As the Masonic Housing Association (MHA) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Eddie Inness, a long-time resident of Reading Court in Stratford Upon Avon, which offers sheltered accommodation, to hear about a life well-lived, shaped by family, football, and Freemasonry.

Born in 1943, Eddie and his wife Edwina have called Reading Court home for over fourteen years. Their journey together has taken them from the heart of Glasgow to the beaches of South Africa, and eventually back to the UK where they found comfort, community, and continuity in this Masonic setting.

“About fifty years ago, we’d just returned from South Africa,” Eddie recalls with a warm Glaswegian lilt. “Originally, we were planning to emigrate to Australia. I’d been playing football in Glasgow when a scout from Australia spotted me. Edwina, my girlfriend at the time, was set to come too, but we changed our minds. It felt too far. Then a South African agent saw me play, and by 1967, I was playing for Cape Town City.”

Despite the thrill of professional sport, Eddie remembers those years with humour.
“It wasn’t all glamour,” he laughs. “The football was brilliant. We had a mixed-race team and a good reputation, but most weekdays were uneventful. Too much time on the beach. That wasn’t for me.”

Eddie soon returned to his engineering roots, working for a South African pump manufacturer. His football profile turned out to be good for business.
“Customers recognised me, and the company quickly moved me into sales. People trusted me, they felt they already knew me,” he explains. “It was around then that I was introduced to Freemasonry.”

Eddie speaks fondly of his time in the Craft, both in South Africa and later in the UK, recalling lodge meetings filled with camaraderie, many of his fellow members being footballers themselves.
“I still have my apron from those days,” he says with pride.

A football injury and a broken nose cut short any budding modelling opportunities (Edwina, meanwhile, did some modelling of her own), but a growing awareness of apartheid-era tensions led the young family to return to the UK in the early 1970s.

“Cape Town still felt relatively safe at the time,” he reflects. “We could walk near the Prime Minister’s house without worry. But we knew the bigger picture wasn’t good. We wanted better for our son.”

Back in Britain, Eddie continued to thrive in sales, ironically travelling back to South Africa for business on several occasions. But the UK remained home. It was through the Stratford Operatic Society, and a chance meeting with fellow Mason Douglas Hilliard, that the couple learned about Reading Court, built on land generously donated by Freemason Tom Reading.

“We moved in about 14 years ago and never looked back,” Eddie says. “I play golf nearly every day, and Edwina sings in the choir and plays bridge. It suits us.”

Now, as Reading Court prepares to celebrate the Masonic Housing Association’s 50th anniversary with a special lunch attended by dignitaries and senior Freemasons, Eddie is reflective and grateful.

“The Masons have done so much for us and for everyone here. We’re proud to be part of it. It will be a lovely celebration.”