Freemasons partner with Royal British Legion to mark Remembrance Sunday

Published: 11 November 2022

To mark this November’s Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) has created an exclusive poppy pin badge in partnership with the Royal British Legion (RBL) to support their annual Poppy Appeal fundraising campaign.

In addition to donating all the proceeds from this exclusive poppy, the Shop at Freemasons’ Hall is selling Brothers in Alms books for £5, with a portion of the proceeds going to the RBL.

For the third year in a row, there will also be a display projected onto Freemasons' Hall from 11:00pm on 10 November to 11:59pm on 13 November, featuring falling poppies and the commemorative RBL/Freemasons’ pin badge.

Inside Freemasons’ Hall, the ‘Brothers in Alms - Peace through sacrifice’ exhibition showcases rare photographs spanning the period from the second Boer War through to the end of World War Two, and features those who led as well as those who served on land, sea and in the air. It portrays the great landscape of the conflicts across all continents and the diversity of the participants.

The exhibition includes images of Freemasons who held a large range of military positions, including Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener who was Secretary of State for War at the start of the Great War and is depicted on the famous ‘Your country needs you’ recruitment poster of 1914. It also highlights the great charitable work by Freemasons both during and after the wars, in building and supporting hospitals and rehabilitation housing, and providing pensions for ex-servicemen.

When visiting Freemasons’ Hall, which was originally built as the Masonic Peace Memorial in 1933, members of the public will be able to see a bronze poppy that is permanently situated in the Vestibules as a symbol of reflection and contemplation for those men and women who have served and sacrificed

In 2021, His Royal Highness, The Duke Of Kent on behalf of the United Grand Lodge of England signed the Armed Forces Covenant to promote their welfare, support and respect.