Our Bannerette

Once the Lodge name had been decided upon, it was obvious that the theme would be the martyrdom of Rawlins White. His persecution, trial and death are well documented in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and it was that description which we attempted to be faithful to. It was also important to represent the Welsh nature of the Lodge as we are one of only two Lodges which are in the Principality. The Brethren who were to be members of the new Lodge, considered several options and styles but opted for the red cloth to represent Wales – many banners and bannerettes feature orange lillies, but we decided to add to this by incorporating daffodils into the design.

We opted to have shields with the Union flag and Welsh flags, as we’d seen a Royal Black Preceptory bannerette with those images and considered it appropriate for our overall theme. We were in the very fortunate position of being able to have the reverse side of the bannerette painted – for this we chose a similar style, but with the familiar Bible and Crown design – the open Bible symbolizing our dependence on the Word of God in our daily lives and the Crown pointing to our loyalty to the Monarchy. We also opted for the well known Biblical phrase from John’s Gospel chapter 17 vs 17, ‘Thy Word is Truth’

We were delighted when our great friends from Larne, Co. Antrim who are members of the No. 1 Sports and Social Club, offered to pay for the complete bannerette – it was a fantastic gesture by them and they held several fundraising events to raise the money for the bannerette.

The bannerette was collected in early March from Brother Currie and many thanks also go to him, as he made a special attempt to fit this work into his already full order book.

On the opening day the banner was unveiled by Sister Rachel Currie from Larne, which was fitting as she is a member of the No.1 Sports & Social Club. The Dedication Ceremony was performed by Wor. Brother John McDowell, who is the Metropolitan Provincial Grand Chaplain. A handcut and engraved piece of glass was presented to members of the No 1 Sports and Social Club, by our Worshipful Master Bro Stuart Mullaney, as a token of our gratitude for their extremely kind gesture.

The new bannerette will be cherished by the Brethren of LOL 803 for many years to come.