Freemasons in the Anglo Boer War

Johan is a Freemason and he has a thorough knowledge of the history of the organisation.

He explained terminology such as lodge, constitution and master mason.

It is a global humanitarian organisation, with membership restricted to men. An important function of a Freemason is to be involved in charity work, and in community development.

It is said that the beginning can be traced back to the temple building of Solomon but there is no tangible proof of this. In the early 1600s there were Scottish lodges and in the early 1700s a lodge in London was founded.

In South Africa, the first lodge was Lodge de Goede Hoop, founded in 1772.

The organisation encountered opposition at certain times in SA history, such as during the Batavian period and in the ZAR during the presidency of Paul Kruger.

During the Anglo Boer War, many lodges closed. Some of the buildings used by the Freemasons were used for hospitals such as in Mafeking and the Masonic Temple in Johannesburg.

Money was collected by lodges such as the United Grand Lodge in England as well as in the Netherlands to help Boers and British prisoners of war.

Famous people during the Anglo Boer War that belonged to the Freemasons were Danie Theron, Piet Joubert, Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener.

A photo of prisoners of war on St Helena at the grave of Napoleon, were all Freemasons. One can therefore draw the conclusion that more Boers belonged to the organisation than we know of.  

The talk was richly illustrated with photos and slides.

During question time, numerous questions were asked.