About St.George

The History of The Lodge

The Lodge of St. George No. 1152 E.C., Singapore was warranted on 22 January 1867 and consecrated on 22 June 1867 by R.W. Bro. W.H.M. Read, the first District Grand Master. He installed as Founder Master of St. George, W. Bro. Felix Henry Gottlieb.

The Petition for the formation of the Lodge was dated 15 January 1866. The Lodge was sponsored by Lodge Cadogan No. 162 E.C. at a meeting in London on 19 February, 1867.

There was no record as to the reason for the choice of "St. George" as the name of the newly formed Lodge. Suffice it so say, the choice of a saint's name was a common practice in English Freemasonry, and that of St. George was one of the favourites.

From the very beginning, it was the intention of the Lodge to have its annual Installation Meeting as close to St. George's Day, which is the 23rd April, as possible. The consecration of the Lodge took place on Saturday 22 June 1867 at 4:00 pm.

In the 19th Century, there were very few Asians in the Craft. The most famous Asian mason of the day must have been W. Bro. Edaljee Jamsetjee Khory. He was a Parsi. Called to the bar in England, he arrived in Singapore in 1888. He was a member of the Lodge of St. George, having been initiated in England. He received countless Masonic Honours, and in 1891 was the Founder Master of the Edaljee Khory Lodge of Mark Master Masons. In 1900, he retired back to England when he became Master of his mother Lodge in 1912, Lodge Campbell No. 1415.

During the War, the brethren suffered much torture and hardship while held in captivity by the Japanese. Nevertheless, they managed to keep the Craft alive. This was done in great secrecy. On one occasion there were four rings of Tylers, each ring consisting of 6 men. Outside the door of the Lodge, the Tylers were ever vigilant against Japanese cowens and intruders.

Lt.General A. Percival, the senior British officer's commented on the Masonic activities in the camp, and said that the project "supplied yet another means of preventing deterioration of character and morale which began to show itself in some parts of the camp, at any rate in the early stages, and anything that will assist in the preservation of the discipline for which, I believe, your Craft is universally noted, will undoubtedly prove valuable to me in the enormous difficulties that I see arising".

All incoming Masters now take their pledge on the Gottlieb Bible, a gift to the Lodge from its Founder Master, W. Bro. F.H. Gottlieb.

After Singapore fell to the Japanese, the Freemasons' Hall was ransacked by the invaders. The Gottlieb Bible was thrown out of the window and picked up by a passer-by who sold it to a second-hand bookstore. A lady bought the Bible from the bookstore and gave it to her son, Mr. Martin Joseph. Mr. Joseph tried to return the Bible to its rightful owner after the War and place an ad in the Straits Times.

The ad attracted the attention of a few Brethren, W. Bro. Magnay, W. Bro. Dennis, Bro. Snow, Bro. Blan and Bro. Jennings. They thanked Mr. Joseph and in a short ceremony at a Regular Meeting on 28 August 1959, W. Bro. Magnay restored the VSL to the keeping of W. Master W. Bro. R.D. Stewart, the then reigning Master.

After the War, the Lodge continued to thrive and maintained the tradition of old in attracting outstanding members into its fold.