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Dear Sir, Madam,

As a member of our Grand Lodge Heritage Committee, we are preparing for a series of Commemorative Celebrations during June 2022 when we will mark the 250 th year of Freemasonry in South Africa.

To commemorate this milestone, The Grand Lodge of South Africa are planning a series of celebratory events including the publishing of a Collection of Historical Papers collated in a Heritage Commemorative Book comprising articles and papers that reflect on the challenges and influences faced by the country and the impact this had on society as a whole.

As England, Scotland and Ireland played a significant part of the societal development throughout the history of South Africa, needless to say, they too introduced over the centuries along with the Netherlands, their own Masonic lodges of whom many significant historical figures featured prominently.

Where previously the development of Freemasonry in Southern Africa proved to be harmonious, the Anglo – Boer Wars as a significant event in our history, brought tales of Masonic brotherhood overriding war ideologies and it is these stories that we are appealing of Freemasonry, in particular during the Boer wars.

We are therefore asking for assistance with any historical articles that you or your society might have on record which we will credit in the publication.

We would appreciate any assistance and relevant articles and photos must please be sent to myself: Victor Muhlenbeck – email: muhlenbeck@iafrica.com

Grand Lodge reference: www.grandlodge.co.za/history/

Kind regards,

Victor Muhlenbeck
Mobile: +27824515057
176 Springfield Road,
Morningside, Durban, 4001

Did anything get published from this?

I see he has provided a cell phone number. Create him on your WhatsApp and send him a message or e-mail him directly to the email address provided.

Are you looking to see if Pres. Kruger was a Free Mason.....?

Why would I care about Kruger?

I’ll contact the OP. I remember some anecdotes or stories from before and that FB post made me search so I ended up here.

Was anything published on this?
The role of Freemasonry in the Boer War is an interesting topic - prompted by my visit to the Freemasonry display at the Kedar Heritage Lodge near Rustenburg.
I am intrigued how senior participants from both sides, all Freemasons, could sit down to negotiate and then leave after handshakes and goodwill to resume fighting. My grandfather's close friend Brig General Lachlan Wilson (a Freemason and at the time, a corporal), along with 3 other members of the 2QMI and the RMO (who was an Irishmen) were captured by Ben Viljoen (a Freemason) in the eastern Transvaal in February 1901. An extract from my writing so far explains why the issue intrigues me.
"The civil treatment received by the prisoners during their days with Viljoen’s commando between 13–16th February, did not go unnoticed. As the Queenslanders left Belfast on 22nd February for the picturesque railway town of Middleburg, Charles Holme remarked, “I was very pleased to get away from Belfast. Neither Rawson, Wilson, or I liked the idea of banging at the Boers in the neighbourhood. They treated us so well when we were in their hands”.
Were these acts of civility linked to shared Masonic values?
I have not found any research that shows that this aspect of the Boer War has been studied in any depth.
Any thoughts would be appreciated