Lodge Spotlight: Knightsbridge Reserve Forces Lodge 2978

The Circuit of Service Lodges aims to support and promote Freemasonry to the wider UK military community. Though we maintain a strict criteria for membership of the Circuit, we do also seek to support lodges who are focusing on attracting a predominantly military membership to achieve the threshold for application. We are therefore pleased to recognise the progress being made by Knightsbridge Reserve Forces Lodge No. 2978 on it’s pathway to membership.

A Brotherhood of Service and Tradition

For over a century, Knightsbridge Lodge No. 2978 has stood as a beacon of camaraderie, tradition, and service. Originally founded in 1903, the Lodge was established to bring together individuals who lived and worked in Knightsbridge.  In 2023 it became the Knightsbridge Reserve Forces Lodge to offer a permanent Masonic home in London and the South to current and ex members of the Military / Reserve forces and Blue Light Services.

Today the lodge is open to current and former members of the Reserve and Regular Forces— Army, Navy, and Air Force — as well as those from the Blue Light Services, including the Police, Ambulance, Fire Brigade, and Search and Rescue. However, its doors are not exclusive to uniformed personnel; civilians with an interest in or connection to the military are also encouraged to join.

The lodge meets four times a year, on the 4th Monday in February, September, November and 4th Thursday in April.

With a commitment to supporting the Regular and Reserve Forces, the Lodge provides a welcoming environment for those who value service, tradition, and fraternity. Whether you’re a seasoned Freemason or new to the craft, Knightsbridge Reserve Forces Lodge offers a place to belong, contribute, and grow.

If you’re interested in joining or learning more, visit their website here. The lodge also has a short promotional video:

57, 58… and counting

The Circuit of Service Lodges is pleased to welcome it’s two newest member lodges, Armed Forces Lodge of Lincolnshire 10040 and Meridian Lodge 4106.

Armed Forces Lodge of Lincolnshire 10040 was consecrated in September 2023 is a Combined Services Lodge, welcoming serving regular, reserve and veteran members of the UK and allied armed forces and cadet forces adult volunteers. It meets four times a year on the third Saturday in March, June, September and November and is peripatetic, meeting at a different masonic centre in Lincolnshire at each meeting. To find out more visit their website.

Pending approved logo

Meridian Lodge was consecrated in 1920 and is a Hall Stone Lodge. It took its name from the Meridian Lodge No 1045, which had previously been the lodge of the 31st Foot (Huntingdonshire) Regiment and has over the years adapted its purpose, latterly becoming a small research lodge. Alas it found itself struggling for membership in recent years until an informal network of Freemasons who were all serving or former members of the Intelligence Corps determined that the Corps should have its own lodge and set out to find a suitable one to rescue. Good fortune brought the two together and the lodge has amalgamated the traditions of the existing lodge with its new identity and ethos as a military lodge. The lodge meets four times a year at Freemasons Hall in London on the first Saturday in March, and December and fourth Saturday in April and October.

Discover Freemasonry event at Freemasons Hall, Saturday 26 October 2024

Are you a serving member or veteran of HM Forces who is curious about Freemasonry? Or do you know someone who is? London Freemasons are hosting a Discover Freemasonry event at the magnificent Freemasons Hall near Covent Garden in London on Saturday 26 October 2024, starting at 10:30am. Open to anyone who is thinking about joining Freemasonry to come along and learn more.

Freemasonry is one of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world and its principles are Integrity, Friendship, Respect and Service—values shared by members of the Armed Forces.

Representatives from the Circuit of Service Lodges will be in attendance, ready to answer your questions about Freemasonry and the Military and to help and advise prospective masons with a forces background on what lodges might suit them.

Whether you’re looking for a lodge based in London or elsewhere it’s a great opportunity to visit the iconic headquarters of English Freemasonry, built as a memorial to those military Freemasons who lost their lives during the Great War, a permanent reminder of the link between Freemasonry and the military, and speak to current military masons about why they joined Freemasonry.

If you’re interested in attending, please register your details at the following link and the London Masons membership team will get in touch to invite you:

https://www.londonmasons.org.uk/join-us

Still not sure whether Freemasonry is for you? Then you can hear a bit more from some existing military masons about what they get from Freemasonry in the videos below.

Want to help us promote this event? Download a printable A4 flyer to display on unit noticeboards here.

And then there were 56. Welcoming four new lodges to the Circuit.

The Chairman of the Circuit is pleased to confirm the membership of four further lodges into the Circuit during the first half of 2024, bringing the total number up to 56 across England and Wales.

Beauchamp (West Kent Military) Lodge 1422 has it’s origins as the lodge of the Roorkee Military Engineering College in India but is now in the Province of West Kent, meeting at the Wilmington Masonic Hall in Dartford and has truly returned to its military roots with gusto and welcomes members from military and civilian services backgrounds.

Lodge of Sustainment 3873 sees the repurposing of an established lodge under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire as a lodge for members of the Royal Logistic Corps. It meets on Satrudays at the Kings Heath Masonic Hall in Birmingham.

East Lancashire Uniformed Services Lodge 8249 is another repurposed lodge aimed at all members of uniformed services, military and civil and meets at the Bury Masonic Hall in Bury, Lancashire.

We also welcome a newly consecrated military lodge, Warwickshire Armed Forces Lodge 10039 meeting at Alderson House in Warwick.

It’s tremendous to be able to welcome all four lodges into the Circuit and with other enquiries in the pipeline as we head into the new masonic season this autumn we look forward to swelling our membership still further.

Welcome to our new website

Welcome to the new website of the Circuit of Service Lodges, refreshed with a clean, modern & adaptive look to support modern devices and to reflect the fact that, while we still celebrate the history and traditions associated with freemasonry and the military, as an organisation we are looking forwards to the future, promoting the interests of military lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England.

We will continue to update the site to bring you the latest news and events across the Circuit and it’s member lodges so please do check back regularly and also follow our Facebook page for the latest news.