, following the last valuation, how
much of its surplus funds it could use, and how much
it must invest. He urged that the societies should be
allowed to continue to administer sick, maternity, and
death benefits as they had done since 1912, under the
supervision of the Ministry of Health. This could be
done a;; efficiently as in the past and at considerably
less cost than if done by the Government.To t.he argument that it was undesirable that large
funds should be entrusted for disposal t<lagencies whose
servants were not Government controlled. he replied
that such control was already exercised. The Govern-
ment's proposals were calculated not only t<l destroy
thrift but to discourage personal independence. Some
J30 l\I.P.s had been circularised on the matter, and he
hoped that Mr, Colegate would give the letter most
careful consideration. Their organisation should not be
"'uperseded by a cold-hearted Government Department.
(Applall;;e.)M.P.'s REPLYMr, C'olegate. i\LP.. in his reply, said that a motion
'''as to be brought before the House calling for a recon-
sideration of the decision to abolish Friendly Societies
and expressing the view that their retention would
assist the development and efficiency of the proposed
scheme of Social Insurance. He was not opposed to
that mot·ion. but he had not put his name to it be.cause
he made it a practice never to put his name to motions
affecting legislation which was not before the House.
Legislation arising out of the Beveridge Report had still
10 be produced, and when the White Paper was issued
it was understood that it would have to be considerably
modified before a scheme could be introduced. Legisla-
I ion would have to embody sUch adjustments as Parlia-
'.
A War Record.
...'AT the closini meeting for 1944 of the Newcomo
and Boughton Lodge, Rugby District, there was a gaod
muster of members. The installation of Officers for
the ensuing year took place the elect.ion of whom was
somewhat unique in as much as dunng 1945 the N.G.
and V.G. chairs will be filled by two members of other
Lodges. In thanking the members for their loyal
devoted support, the Secretary (Bro. H. H. Tanser),
said that the Lodge was proud to be able to report
that on the occasion during the war years had they
been unable to open the Lodge in due form, the meet-
ing place and time had been kept as in thc pre-war
years and he trusted that gi\'cn rcasonable good
fortu~e the Lodge would be able to maintain this good
record through the coming year. The man power
demand had fallen very hea"ily on the Lodge there
being at the present time onc out of e~'ery fi\'e
mcmbers away in samc hranch of the Scrvlces.
DIRECTORS'RESOLUTIONSAT the Board Meeting,held last month, the-Directors passed the-following resolution:\VAR DECORATIONS.-That the report withreference to theawards, during the pre-sent war, of the Vic-toria Cross to three-members of the Order.one being a posthu-mous award to thelate Bro. J. Beeley, ofthe Greenjackets.••••....
Lodge (SouthamptonDistrict) be received,and that suitable com-
munications be forwarded to Bros. F. Jefferson, of the
Morecambe Lodge (Ulverston District) and Bro. R. H. Bur-
ton, of the Earl of Gainsborough Lodge (Melton Mowbray
District), expressing, on behalf of their fellow members of
the Order, appreciation of the gallant actions in respect of
which the awards were made, and sendmg the hearty
congratulations of the Directors upon the high honour
thus attained.
as was his grandfather before him. Most of his letters
home express the hope that his job with a local builder
is being kept open, It is so in the lodge room door
where a warm welcome awaits. Bro. Burton is the
third member of the Order to win the V.c.A GIFTTHE Earl of Gains-borough Lodge have-allocated a sum of£5 5s. from a recentsocial effort towards.the town of MeltonMowbray's testi-monial.
'. ,'.,"
William Harold Coltman
The Odd Fellows' Magazine, Feb!uary, 1945The Odd Fellows' Magazine, February, 1945
27
Another Odd Fellow V.C.An Original Member of JUYenile Lodge.
ODD FELLOW RECORDDirector Bro. J. A. JORDAN,Provo C.S. of the Melton
\oJowbray District, writes :-- "Bro. R. H. Burton, along with his brother and sister,
were amongst the original members. of the !\felton
1[owbray District Juvenile Lodge on Its formatIOn 111
1928. All three joined the Earl of 0a1l1sbor.ougl.lL?dge
on attaining the age of 16, our local hero be1l1g1I11tlated
on the 22nd February, 1939. The boy's grandfather,
Bro. R. S. Burton, was a member of the Oundle
District and became attached to the Earl of Gains-
borougl; Lodge on coming to ~[e1ton !\10wbray many
years ago and the family ha\'e always been keen
supporters of our work herc." ...
In a \'ague reference. to the explOit whlcl~ \von hUll
the premier a\\'ard Pnvate Burton tells hiS parents,
"I must have gone either bomb-happy or mad."
Pri\'ate Burton was 22 on the 29th of January. He
is a bricklayer, so is his fathcr, ~rr. Gcorge Burton,
The award of the Victoria ,Cross to Private RICHARD
HENRYBURTON,has been gazetted. •The citation reads: "In Italy on qctober 8th, .1944,
two platoons of the Duke of Wellington Regiment
moved forward to take a strongly held feature 7ffJ
metres high... . .
"The capture of thIS feature was vital III thIs stage
of operations, as it dominated all the troops on the
main access of advance and the assault troops met with
good progress to within 20 yards of the crest.
"When they came under the withering fire from
spandaus on the crest, the leadmg platoon was held up
and the platoon commander was wounded ... The ~om-
pany commander took another platoon of whIch Pnvate
Burton was runner."Through the assault the crest from which four
spandaus at least were firing, Private Surton .rushed
forward and engaging the first spandau with Ius
tommy gun killed the crew of three. When the assault
was held up under the murdero~s fire from t~o more
machine guns Private Burton with complete disregard
for his own safety dashed forward US11lgIllS tommy
gun until his ammunition \\'as exhausted.OWN INITIATIVE"He then picked up a bren gun and firing from the
hip succeeded in killing or wound11lg the crew of the
two machine guns. Through the outstand11lg courage
of Private Burton the company was then able to con-
solidate towards the slope of the feature. .
"The ellemy immediately counter ~ttacked, but Pnvate
Burton, in spite of his comrades bemg under fIre, dead
or wounded once again dashed forward on his own
initiative and directed accurate fire with his bren gun
on the enemy that they retired leaving the feature
firmly in our hands..
"The enemy later counter attacked agam on the
adjoining platoon position and Private Burton who had
placed himself on the flank brought su~h accurate fire
to bear that this counter attack als? faile<;L .
"To dislodge the company from ItS.positIOn,.Prl\'ate
Burton magnificently, gallantly and with t<;>taldlsreg~rd
of his own safety during many hours <;>ffl.erce flghtmg
in mud and continuous rain was an msplratIOn to all
his comrades."
M.P.'s Open Mind.Director Harper Leads Off.
O.B.E. FOR BRO. ASHDOWN'S SON-IN-LAW.COMMANDERH. T, MOLYNEUX,M.C., R.N.V.R" son-
in-law of Bro. B. Ashdown, P.G.M., a P.G. of the
Major Barclay Lodge, Mitcham District, has been
awarded the O.B.E. for meritorious service with the
Fleet Air Arm. Bro. Molyneux, who served with dis-
tinction in the infantry during the first World War, rose
to the rank of Captain and was awarded the M.C.
During the years of peace he became an expert pilot.
and at the outbreak of the present war he immediatel,-
volunteered and obtained a commission in the Fleet
Air Arm. A son of Bro. Molyneux is an officer in the
Merchant Navy and has twice been torpedoed.
mentary discussion might think advisable, and it was
mos~ important ~hat there should be free public dis-
CUSSIOnand ventilatlOn of the whole scheme, especially
by Friendly Societies..
There were, at present, two schools of thought. One
believed that in the interests of efficiency the country
should be ~dministered mainly from Whitehall and that
everything should be in the hands of the Government
elected by the people. The other, to which he belonged,
believed that the Government's powers should he
strictly limited. That division of opinion ran through
all parties. He favoured preservation of Friendlv
Societies, if possible, and so making use of their va;t
experience. The National Insurance Bill would be one
of the biggest ever introduced, containing possibly some
500 clauses, but as yet no Bill had been drafted.
His bias was in favour of existing institutions makincr, ~
them fit to meet new needs, and he thought they would
find that Friendly Societies would be preserved. He
fully accepted the societies' contention that'their claims
must be oonsidered with the utmost gravity before any-
thmg was done that would break down their structure.
The important thing was that the people should make
their wishes known, and he urged everyone to get in
touch with their M.P.s,It was clearly a case where democracy had got to
show that it was thoroughly alive. A decentralised
democracy was one of the great bulwarks of freedom,
and he was prepared to consider and, if necessary, to
speak upon every clause of the Bill when it came before
Parliament. He would be glad, then, to. come before
them and cU;scuss it with them, so that the great
Frumdly SOCiety movement received the treatment to
which its great intrinsic merits entitled it. (Applause.)
Bro. Stenson approved the sentiments expressed by
Mr. Colegate, and invited him to attend a conference
at Welshpool at which it was hoped Sir Wm. Beveridge
would be present.
FLGT, SGT. C. SHAWhas been awarded the B.E.M. for
meritorious service and outstanding devotion to. duty.
Bro. Shaw is a member of the Earl Grey Lodge, Ilkeston
District, passing t<l it from the Juvenile Society at two
years of age. His two children are also members of
the Juvenile Section, and his wife a member of the
Female Section.The citation says he is a most excellent organiser and
one of the most efficient N.C.O.s in the Air Force.
War Distinctions.
IT was the centenary ilf the Marquis of Stafford Lodge
of the Newport (Salop) District. It was a festive
occasion, but in a sense it was a g,rim occasion, Director
Harper was present to state the q,ase for the voluntary
friendly society in the scheme of social insurance as
outlined by the Government, and Mr. A. Colegate, M.P.
for the Wrekin Division, was present to hear and reply.
Bro. W. Frank Stenson, hon. secretary of the West
Central Counties' Group Conference, presided.The Chairman referred to the ~normous growth of the
Manchester Unity, which, he said, through good direc-
tion and wise investment, was able to payout in sick
pay half a million more than it received in contributions.
It had, he claimed, thoroughly justified its existence."BUYING INSURANCE AT THE BEST SHOP"
Director Harper, in a strong appeal for the retention
of Appro'-ed Societies under the new plan of Social
Security, said they had got to convince the public and
Members of Parliament at the next General Election
that the abolition of Friendly Societies was not in the
best interests of the general public. Lord Baldwin had
publicly stated his conviction that this couqtry ow~d
its escape from revolution and dictatorship to the Trade
Unions and Friendly Societies. Among the reasons
stated by Sir 'V111.Jowitt for disposing of Friendly
Societies was the difference in benefits received by
members of different societies. It appeared that people
were 11at to be allowed to buy their insurance at the
hest shop, but Sir William had overlooked the fact that
the amount of State insurance benefit was laid down
hy Parliament. The Government had also told the
Manchester Unity, following the last valuation, how
much of its surplus funds it could use, and how much
it must invest. He urged that the societies should be
allowed to continue to administer sick, maternity, and
death benefits as they had done since 1912, under the
supervision of the Ministry of Health. This could be
done a;; efficiently as in the past and at considerably
less cost than if done by the Government.To t.he argument that it was undesirable that large
funds should be entrusted for disposal t<lagencies whose
servants were not Government controlled. he replied
that such control was already exercised. The Govern-
ment's proposals were calculated not only t<l destroy
thrift but to discourage personal independence. Some
J30 l\I.P.s had been circularised on the matter, and he
hoped that Mr, Colegate would give the letter most
careful consideration. Their organisation should not be
"'uperseded by a cold-hearted Government Department.
(Applall;;e.)M.P.'s REPLYMr, C'olegate. i\LP.. in his reply, said that a motion
'''as to be brought before the House calling for a recon-
sideration of the decision to abolish Friendly Societies
and expressing the view that their retention would
assist the development and efficiency of the proposed
scheme of Social Insurance. He was not opposed to
that mot·ion. but he had not put his name to it be.cause
he made it a practice never to put his name to motions
affecting legislation which was not before the House.
Legislation arising out of the Beveridge Report had still
10 be produced, and when the White Paper was issued
it was understood that it would have to be considerably
modified before a scheme could be introduced. Legisla-
I ion would have to embody sUch adjustments as Parlia-
'.
A War Record.
...'AT the closini meeting for 1944 of the Newcomo
and Boughton Lodge, Rugby District, there was a gaod
muster of members. The installation of Officers for
the ensuing year took place the elect.ion of whom was
somewhat unique in as much as dunng 1945 the N.G.
and V.G. chairs will be filled by two members of other
Lodges. In thanking the members for their loyal
devoted support, the Secretary (Bro. H. H. Tanser),
said that the Lodge was proud to be able to report
that on the occasion during the war years had they
been unable to open the Lodge in due form, the meet-
ing place and time had been kept as in thc pre-war
years and he trusted that gi\'cn rcasonable good
fortu~e the Lodge would be able to maintain this good
record through the coming year. The man power
demand had fallen very hea"ily on the Lodge there
being at the present time onc out of e~'ery fi\'e
mcmbers away in samc hranch of the Scrvlces.
DIRECTORS'RESOLUTIONSAT the Board Meeting,held last month, the-Directors passed the-following resolution:\VAR DECORATIONS.-That the report withreference to theawards, during the pre-sent war, of the Vic-toria Cross to three-members of the Order.one being a posthu-mous award to thelate Bro. J. Beeley, ofthe Greenjackets.••••....
Lodge (SouthamptonDistrict) be received,and that suitable com-
munications be forwarded to Bros. F. Jefferson, of the
Morecambe Lodge (Ulverston District) and Bro. R. H. Bur-
ton, of the Earl of Gainsborough Lodge (Melton Mowbray
District), expressing, on behalf of their fellow members of
the Order, appreciation of the gallant actions in respect of
which the awards were made, and sendmg the hearty
congratulations of the Directors upon the high honour
thus attained.
as was his grandfather before him. Most of his letters
home express the hope that his job with a local builder
is being kept open, It is so in the lodge room door
where a warm welcome awaits. Bro. Burton is the
third member of the Order to win the V.c.A GIFTTHE Earl of Gains-borough Lodge have-allocated a sum of£5 5s. from a recentsocial effort towards.the town of MeltonMowbray's testi-monial.
'. ,'.,"
Recommended