FREEMASONS from south Cumbria attended a regional celebration which involved honours and the launch of a charity campaign.

Members of the Freemasons of the Furness and South Lakeland group visited Blackpool for the annual meeting of the masonic area of West Lancashire at the Opera House in Winter Gardens.

During the event, those who have performed service for the organisation are honoured by being given a promotion in masonic rank. There were 25 masons from the Furness area who were honoured by provincial grand master Tony Harrison.

Dave Sear, of Barrow, who was one of those honoured at the event, said: “It is a very special occasion accompanied by much pomp and ceremony. Everyone was wearing their formal 'dress' regalia and the Wurlitzer organ added to the atmosphere as marches and fanfares were played as the official processions entered the room.

“The aprons collars and gauntlets worn on formal occasions indicate the wearer’s masonic rank."

Mr Sear joked: "It is very colourful and, in fact, research shows that the 1924 D’Oly Carte production of HMS Pinafore was the last time so much gold braid had been seen on the stage of the Opera House.

“Seriously though, as masons we take pride in the fact that the ceremonial side of our order stands us apart from other charitable organisations.”

The meeting also saw the launch of a four-year campaign within West Lancashire to raise funds for the Masonic Charitable Foundation. This is a charity that not only assists Freemasons and their dependents who may be in need, but also distributes significant amounts of money to local communities and global disasters.

Peter Schofield, the Furness and South Lakeland group chairman, said: “Every Mason donates to the charity through his annual fees. In addition, there are times when a particular province is asked to put in an extra effort to raise funds for the MCF. In recent years, more than £100m has been donated to charities in England and Wales and in response to natural disasters overseas.

"Locally, we benefit from the annual donation made to hospices and the air ambulance. We may all ultimately benefit from the donation we make in aid of medical research in such areas as Alzheimer’s and cancer - in 2015 that donation was £1.5m. Charity and caring for others is at the very heart of Freemasonry.”

In launching the drive for the charity, Tony was able to report that, due to the generosity of the 8,000 masons in west Lancashire and their lodges, the magnificent sum of £1.1m had already been raised before the official launch of the campaign.