The Founding of Brothers of Hiram Lodge No.1101
The Brothers of Hiram Lodge No.1101 is the first official motorcycle Freemasonry Lodge to be formed in Germany.
It was consecrated in Herford by the AGM RWBro Gary Wormald and officers of Grand Lodge of British Freemasonry Germany (GLBFG) on 15th July 2023 and was formed by 15 Founding members from within United Grand Lodges of Germany (VGLvD) and Luxemburg. A day which saw nearly 70 Brethren from across VGLvD, as well as visitors from Luxemburg, Bulgaria & Gibraltar attending the ceremony.
Rose of Minden Lodge’s (RoM) own WBros Dave Chessell & Roy Charles had long talked about a dedicated Lodge that could combine their love for Masonry and motorbikes and after watching a UK TV series celebrating 300 years of Freemasonry, they discovered a motorcycle association called the Widows Sons (WS) which was formed in the USA and has Chapters all over the world. They also discovered that in 2016 a WS Chapter had been formed in Germany and made inquires to meet and join, which, once Covid had passed, they did. The WS Chapter Germany comprises of members of VGLvD who come together a few times a year to raise money for charity and to enjoy spreading the Masonic word and enjoy motorcycling. However, the Chapter is unable to Initiate, Pass or Raise new or joining members as would happen in a traditional Lodge. Discussions then started to take place how this could be realised so that a candidate could start and continue his Masonic journey in an officially recognised Lodge which also catered for his passion for motorcycling. WBros Dave & Roy then went about inquiring how to go about founding a new Lodge and sought advice from senior members within RoM and GLBFG. Armed with this information WBro Dave submitted a petition to GLBFG that he, WBro Roy & 13 other brethren form a Lodge under GLBFG within VGLvD. This was agreed early 2023, which set the ball rolling for the preparations for the consecration ceremony in July 2023.
The Lodge has been granted Traveling status which means the Lodge has no permanent home Lodge and will use Lodges around Germany to hold their meetings. They intend to meet in locations N,S,E,W of the country which enables them to promote Freemasonry all over Germany and encourage potential members to join. Being a Travelling Lodge, they will be using the permanent furniture of the host Lodges they use but will be bringing along their own loose items which have been specially commissioned to be transportable by motorbike. In the case of a field camp an ad-hoc Temple will be constructed using motorbikes as pedestals.
The Lodge is fully aware of the negative image that groups of motorbikes can have and are fully committed to promoting Freemasonry in a good light, no candidates are accepted or can join who are connected or affiliated to any motorcycle club/ group that is classed/ recognised as criminal.
WBros Dave Chessell & Roy Charles have had a long hard journey filed with many setbacks and potholes in establishing this Lodge but with their determination, dedication and with help and support from many members of the Rose of Minden Lodge, Widows Sons Chapter Germany and GLBFG their idea has finally become a reality.
If you are interested in joining, please contact our Lodge Secretary here and he will pass your enquiry on.
More photos here