Tom Moffat

Thomas Moffat. M.B.E.

Prior to his death in December 2024, Tom was a Co-Founder, Honorary Member and the first Senior Steward of the Lodge of Progress.

I moved to Chester-le-Street when I took up my new job at Durham Technical College, as it was then.  My mother Lodge was Williamson 949 in Sunderland and, on arriving in Chester-le-Street, I started to visit all of the lodges with a view to selecting one to join.

I was leaning towards Lumley Lodge which at that time was a teetotal lodge, (how things have changed) which didn’t worry me. Through cricket I was very friendly with Bob Allison, then Treasurer of the cricket club, and Joe Cowey, both of whom were members of  Lumley Lodge.

I still remember one night coming off the field at Ropery Lane after practice and of being invited to a table where Joe Cowey and Bob Allison were sitting.  I had no idea what was coming but was quickly asked if I would like to be a founder of a new lodge that could well be starting up.  My reply was, “what do you mean by a new lodge” for I had no idea what that really meant.

It is now history that it was what became ‘Lodge of Progress 8259’ and I liked all I heard from these two good friends and, as they say, “the rest is history!”

My fellow founders Gerry Shotton and Larry Tinkler have talked of those early days and the social committee meetings in my home, for I was the first Senior Steward of the Lodge.  Larry has already outlined some of the rather demeaning duties held by the Senior Steward in those days.

As they both mention I was a dedicated home wine and liqueurs maker and, as I went through the chairs, I always had bottles of my home made wine on my table, and some of the stories of over ‘imbibing’ are now part of the legend of the lodge – perhaps one night I will tell you of some of the funny stories that over indulging resulted in.

The strange thing is epitomised in a comment my Dad once made to me – he said “Tom lad, you’re a complete fraud for you make all this wine, beer, lagers and liqueurs and you don’t drink”.

That was and is true but of course I loved the challenge.

In my year in the chair I always had the traditional whisky and beer but it is true to say that my wines were nearly always first choice, to the point where visitors, in replies would often refer to “Tom’s Wine Lodge.”  Happy days – in more sense than one.

One of the great joys for me was to bring my son Keith into Lodge of Progress, to become such a fine freemason – in the right sense of the word.  And God willing I look forward to our October 2010 meeting when my grandson Peter, Keith’s lad, will hopefully join us as one of the youngest ‘Lewis’ candidates in this Province.  October is to be a ‘past masters’ night with Keith in the chair. He has already persuaded me to act as Junior Deacon that night.  Not having done any floor work for a very long time, at the tender age of 80, that will be something of a challenge for me, one I know you will look on with compassion, but one I look forward to.

Back to that start – Joe and Bob’s invite was one of the great invites and decisions of my life for the Lodge of Progress has always lived by the standards we tried to establish those 41 years ago, and I have always been proud to be part of it.