Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87
Vijayawada, India

The Consecration Ceremony was held in New Delhi on 24th November 1961. the largest room available was in the new Ashoka Hotel, and seating was arranged for an attendance of 1,500 Brethren. Great organisation was necessary but the Officers of the new Grand Lodge had planned everything so that every Brother could find his seat and also robing rooms.

An occasional Lodge was opened with R. W. Kenneth. B. Large, District Grand Master of Bengal, English Constitution, in the Chair. The Grand Director of Ceremonies applied for admittance and announced that deputations from England, of Ceremonies applied for admittance and announced that deputations from England, Ireland and Scotland were in attendance and each in turn was admitted. The Scottish Delegation was headed by the Earl of Eglinton and Winton Grand Master Mason of Scotland, and the English Deputation by the Earl Cadogan, Deputy Grand Master of England. Each of these also had their Grand Secretaries and other Officers.

Ireland was represented by myself and R. W. Sir Basil McFarland, Provincial Grand Master, Londonderry and Donegal. The Rev. Canon Hartford who was in New Delhi for the World Council of Churches joined the Irish Delegation and helped to balance it.

After the Deputations had been received and welcomed the Grand Master Mason of Scotland was invited to take the Chair for the Consecration Ceremony. The Lodge Board having been uncovered, the three leaders descended together and, interspersed with prayers and verses of the Psalms; each in turn perambulated the Lodge with the Corn. Wine and Oil. After their return to the Dais, I was invited to take the Chair for the Constitution Ceremony.

This consisted of an invocation with all the Brethren turning to the East, The sensing of the Lodge by the Chaplain, prayer and finally the formal words of Constitution.

The Deputy Grand Master of England then took the Chair for the Installation. A procession was formed to escort back the new Grand Master Elect. it included Sir Basil Mc. Farland and Canon Hartford, the Grand Secretaries of England and Scotland and several others and they bore with them on cushions the Regalia for the New Grand Master.

The Aprons, Collars, Gauntlets, etc. for the new Grand Master and his Officers have been provided jointly by the three Home Grand Lodges. Made in Madras, the gold embroidery is excellent, while the combination of the three Grand Rank Colours (dark blue, light blue and green) of the Home Grand Lodges is beautifully done and looks exceedingly well.

Major-General His Highness Dr. Sir Syed Raza Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur, having taken the Obligation was Installed and invested and then proclaimed with her full recital of all his titles.

Then the patents of appointments having been read, the Deputy Grand Master, Assistant Grand Masters and Regional Grand Masters were all Obligated, Invested and proclaimed.

The work done by the Grand Director of ceremonies (England), Bro. Douglas, and his two assistants, Brothers Potts and Edwards, both Past Deputy Grand Directors of Ceremonies, was wonderful. besides placing the Obligations that were then to be read they had to be sure that the right V.S.L. was in position and there were five of them on the altar. The presentation of the Officers, the Regalia always ready on cushions, and cushions ready to receive that removed and then disposed of quietly and systematically, was a triumph of forethought and organisation as well as rehearsal.

As the Officers were Invested they took over the duties from the Installing Officers.

When this was over, the Leaders of the Deputations addressed the Meeting in turn and the V.S.L., Square and Compasses from Scotland; the old Masonic Glass Bowl from Ireland and the Gavels from England were all duly presented.

After the new Grand Master had addressed the Meeting the Deputations retired and left the new Grand Lodge to proceed with its own personal business.

We were in the Temple for about 2 hours and 40 minutes but the full meeting took nearly 4 hours.

The Meeting was attended by Breath from all over India; we met some brethren from Madras over 1,100 miles as the flies, and included Brethren from non-option Lodges as well as those that had opted.

There is no doubt in the minds of us that took part in it that the Ceremony was most impressive and the Meeting in successful. It was a wonderful start off the new Grand Lodge.

While we knew that the result was we were losing many of our own member yet we came away with the feeling that had been done was of benefit to Masonry, only in India but throughout the world.

I cannot conclude without paying tribute to the hospitality and friendliness H. H. The Nawab of Rampur and to amount of work and organisation put in R. W. Bro. Sundaram, Grand Secretary, of course by our own Grand Inspector General Sir Harold Williams.