04/06/2026
Ung Sent Ung Sol: The Phoenix Rise Again at Verney!
Last night at Verney Lodge's Installation meeting, Ewan Forrest Gordon took the chair for the fifth time. Five times. There aren't many Worshipful Masters who can say that.
Ewan has been a Freemason since June 2003, initiated in Oxfordshire before finding his home at Verney Lodge in 2017. He served as Provincial Grand Steward in Oxfordshire before being appointed to the same role in Buckinghamshire, a rare distinction that speaks to the regard in which he's held across both Provinces. In 2021 he was appointed Provincial Grand Orator for Buckinghamshire, a role that suits him perfectly. The man can talk, and more importantly, he knows what he's talking about.
Ask anyone who's worked with Ewan and the conversation quickly turns to his work as Secretary. He's widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable lodge secretaries in the Province, the kind of man who knows the answer before you've finished asking the question. If LodgeSecGPT is ever looking for a human benchmark, it's found one.
Last night, 25 members and 41 visitors came together to mark the occasion, with 66 sitting down to dine, which tells you everything about the warmth of a Verney evening. Among the visitors was RWBro Prof Stephen Tucker, Provincial Grand Master of Oxfordshire, who paid a particularly fitting tribute. In recognition of Ewan's extraordinary contribution to Buckinghamshire Freemasonry, RWBro Prof Tucker wore the Bucks Hall Stone tie. A small gesture, perhaps. But those in the room knew exactly what it meant.
The lodge's charity focus this year is the Bucks 2032 Festival, with £500 going to local good causes and a £5,000 donation to the charity bike ride already in the bank.
After the festive board, Ewan and I gave a talk on the history of Yeomanry Hall, the building we meet in, and a place with more stories per square foot than most. The room itself was originally the officers' mess of the Royal Bucks Hussars, and the walls still show it. Mameluke sabres, pioneer swords and cavalry blades hang alongside regimental artefacts from a building that's seen rather more history than most Masonic temples can claim.
The lodge banner, which hangs behind the WM's pedestal, isn't Masonic in origin at all. It carries the actual crest and motto of the Verney family, Ung Sent Ung Sol, medieval French for 'One Faith, One Sun', lent to the lodge by the Verney estate when the lodge was consecrated in 1979. Sir Ralph Verney became its Primus Master, installed by his eldest brother Sir Laurence. The family standard hangs on the wall nearby, a constant reminder of who this place belonged to. At consecration, the family also gifted the lodge a bible, another thread connecting the lodge to the Verney name that it carries.
The highlight of the talk, as it always is, was the account of Queen Victoria's visit to Yeomanry Hall on her way up to Stowe. Whether people have heard it before or not, it still stops the room.
Congratulations, Ewan. The chair suits you sir!
