Famous Freemasons
Prince Philip, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh started his life in Freemasonry in 1952, at the age of 31. He was initiated into Navy Lodge No. 2612, on 5 December.
On 6 March 1953, HRH Prince Philip progressed to the Second Degree of Freemasonry, before advancing to the Third Degree on 4 May 1953. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) issued his Grand Lodge Certificate on 7 May that same year, and he remained a member until his passing.
The Duke of Edinburgh was born in Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Princess Alice of Battenberg. He therefore also held the title Prince of Greece and Denmark.
Prince Philip joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1939, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Prince Louis, who was Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord. He had a long and successful career in the Navy and rose to the rank of Commander.
Prince Philip was also a qualified pilot and was the first member of the Royal Family ever to fly out of Buckingham Palace in a helicopter.
The Duke of Edinburgh was known to drop into meetings at his Freemasons Lodge almost unannounced. Navy Lodge has a storied past and an amazing roster of luminaries appear upon its membership roll. The Lodge prides itself on being the premier Naval Lodge in the world, with an unparalleled history that includes four monarchs as past members – King Edward VII, King Edward VIII, King George VI and King George II of the Hellenes.
The Duke of Edinburgh was patron or president of some 800 organisations, with special interests in scientific and technological research and development, the encouragement of sport, the welfare of young people, and conservation and the environment.
Freemasons can also count other members of the Royal Family among their number, including HRH The Duke of Kent, who is the longest-serving Grand Master of the UGLE.
As well as members of the Royal Family, Navy Lodge can proudly name three winners of the Victoria Cross among its past and present members; numerous Admirals, Generals, Vice-Admirals and Senior Officers; as well as other notables such as Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert Scott – known as ‘Scott of the Antarctic’ – and many more.
Elsewhere, there is also a Duke of Edinburgh Lodge, No. 1182, Liverpool, which was issued a warrant on 2 July 1867 and was consecrated on 1 August 1867. The Lodge was named after Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, who was then Duke of Edinburgh. He was born on 6 August 1844, the second son of Queen Victoria.
In addition, there is a Duke of Edinburgh Lodge in London, No. 1259, which was consecrated on 4 May 1869. The Lodge was also named after Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, who became Duke of Edinburgh in 1866.
Sir Alexander Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming was born in East Ayrshire, Scotland, on 6 August 1881 and he is best known for having discovered penicillin, which is still used to treat bacterial infections today.
He moved to London at the age of 13 and later trained as a doctor. He qualified with distinction in 1906 and began research at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School at the University of London under Sir Almroth Wright, a pioneer in vaccine therapy.
In 1928, while studying the influenza virus, Fleming noticed that mould had developed accidentally on a set of dishes being used to grow the staphylococci germ. The mould had created a bacteria-free circle around itself. Fleming experimented further and named the active substance penicillin. This discovery would change the world of medicine forever and cement Fleming’s place as one of the world’s most famous scientists. In 1944, Fleming was knighted by King George VI and won the Nobel Prize a year later.
In 1909 at the age of 27, Fleming was initiated into Sancta Maria Lodge No. 2682, which met in London. He served as Senior Warden in 1922 and Master in 1924. He became a joining member of London Scottish Rifles Lodge No. 2310 in London in 1911 and Misericordia Lodge No. 3288 in London in 1925, where he served as Master in 1935.
He was awarded London Grand Rank in 1934 and was appointed Senior Grand Deacon by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1942. He was also promoted to Past Senior Grand Warden in 1948.
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling was well-known for his poems and novels, including The Jungle Book. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.
He was born in India in 1865 and later lived in the UK. Kipling was initiated at the age of 20 in the Lodge of Hope and Perseverance No. 782 in Lahore in 1886.
He was immediately appointed the Lodge’s Secretary because, as a young journalist, he possessed a typewriter. He later joined the Lodge of Independence with Philanthropy No. 391 in Allahabad.
Involved in the War Graves Commission after the First World War, he was a founder member of both Builders of the Silent City Lodge No. 12 (Grand Loge Nationale Francais) in St. Omer, France, in 1922, and Builders of the Silent Cities Lodge No. 4948 in London in 1925.
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer born on 22 May 1859 and would go on to become famous as the creator of the detective Sherlock Holmes.
He studied at the University of Edinburgh’s Medical School where he achieved the Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery qualifications. Whilst he was a medical student, Conan Doyle was profoundly captivated by the skill of his professor, Dr Joseph Bell, in observing the minutest detail regarding a patient’s condition. This approach of diagnostic deduction inspired Conan Doyle’s literary creation, Sherlock Holmes.
Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in ‘A Study of Scarlet’, and its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving the detective. Successively, Conan Doyle focused his work on non-fiction, including to military writings, such as The Great Boer War (1900) and The British Campaign in France and Flanders, 6 vol. (1916–20).
Conan Doyle was initiated in Phoenix Lodge No. 257 in Portsmouth in 1887 and resigned from the Lodge in 1889. He re-joined the same Lodge in 1902 and remained a member until 1911.
You may not know, but some of the filming for the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film starring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law took place at the United Grand Lodge of England’s headquarters Freemasons’ Hall in London.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer and an artist. Since its inception in 1901, Churchill is the only British Prime Minister to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.
Churchill was initiated into Studholme Lodge No. 1591 (now United Studholme Alliance Lodge) on 24 May 1901. Churchill completed his Second Degree nearly two months later on 19 July and was then made a Master Mason on 25 March 1902.
Something you may not know: Churchill’s apron and apron pouch are on display in the Museum’s North Gallery at Freemasons’ Hall.