In a moving ceremony in June, three Norfolk Freemasons laid a wreath at the Menin Gate on the outskirts of Ypres in Belgium, specifically to remember the fallen Freemasons of Norfolk. The three are Rigil Kent, Immediate Past Master of Ephraimites Lodge No. 9442, wearing the uniform of the Norfolk Fire Brigade in his rank as Station Manager, Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk Luke Loades, and Past Assistant Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk Brian Barton.
The three were part of an annual trip by the Province of Norfolk to visit the battlefields of the Great War. The simple ceremony, which is held each evening at 8 pm underneath the arches of the beautiful Menin Gate, remembers the fallen of the Great War in the Ypres Salient. The haunting sound of the ‘Last Post’ is played by members of the Ypres Fire Brigade, which is why Rigil is wearing his own uniform.
