This is the 1929 Grant of Arms, and Heraldic Shield for the Province of Buckinghamshire, issued by the College of Arms and painstakingly hand-painted, gilded, inscribed and wax sealed. The College maintains an ancient English tradition of manuscript writing and illumination which can be traced back to the monastic scriptoria of the dark ages.
Every Province has its own Grant of Arms and Heraldic Shield, and each one is as distinct and wonderfully decorated as ours

The full text on the warrant reads as follows:

"To All and Singular to whom these Presents shale come
Sir Henry Farnham Burke Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Garter Principal King of Arms, Arthur William Stuart Cochrane Esquire, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, Clarenceux King of Arms, and Gerald Woods Wollaston Esquire, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, Norroy King of Arms Send Greetings:

Whereas Sir Edward Fitzmaurice Inglefield, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy, Provincial Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Province of Buckinghamshire hath represented unto the Most Noble Bernard Marmaduke, Duke of Norfolk Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire is the representative Body of Freemasons in the said Province under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient and Accepted Masons of England and that the said Provincial Grand Lodge is desirous of bearing Arms with lawful authority He therefore on behalf of the said Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire requested the favour of His Grace’s Warrant for Outgranting and assigning to him and his successors Provincial Grand Masters for the time being of the said Province such Armorial Ensigns as may be proper to be borne and used by the said Provincial Grand Lodges of Buckinghamshire on Seals Shields Banners or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms. And Forasmuch as the said Earl Marshal did by Warrant under his hand and Seal bearing date the first date of June last authorise and direct Us to grant and assign such armorial Ensign accordingly. Know ye therefore that We the said Garter Clarenceaux and Norroy in the pursuance of His Grace’s Warrant and by virtue of the Letters Patent of Our several Offices to each of U s respectively granted do by these Presents grant and assign unto the said Provincial Grand Master and his successors in Office the Arms following that is to say:

Per pale Gules and quarterly Azure and Or dexter on a Chevron between three Castles Argent a pair of Compasses extended of the third sinister a Cross quarterly of the fourth and Vert between in the first quarter a Lion rampant of the third, in the second and Ox passant Sable in the third of a Man with hands elevated proper vested of the fifth the robe crimson lined with Ermine, and in the fourth an Eagle displayed also of the third the whole within a Bordure per pale of the sixth and first charged with six Swans rising of the fourth each gorged with a Ducal Coronet Gold as the same are in the margin here of more plainly depicted to be borne and used forever hereafter for the said Provincial Grand Lodge of Buckinghamshire on Seals Shields Banners or otherwise accordingly to the Laws of Arms.
In witness whereof We the said Garter Clarenceaux and Norroy Kings of Arms have to these Presents subscribed Our names and affixed the Seals of Our several Offices this third day of June in the Twentieth year of the reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Fifth by the Grace of God of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King Defender of the Faith & and in the year of Our Lord One thousand nine hundred and twenty nine."

This is a symbolic work of art created as a memorial to the many masons who lost their lives in the First World War. 

The jewel was designed by Cyril Spackman, world-renowned architect, painter, printmaker, and sculptor, and awarded to those who donated to the Masonic Million Memorial Fund.

The official description of the Hall Stone design.

The jewel is in the form of a cross, symbolising Sacrifice, with a perfect square at the four ends, on the left and right, squares being the dates 1914-1918, the years in which the supreme sacrifice was made. Between these is a winged figure of Peace presenting the representation of a Temple with special Masonic allusion in the Pillars, Porch and Steps. 

The medal is suspended by the Square and Compasses, attached to a riband, the whole thus symbolising the Craft's gift of a Temple in memory of those brethren who gave all for King and Country, Peace and Victory, Liberty and Brotherhood.

Ties worn by Buckinghamshire Freemasons feature the jewel as Buckinghamshire is the only Hall Stone Province left in the World and proud to show that.  Tim Anders, Head of Freemasonry in Bucks, wears a rare and symbolic Hall Stone jewel at every meeting he attends.

You can find out more about the jewel here: https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/stories/hall-stone-story 

If you would like to be part of a global community that has its roots firmly in the ground in Buckinghamshire, please join us by following this link: https://buckspgl.org/join

November 15th 1943 was the day seven Freemasons created a Masonic lodge while imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp and in recent times a sculpture commemorating them was unveiled.

Liberté Chérie (French for "Cherished Liberty") was a Masonic Lodge founded in 1943 by Belgian Resistance fighters and other political prisoners at Esterwegen concentration camp. It was one of the few lodges of Freemasons founded within a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War.

The lodge was created on November 15th, 1943 inside Hut 6 of Emslandlager VII and located in Esterwegen, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Paul Hanson was elected master. The brethren met for lodge work in Hut 6 around a table, which was otherwise used for cartridge sorting. A Catholic priest stood watch, so that the brethren could hold their meetings, and protected their secrecy.

The seven Freemasons who created the lodge were:
Paul Hanson, Luc Somerhausen, Jean Sugg, Franz Rochat, Guy Hannecart, Amédée Miclotte, and Degueldre.

The superstition that Friday the 13th is unlucky may have become associated with Freemasonry through the Knights Templar, a group that is said to have discovered secrets of the Masons: 

The Knights Templar
According to conspiracy theorists, the Knights Templar discovered information about the Holy Grail and the bloodline of Christ, and may have had connections with Freemasons. In 1307, King Philip IV ordered the arrest of de Molay and other Knight Templar leaders which then led to the torture & execution of Templars in a number of European countries on Friday, October 13. This date is said to have influenced the superstition of Friday the 13th

Founded around 1118 as a monastic military order devoted to the protection of pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land following the Christian capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, the Knights Templar quickly became one of the richest and most influential groups of the Middle Ages, thanks to lavish donations from the crowned heads of Europe, eager to curry favour with the fierce Knights. By the turn of the 14th century, the Templars had established a system of castles, churches and banks throughout Western Europe. And it was this astonishing wealth that would lead to their downfall.

For the Templars, that end began in the early morning hours of Friday, October 13, 1307.

In the days and weeks that followed that fateful Friday, more than 600 Templars were arrested, including Grand Master Jacques de Molay, and the Order’s treasurer. But while some of the highest-ranking members were caught up in Philip’s net, so too were hundreds of non-warriors; middle-aged men who managed the day-to-day banking and farming activities that kept the organization humming. The men were charged with a wide array of offenses including heresy, devil worship and spitting on the cross, homosexuality, fraud and financial corruption.

In the spring of 1314, Grand Master Molay and several other Templars were burned at the stake in Paris, bringing an end to their remarkable era, and launching an even longer-lasting theory about the evil possibilities of Friday the 13th.

Liberté chérie (French for "Cherished Liberty") was a Masonic Lodge founded in 1943 by Belgian Resistance fighters and other political prisoners at Esterwegen concentration camp. It was one of the few lodges of Freemasons founded within a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War.

The lodge was created on November 15th, 1943 inside Hut 6 of Emslandlager VII and located in Esterwegen, Lower Saxony, Germany.

Paul Hanson was elected master. The brethren met for lodge work in Hut 6 around a table, which was otherwise used for cartridge sorting. A Catholic priest stood watch, so that the brethren could hold their meetings, and protected their secrecy.

The seven Freemasons who created the lodge were:

Paul Hanson, Luc Somerhausen, Jean Sugg, Franz Rochat, Guy Hannecart, Amédée Miclotte, and Degueldre.

Yesterday Buckinghamshire Freemasons made Masonic history … AGAIN.

All 3 ceremonies carried out at Freemasons Hall, London using every temple by 47 Lodges.

A truly BIG event !

We look forward to sharing images from the day in the coming week.

Yesterday Buckinghamshire Freemasons made Masonic history … AGAIN.

All 3 ceremonies carried out at Freemasons Hall, London using every temple by 47 Lodges.

A truly BIG event !

We look forward to sharing images from the day in the coming week.