It was with great sadness that the Lodge learned of the Passing to the GL
Above of Bro. Colin Smith, PPrGChStwd in April. Below is a eulogy
to Colin from W.Bro. Peter R Champion, PPrGSuptWks.
I will remember Colin as a work colleague, Brother in Freemasonry and
above all as a trusted and loyal friend for over 50 years.
Colin – or “Col”, “Smudger”, “The Big Man” or just plain “Smithy”
– and I joined the construction company of R J Barwick & Sons Ltd
within a couple of years of each other in the mid 1960s and retired on the
same day – 30th June 2007 – both having completed over 40 years
service. Colin started as a carpenter, quickly rose to the
position of Site Manager then progressing to Contract Planner and eventually
to Contracts Manager. He was justly proud of his achievements in
his working life and was associated with many fine buildings throughout the
Kent area. We shared many trips on site visits and meetings and
unfortunately acquired a reputation for getting lost – no sat navs or
mobile phones in the early days! Nothing amused him more than to
see me on site on a cold, wet or snowy day – far away from my usual
comfortable surroundings – and he would delight in recalling my
distress in later life!
Being a true country lad he had a great understanding of people and was
an excellent communicator with everyone around him. Never one to
suffer fools gladly but always willing to share his vast knowledge of the
construction process to those eager to learn. There were many
young Architects and Surveyors across the county who benefited from a quiet
word of advice or one of his famous sketches to overcome the obvious gaps in
their building knowledge.
We enjoyed many years of good hearted banter and Colin was always
pointing out that “he carried me for forty years” to which I always replied
“bearing in mind our relative sizes it was a good job it was not the other
way round!”
Colin was initiated in to the Corinthian Lodge No 1208 in Dover in March
1993 – proposed by W.Bro Tony Nixon and seconded by his
brother-in-law, Bro John Lee. He used his communication and
management skills to great effect and was the Lodge Dining Steward for over
20 years – meticulously organising the Festive Boards, Ladies
Festivals and other special events. He was instrumental in
organising the Lodge Fun Days at Langdon Cricket Club. Over the
last few years these events raised several thousands of pounds for local
charities which gave Colin great comfort and satisfaction. His
efforts for the Lodge and Masonry in general were recognized when he was
appointed PPAGDC in 2008 and promoted to PPGChStwd in 2015 - a very high
rank for a Mason who is not a Past Master.
He developed his wood turning skills in his retirement and generously
donated many of his beautifully turned bowls, clocks and barometers as
raffle prizes. His lasting memorial to Freemasonry will be
wonderful gavels he produced to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the
consecration of Corinthian Lodge – 60 miniature gavels for Lodge
members and the set of 3 Principal Officer's gavels. Equally
memorable were the guest appearances of Father Christmas at various
functions – funny that you never saw Colin and Father Christmas in the
same room!
Colin was a loyal and devoted family man and a strong defender of the
country way of life. He fought hard to maintain the village
school at East Langdon and assisted on many projects – one of the most
recent the manufacture of a Mud Kitchen which was a great asset for the
school. His life-long passion was cricket and he was renowned in
the Kent area as a spin bowler. Many of you will have heard him
relate the story of him bowling out the West Indian cricketer John Shepherd
in an exhibition match – third ball for a duck! He was also
a stylish batsman but he was well in to his forties before he scored 100
runs in an innings. He played cricket for East Langdon Cricket
Club for over 50 years and was active in the management of the Club premises
and grounds up until last summer.
In his retirement, Grove End became a resting place for many “poor and
distressed Masons”. The hospitality extended by both Colin and
April was always in the true Masonic spirit although the renewed friendship
with W.Bro. Eric Gee led to a very competitive approach to both carpentry
and gardening skills. The discussion on the rightful owner of the
titles "Wood Wizard 1" and "Wood Wizard 2" respectively was ongoing!
Above all I will remember Colin as a great friend – together with
April – and earlier with Mavis – we had many fun
times. On our break in Somerset last September Colin was keen to
pick accommodation which had a hot tub so that he could try it
out. I was enjoying a relaxing session until Colin decided to
join me when I found myself almost submerged as the water level rose
dramatically!
Although we seldom seemed to agree on many subjects – he could be
quite stubborn as some of you may be aware! – I respected Colin as a
genuine and sincere person of great integrity. Many of you, like
me, will have experienced his generosity and valuable support in dealing
with desperate periods in our lives. We thank him for being so
important to us all – he will be with us forever.
A big man with an even bigger heart!
W.Bro. Peter Richard Champion, PPrGSuptWks,
April 2018.
Lodge Celebrates 150th Year Anniversary
On 19th March 2018 we were honoured by the presence of the Provincial
Grand Master, the RW Brother Geoffrey Gordon Dearing, who joined us to
celebrate our Sesquicentenary (150th Anniversary) at a unique
meeting.
Each Brother of the Lodge received a miniature
gavel crafted by the late Bro. Colin Smith.
