The Odd Fellows' Magazine, Feb!uary, 1945The Odd Fellows' Magazine, February, 1945

27

Another Odd Fellow V.C.An Original Member of JUYenile Lodge.

ODD FELLOW RECORDDirector Bro. J. A. JORDAN,Provo C.S. of the Melton

\oJowbray District, writes :-- "Bro. R. H. Burton, along with his brother and sister,

were amongst the original members. of the !\felton

1[owbray District Juvenile Lodge on Its formatIOn 111

1928. All three joined the Earl of 0a1l1sbor.ougl.lL?dge

on attaining the age of 16, our local hero be1l1g1I11tlated

on the 22nd February, 1939. The boy's grandfather,

Bro. R. S. Burton, was a member of the Oundle

District and became attached to the Earl of Gains-

borougl; Lodge on coming to ~[e1ton !\10wbray many

years ago and the family ha\'e always been keen

supporters of our work herc." ...

In a \'ague reference. to the explOit whlcl~ \von hUll

the premier a\\'ard Pnvate Burton tells hiS parents,

"I must have gone either bomb-happy or mad."

Pri\'ate Burton was 22 on the 29th of January. He

is a bricklayer, so is his fathcr, ~rr. Gcorge Burton,

The award of the Victoria ,Cross to Private RICHARD

HENRYBURTON,has been gazetted. •The citation reads: "In Italy on qctober 8th, .1944,

two platoons of the Duke of Wellington Regiment

moved forward to take a strongly held feature 7ffJ

metres high... . .

"The capture of thIS feature was vital III thIs stage

of operations, as it dominated all the troops on the

main access of advance and the assault troops met with

good progress to within 20 yards of the crest.

"When they came under the withering fire from

spandaus on the crest, the leadmg platoon was held up

and the platoon commander was wounded ... The ~om-

pany commander took another platoon of whIch Pnvate

Burton was runner."Through the assault the crest from which four

spandaus at least were firing, Private Surton .rushed

forward and engaging the first spandau with Ius

tommy gun killed the crew of three. When the assault

was held up under the murdero~s fire from t~o more

machine guns Private Burton with complete disregard

for his own safety dashed forward US11lgIllS tommy

gun until his ammunition \\'as exhausted.OWN INITIATIVE"He then picked up a bren gun and firing from the

hip succeeded in killing or wound11lg the crew of the

two machine guns. Through the outstand11lg courage

of Private Burton the company was then able to con-

solidate towards the slope of the feature. .

"The ellemy immediately counter ~ttacked, but Pnvate

Burton, in spite of his comrades bemg under fIre, dead

or wounded once again dashed forward on his own

initiative and directed accurate fire with his bren gun

on the enemy that they retired leaving the feature

firmly in our hands..

"The enemy later counter attacked agam on the

adjoining platoon position and Private Burton who had

placed himself on the flank brought su~h accurate fire

to bear that this counter attack als? faile<;L .

"To dislodge the company from ItS.positIOn,.Prl\'ate

Burton magnificently, gallantly and with t<;>taldlsreg~rd

of his own safety during many hours <;>ffl.erce flghtmg

in mud and continuous rain was an msplratIOn to all

his comrades."

M.P.'s Open Mind.Director Harper Leads Off.

O.B.E. FOR BRO. ASHDOWN'S SON-IN-LAW.COMMANDERH. T, MOLYNEUX,M.C., R.N.V.R" son-

in-law of Bro. B. Ashdown, P.G.M., a P.G. of the

Major Barclay Lodge, Mitcham District, has been

awarded the O.B.E. for meritorious service with the

Fleet Air Arm. Bro. Molyneux, who served with dis-

tinction in the infantry during the first World War, rose

to the rank of Captain and was awarded the M.C.

During the years of peace he became an expert pilot.

and at the outbreak of the present war he immediatel,-

volunteered and obtained a commission in the Fleet

Air Arm. A son of Bro. Molyneux is an officer in the

Merchant Navy and has twice been torpedoed.

mentary discussion might think advisable, and it was

mos~ important ~hat there should be free public dis-

CUSSIOnand ventilatlOn of the whole scheme, especially

by Friendly Societies..

There were, at present, two schools of thought. One

believed that in the interests of efficiency the country

should be ~dministered mainly from Whitehall and that

everything should be in the hands of the Government

elected by the people. The other, to which he belonged,

believed that the Government's powers should he

strictly limited. That division of opinion ran through

all parties. He favoured preservation of Friendlv

Societies, if possible, and so making use of their va;t

experience. The National Insurance Bill would be one

of the biggest ever introduced, containing possibly some

500 clauses, but as yet no Bill had been drafted.

His bias was in favour of existing institutions makincr, ~

them fit to meet new needs, and he thought they would

find that Friendly Societies would be preserved. He

fully accepted the societies' contention that'their claims

must be oonsidered with the utmost gravity before any-

thmg was done that would break down their structure.

The important thing was that the people should make

their wishes known, and he urged everyone to get in

touch with their M.P.s,It was clearly a case where democracy had got to

show that it was thoroughly alive. A decentralised

democracy was one of the great bulwarks of freedom,

and he was prepared to consider and, if necessary, to

speak upon every clause of the Bill when it came before

Parliament. He would be glad, then, to. come before

them and cU;scuss it with them, so that the great

Frumdly SOCiety movement received the treatment to

which its great intrinsic merits entitled it. (Applause.)

Bro. Stenson approved the sentiments expressed by

Mr. Colegate, and invited him to attend a conference

at Welshpool at which it was hoped Sir Wm. Beveridge

would be present.

FLGT, SGT. C. SHAWhas been awarded the B.E.M. for

meritorious service and outstanding devotion to. duty.

Bro. Shaw is a member of the Earl Grey Lodge, Ilkeston

District, passing t<l it from the Juvenile Society at two

years of age. His two children are also members of

the Juvenile Section, and his wife a member of the

Female Section.The citation says he is a most excellent organiser and

one of the most efficient N.C.O.s in the Air Force.

War Distinctions.

IT was the centenary ilf the Marquis of Stafford Lodge

of the Newport (Salop) District. It was a festive

occasion, but in a sense it was a g,rim occasion, Director

Harper was present to state the q,ase for the voluntary

friendly society in the scheme of social insurance as

outlined by the Government, and Mr. A. Colegate, M.P.

for the Wrekin Division, was present to hear and reply.

Bro. W. Frank Stenson, hon. secretary of the West

Central Counties' Group Conference, presided.The Chairman referred to the ~normous growth of the

Manchester Unity, which, he said, through good direc-

tion and wise investment, was able to payout in sick

pay half a million more than it received in contributions.

It had, he claimed, thoroughly justified its existence."BUYING INSURANCE AT THE BEST SHOP"

Director Harper, in a strong appeal for the retention

of Appro'-ed Societies under the new plan of Social

Security, said they had got to convince the public and

Members of Parliament at the next General Election

that the abolition of Friendly Societies was not in the

best interests of the general public. Lord Baldwin had

publicly stated his conviction that this couqtry ow~d

its escape from revolution and dictatorship to the Trade

Unions and Friendly Societies. Among the reasons

stated by Sir 'V111.Jowitt for disposing of Friendly

Societies was the difference in benefits received by

members of different societies. It appeared that people

were 11at to be allowed to buy their insurance at the

hest shop, but Sir William had overlooked the fact that

the amount of State insurance benefit was laid down

hy Parliament. The Government had also told the

Manchester Unity, following the last valuation, how

much of its surplus funds it could use, and how much

it must invest. He urged that the societies should be

allowed to continue to administer sick, maternity, and

death benefits as they had done since 1912, under the

supervision of the Ministry of Health. This could be

done a;; efficiently as in the past and at considerably

less cost than if done by the Government.To t.he argument that it was undesirable that large

funds should be entrusted for disposal t<lagencies whose

servants were not Government controlled. he replied

that such control was already exercised. The Govern-

ment's proposals were calculated not only t<l destroy

thrift but to discourage personal independence. Some

J30 l\I.P.s had been circularised on the matter, and he

hoped that Mr, Colegate would give the letter most

careful consideration. Their organisation should not be

"'uperseded by a cold-hearted Government Department.

(Applall;;e.)M.P.'s REPLYMr, C'olegate. i\LP.. in his reply, said that a motion

'''as to be brought before the House calling for a recon-

sideration of the decision to abolish Friendly Societies

and expressing the view that their retention would

assist the development and efficiency of the proposed

scheme of Social Insurance. He was not opposed to

that mot·ion. but he had not put his name to it be.cause

he made it a practice never to put his name to motions

affecting legislation which was not before the House.

Legislation arising out of the Beveridge Report had still

10 be produced, and when the White Paper was issued

it was understood that it would have to be considerably

modified before a scheme could be introduced. Legisla-

I ion would have to embody sUch adjustments as Parlia-

'.

A War Record.

...'AT the closini meeting for 1944 of the Newcomo

and Boughton Lodge, Rugby District, there was a gaod

muster of members. The installation of Officers for

the ensuing year took place the elect.ion of whom was

somewhat unique in as much as dunng 1945 the N.G.

and V.G. chairs will be filled by two members of other

Lodges. In thanking the members for their loyal

devoted support, the Secretary (Bro. H. H. Tanser),

said that the Lodge was proud to be able to report

that on the occasion during the war years had they

been unable to open the Lodge in due form, the meet-

ing place and time had been kept as in thc pre-war

years and he trusted that gi\'cn rcasonable good

fortu~e the Lodge would be able to maintain this good

record through the coming year. The man power

demand had fallen very hea"ily on the Lodge there

being at the present time onc out of e~'ery fi\'e

mcmbers away in samc hranch of the Scrvlces.

DIRECTORS'RESOLUTIONSAT the Board Meeting,held last month, the-Directors passed the-following resolution:\VAR DECORATIONS.-That the report withreference to theawards, during the pre-sent war, of the Vic-toria Cross to three-members of the Order.one being a posthu-mous award to thelate Bro. J. Beeley, ofthe Greenjackets.••••....

Lodge (SouthamptonDistrict) be received,and that suitable com-

munications be forwarded to Bros. F. Jefferson, of the

Morecambe Lodge (Ulverston District) and Bro. R. H. Bur-

ton, of the Earl of Gainsborough Lodge (Melton Mowbray

District), expressing, on behalf of their fellow members of

the Order, appreciation of the gallant actions in respect of

which the awards were made, and sendmg the hearty

congratulations of the Directors upon the high honour

thus attained.

as was his grandfather before him. Most of his letters

home express the hope that his job with a local builder

is being kept open, It is so in the lodge room door

where a warm welcome awaits. Bro. Burton is the

third member of the Order to win the V.c.A GIFTTHE Earl of Gains-borough Lodge have-allocated a sum of£5 5s. from a recentsocial effort towards.the town of MeltonMowbray's testi-monial.

'. ,'.,"

William Harold Coltman

The Odd Fellows' Magazine, Feb!uary, 1945The Odd Fellows' Magazine, February, 1945

27

Another Odd Fellow V.C.An Original Member of JUYenile Lodge.

ODD FELLOW RECORDDirector Bro. J. A. JORDAN,Provo C.S. of the Melton

\oJowbray District, writes :-- "Bro. R. H. Burton, along with his brother and sister,

were amongst the original members. of the !\felton

1[owbray District Juvenile Lodge on Its formatIOn 111

1928. All three joined the Earl of 0a1l1sbor.ougl.lL?dge

on attaining the age of 16, our local hero be1l1g1I11tlated

on the 22nd February, 1939. The boy's grandfather,

Bro. R. S. Burton, was a member of the Oundle

District and became attached to the Earl of Gains-

borougl; Lodge on coming to ~[e1ton !\10wbray many

years ago and the family ha\'e always been keen

supporters of our work herc." ...

In a \'ague reference. to the explOit whlcl~ \von hUll

the premier a\\'ard Pnvate Burton tells hiS parents,

"I must have gone either bomb-happy or mad."

Pri\'ate Burton was 22 on the 29th of January. He

is a bricklayer, so is his fathcr, ~rr. Gcorge Burton,

The award of the Victoria ,Cross to Private RICHARD

HENRYBURTON,has been gazetted. •The citation reads: "In Italy on qctober 8th, .1944,

two platoons of the Duke of Wellington Regiment

moved forward to take a strongly held feature 7ffJ

metres high... . .

"The capture of thIS feature was vital III thIs stage

of operations, as it dominated all the troops on the

main access of advance and the assault troops met with

good progress to within 20 yards of the crest.

"When they came under the withering fire from

spandaus on the crest, the leadmg platoon was held up

and the platoon commander was wounded ... The ~om-

pany commander took another platoon of whIch Pnvate

Burton was runner."Through the assault the crest from which four

spandaus at least were firing, Private Surton .rushed

forward and engaging the first spandau with Ius

tommy gun killed the crew of three. When the assault

was held up under the murdero~s fire from t~o more

machine guns Private Burton with complete disregard

for his own safety dashed forward US11lgIllS tommy

gun until his ammunition \\'as exhausted.OWN INITIATIVE"He then picked up a bren gun and firing from the

hip succeeded in killing or wound11lg the crew of the

two machine guns. Through the outstand11lg courage

of Private Burton the company was then able to con-

solidate towards the slope of the feature. .

"The ellemy immediately counter ~ttacked, but Pnvate

Burton, in spite of his comrades bemg under fIre, dead

or wounded once again dashed forward on his own

initiative and directed accurate fire with his bren gun

on the enemy that they retired leaving the feature

firmly in our hands..

"The enemy later counter attacked agam on the

adjoining platoon position and Private Burton who had

placed himself on the flank brought su~h accurate fire

to bear that this counter attack als? faile<;L .

"To dislodge the company from ItS.positIOn,.Prl\'ate

Burton magnificently, gallantly and with t<;>taldlsreg~rd

of his own safety during many hours <;>ffl.erce flghtmg

in mud and continuous rain was an msplratIOn to all

his comrades."

M.P.'s Open Mind.Director Harper Leads Off.

O.B.E. FOR BRO. ASHDOWN'S SON-IN-LAW.COMMANDERH. T, MOLYNEUX,M.C., R.N.V.R" son-

in-law of Bro. B. Ashdown, P.G.M., a P.G. of the

Major Barclay Lodge, Mitcham District, has been

awarded the O.B.E. for meritorious service with the

Fleet Air Arm. Bro. Molyneux, who served with dis-

tinction in the infantry during the first World War, rose

to the rank of Captain and was awarded the M.C.

During the years of peace he became an expert pilot.

and at the outbreak of the present war he immediatel,-

volunteered and obtained a commission in the Fleet

Air Arm. A son of Bro. Molyneux is an officer in the

Merchant Navy and has twice been torpedoed.

mentary discussion might think advisable, and it was

mos~ important ~hat there should be free public dis-

CUSSIOnand ventilatlOn of the whole scheme, especially

by Friendly Societies..

There were, at present, two schools of thought. One

believed that in the interests of efficiency the country

should be ~dministered mainly from Whitehall and that

everything should be in the hands of the Government

elected by the people. The other, to which he belonged,

believed that the Government's powers should he

strictly limited. That division of opinion ran through

all parties. He favoured preservation of Friendlv

Societies, if possible, and so making use of their va;t

experience. The National Insurance Bill would be one

of the biggest ever introduced, containing possibly some

500 clauses, but as yet no Bill had been drafted.

His bias was in favour of existing institutions makincr, ~

them fit to meet new needs, and he thought they would

find that Friendly Societies would be preserved. He

fully accepted the societies' contention that'their claims

must be oonsidered with the utmost gravity before any-

thmg was done that would break down their structure.

The important thing was that the people should make

their wishes known, and he urged everyone to get in

touch with their M.P.s,It was clearly a case where democracy had got to

show that it was thoroughly alive. A decentralised

democracy was one of the great bulwarks of freedom,

and he was prepared to consider and, if necessary, to

speak upon every clause of the Bill when it came before

Parliament. He would be glad, then, to. come before

them and cU;scuss it with them, so that the great

Frumdly SOCiety movement received the treatment to

which its great intrinsic merits entitled it. (Applause.)

Bro. Stenson approved the sentiments expressed by

Mr. Colegate, and invited him to attend a conference

at Welshpool at which it was hoped Sir Wm. Beveridge

would be present.

FLGT, SGT. C. SHAWhas been awarded the B.E.M. for

meritorious service and outstanding devotion to. duty.

Bro. Shaw is a member of the Earl Grey Lodge, Ilkeston

District, passing t<l it from the Juvenile Society at two

years of age. His two children are also members of

the Juvenile Section, and his wife a member of the

Female Section.The citation says he is a most excellent organiser and

one of the most efficient N.C.O.s in the Air Force.

War Distinctions.

IT was the centenary ilf the Marquis of Stafford Lodge

of the Newport (Salop) District. It was a festive

occasion, but in a sense it was a g,rim occasion, Director

Harper was present to state the q,ase for the voluntary

friendly society in the scheme of social insurance as

outlined by the Government, and Mr. A. Colegate, M.P.

for the Wrekin Division, was present to hear and reply.

Bro. W. Frank Stenson, hon. secretary of the West

Central Counties' Group Conference, presided.The Chairman referred to the ~normous growth of the

Manchester Unity, which, he said, through good direc-

tion and wise investment, was able to payout in sick

pay half a million more than it received in contributions.

It had, he claimed, thoroughly justified its existence."BUYING INSURANCE AT THE BEST SHOP"

Director Harper, in a strong appeal for the retention

of Appro'-ed Societies under the new plan of Social

Security, said they had got to convince the public and

Members of Parliament at the next General Election

that the abolition of Friendly Societies was not in the

best interests of the general public. Lord Baldwin had

publicly stated his conviction that this couqtry ow~d

its escape from revolution and dictatorship to the Trade

Unions and Friendly Societies. Among the reasons

stated by Sir 'V111.Jowitt for disposing of Friendly

Societies was the difference in benefits received by

members of different societies. It appeared that people

were 11at to be allowed to buy their insurance at the

hest shop, but Sir William had overlooked the fact that

the amount of State insurance benefit was laid down

hy Parliament. The Government had also told the

Manchester Unity, following the last valuation, how

much of its surplus funds it could use, and how much

it must invest. He urged that the societies should be

allowed to continue to administer sick, maternity, and

death benefits as they had done since 1912, under the

supervision of the Ministry of Health. This could be

done a;; efficiently as in the past and at considerably

less cost than if done by the Government.To t.he argument that it was undesirable that large

funds should be entrusted for disposal t<lagencies whose

servants were not Government controlled. he replied

that such control was already exercised. The Govern-

ment's proposals were calculated not only t<l destroy

thrift but to discourage personal independence. Some

J30 l\I.P.s had been circularised on the matter, and he

hoped that Mr, Colegate would give the letter most

careful consideration. Their organisation should not be

"'uperseded by a cold-hearted Government Department.

(Applall;;e.)M.P.'s REPLYMr, C'olegate. i\LP.. in his reply, said that a motion

'''as to be brought before the House calling for a recon-

sideration of the decision to abolish Friendly Societies

and expressing the view that their retention would

assist the development and efficiency of the proposed

scheme of Social Insurance. He was not opposed to

that mot·ion. but he had not put his name to it be.cause

he made it a practice never to put his name to motions

affecting legislation which was not before the House.

Legislation arising out of the Beveridge Report had still

10 be produced, and when the White Paper was issued

it was understood that it would have to be considerably

modified before a scheme could be introduced. Legisla-

I ion would have to embody sUch adjustments as Parlia-

'.

A War Record.

...'AT the closini meeting for 1944 of the Newcomo

and Boughton Lodge, Rugby District, there was a gaod

muster of members. The installation of Officers for

the ensuing year took place the elect.ion of whom was

somewhat unique in as much as dunng 1945 the N.G.

and V.G. chairs will be filled by two members of other

Lodges. In thanking the members for their loyal

devoted support, the Secretary (Bro. H. H. Tanser),

said that the Lodge was proud to be able to report

that on the occasion during the war years had they

been unable to open the Lodge in due form, the meet-

ing place and time had been kept as in thc pre-war

years and he trusted that gi\'cn rcasonable good

fortu~e the Lodge would be able to maintain this good

record through the coming year. The man power

demand had fallen very hea"ily on the Lodge there

being at the present time onc out of e~'ery fi\'e

mcmbers away in samc hranch of the Scrvlces.

DIRECTORS'RESOLUTIONSAT the Board Meeting,held last month, the-Directors passed the-following resolution:\VAR DECORATIONS.-That the report withreference to theawards, during the pre-sent war, of the Vic-toria Cross to three-members of the Order.one being a posthu-mous award to thelate Bro. J. Beeley, ofthe Greenjackets.••••....

Lodge (SouthamptonDistrict) be received,and that suitable com-

munications be forwarded to Bros. F. Jefferson, of the

Morecambe Lodge (Ulverston District) and Bro. R. H. Bur-

ton, of the Earl of Gainsborough Lodge (Melton Mowbray

District), expressing, on behalf of their fellow members of

the Order, appreciation of the gallant actions in respect of

which the awards were made, and sendmg the hearty

congratulations of the Directors upon the high honour

thus attained.

as was his grandfather before him. Most of his letters

home express the hope that his job with a local builder

is being kept open, It is so in the lodge room door

where a warm welcome awaits. Bro. Burton is the

third member of the Order to win the V.c.A GIFTTHE Earl of Gains-borough Lodge have-allocated a sum of£5 5s. from a recentsocial effort towards.the town of MeltonMowbray's testi-monial.

'. ,'.,"