W Bro Stanley Hollands PPSGW

Worshipful Brother Stanley James Hollands passed to the Grand Lodge Above on Friday 8 July, following a long battle with cancer. As the 'Father of the Lodge' he was known to us all and, indeed, many of our visitors today would have been well-acquainted with him. He was a good friend and an outstanding Freemason.

Stan was born in April 1945, in Scotland, but lived most of his life down here in Hertfordshire. He and his wife Judith made the village of Digswell their home and went on to build not one, but two of their own houses; the latter of which would go on to be the family home for themselves and their two sons Andrew and Matthew. In fact, the family home became one of Stan's life-long hobbies and he continued to add to, repair and improve it right up until the point where his illness would no longer allow him to continue.

One of Stan's other life-long passions was the organisation of which we are all proud members.

He was Initiated into the East Hertfordshire Lodge on 8 November 1973 and, over the subsequent years, would go on to become the Lodge's 68th Worshipful Master, in 1982, and then the 86th in 2001. At various points he also held the offices of Assistant Director of Ceremonies, Charity Steward, Director of Ceremonies and Lodge Mentor.

In 1989 Stan was promoted to Provincial Grand Lodge in the acting office of Provincial Junior Grand Deacon; going on to receive subsequent appointments as Past Provincial Superintendent of Works and Past Provincial Senior Grand Deacon.

Among the most notable of Stan's Masonic achievements, however, was his involvement in the management and preservation of this building as a centre for Freemasonry within the Province. Without wishing to detain you with an exhaustive list of all the contributions Stan made over the years, both in terms of time, money and energy, suffice it to say that there is a very real possibility that we would not be meeting here today were it not for his tireless efforts. Even as he stepped back from being actively involved in running the centre, he was instrumental in introducing the current management team; something for which I hope you will all take note when we are enjoying our festive board later this evening.

Stan was also extremely active within our Lodge of Instruction and it's probably in this capacity that I will have my fondest memories of him. He was a renowned perfectionist with strong beliefs on how things should be done, but also extremely generous with his time and knowledge; always taking care to not only correct, but to explain what the ritual meant and why it was being delivered in a particular way. He also had a fantastic sense of humour and there were many an LOI that descended in to silliness and laughter.

Stanley Hollands embodied the values of what it means to be a Freemason and his departure from this Lodge is a sore loss for us all. He will be greatly missed.