The 6^th of June 1930 was an excellent day for us in Warwickshire.  It saw one Stanley Butterworth make his grand entrance into this world and things would never be the same.  Born in Liverpool, his father was a seafarer and a Freemason but he tragically died when Brother Stan was just three.  When the blitz came to Liverpool, Stan was initially evacuated to Wales but his mother soon decided that she preferred to keep an eye on him herself.  He has clear recollections of the air raid siren sounding at 6pm and the all-clear would only be heard at 6am, and of the extraordinary sight of miles of flame and smoke following the bombing of the docks.  School saw him enjoy the OTC and many sports.  Readers may be surprised to learn that Bro Stan, at the tender age of 17, won the senior championship in boxing.  No doubt a bantamweight or similar, beware when next challenging him over a point of order!

His schooling over, the wide world beckoned and Stan, unsurprisingly, looked to the sea for work.  He became a cadet engineer, initially with the Cunard White Star Line and then with the Houlder Line.  King and Country then came calling and Stan began his National Service with the RAF and was posted to Hannover and participated on the Berlin Air Lift.  De-mobbed in 1950, Stan entered local government service and joined the Liverpool Corporation’s City Lighting and Electrical Dept and, by 1954, he’d become the Assistant Lighting Superintendent in charge of 200 men.  1966 saw Stan move to the Public Works Dept of the Birmingham Corporation, ultimately becoming the Divisional Engineer.

Soon after his return to civvy street, he was introduced to a lovely girl, Alma.  They married in 1955 and have two sons, two daughters-in-law, three grandsons, a granddaughter and a great-granddaughter. Alma and Stan were delighted to celebrate their platinum anniversary this year – an amazing achievement.  As a Lewis, it was perhaps no surprise that Mr Butterworth should become Brother Butterworth when he was initiated into the Stanley Priory Lodge No 6741 in Liverpool on 13^th November 1965.  Having moved to the Midlands, Bro Stan joined the Lodge of Perception and never looked back.  He was made a ProvGStwd in 1992 and soon joined the Stewards’ Lodge so it was a delight that his 60yr certificate would be presented at one of their meetings.  Indeed, he was honoured to be their Master in 2016.

The meeting, held at the Knowle Masonic Centre, was unsurprisingly well attended with, most appropriately, 60 brethren keen to show Stan the support that he richly deserves.  Stan was thrilled to invite two very special brethren – Trevor Sturt and Avtar Panesar – as it was Trevor who presented him with his 50yr certificate and Avtar was the escorting Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies. As well as learning about Stan’s formative years, the brethren also heard about his passion for charity.

For many years, he was closely involved with the benevolent fund for the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers.  Indeed, they presented him with their bronze medal and also a lovely crystal rose bowl in recognition of his contribution.  Stan’s brought his expertise to us in Warwickshire and for years sat on the management committee of the Warwickshire Masonic Benevolent Fund, including one year as chairman, and was also a trustee of the Warwickshire Masonic Charitable Association.  He only stepped down very recently following the amalgamation of the two charities into the Warwickshire Freemasons’ Charitable Foundation, indicating that he wished that younger brethren have the opportunity to get involved – if you’ve done your sums, you’ll have realised that Stan is a mere 95 years young!  Not that he lets that stop him.  It was this dedication for masonic charities that earned him his certificate of merit from the then Provincial Grand Master, Michael Price.

Having enjoyed his wee chat with the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, David Butcher, he formally received his certificate and received a superb proclamation from the escorting Provincial Deputy Grand Director of Ceremonies, Rob Burns. Humble to the last, Stan thanked David for the delightful way in which he presented the certificate, adding that he felt like the luckiest man alive, and that he was so grateful for the 60 years of friendship that he has received from Freemasonry.

Always wishing to reciprocate, he then surprised the Deputy Provincial Grand Master with his own presentation – a gallon bottle of whiskey – to be used in some way to raise more funds for Fisher House.  Geoff Walker was present, soon took custody of said bottle and was quickly formulating plans to make the most of Stan’s most generous gift.

Stan started his story by telling all assembled that, having lost their father, it was his older brother, Jim, who became his role model. He clearly started off a process that has resulted in Stan becoming the model of a good man and an exemplar of how Freemasonry makes a good man even better.  Brethren, if you bump into Stan at a meeting, take the time to say hello.  He may be diminutive in size but, believe me, he truly boxes above his weight!