The History of Masonic Lodge Kyle -1913 to the present day
Lodge Kyle received its Charter from Grand Lodge on 1st May 1913. Meetings were held in the 'Old Drill Hall' in Church Road, Kyle of Lochalsh.
The consecration of the Lodge you see today in Kyle of Lochalsh was September 22nd 1933, carried out by Sir Alexander Gibb of Gruinard, GBE, CB, Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master of Ross and Cromarty.
The photograph above was taken at the consecration of Lodge Kyle and now hangs in the Lodge
The photograph above was taken at the consecration of the new Lodge Kyle Building in 1933 and now hangs in the Lodge
The Kyle Lodge no 1117 Charter from Grand Lodge states that Lodge Kyle was enrolled on 1st May 1913. The earliest records for Lodge Kyle (The Lodge Roll Book) date from June 1913 when 13 brothers were affilliated and 6 men initiated into Lodge Kyle. They met regularly at the Old Army Drill Hall with the permission of the British Army and the numbers grew to the point where it was deemed suitable to build a lodge and rooms specifically for the purpose of Freemasonry. The Old Drill Hall is still in existence and up until recently was used by Mr Fraser as a carpet store for his business in Kyle.
The above Wand Stand's plaque reads:
Presented to Lodge Kyle No 1117 by the Brethren of HMS Menestheus 1943.
HMS Menestheus after conversion for specialised use became part of 1st Minelaying Squadron stationed at Kyle of Lochalsh. Her first operation was to take part in the initial minelay of the Northern Barrage (between Faroes and Iceland). Her entire service as a minelayer was associated with this large minefield which was intended to trap enemy submarines on passage to attack Atlantic convoys. On one operation she was damaged by a drifting British mine and had to be towed home to Kyle by her sister ship Agamemnon. The Freemasons of Menestheus stationed in Kyle during the war years presented the Wand Stand to Lodge Kyle as a gift in 1943.