The Order of the Secret Monitor

This is the fifth in a series of features exploring other degrees in Freemasonry which may interest Craft and Royal Arch members.  These are not, in any way, higher degrees, but each does give a new perspective on our masonic journey.  Further information on all the other orders at work in Oxfordshire is available on the provincial website and in the provincial yearbook.

Whilst the beginning of most masonic orders is shrouded in mystery or lost in history, we can be sure that our Order arrived in England in the late 1880s. I do not want to dwell on the history here as I am not the best qualified person to do this, but will refer those that are interested to the history section of our web-site.

What is it all about?

The Order is based on the friendship and loyalty between David and Jonathan,  referred to in the 1^st Book of Samuel in the Old Testament. The word ‘secret’ in our title does not mean that we are a secret society, but merely that we are private or confidential; most readers will be well aware of that. To monitor is to observe and when we put these together we can begin to understand what our Order is about: to keep our minds tuned to each other’s welfare and, when necessary, confidentially warn another brother of dangers, as well as providing support if required.

For this very reason, each conclave, our name for a lodge, has four Visiting Deacons. They are like almoners, who are charged to look after and stay in touch with a number of members. As they progress, they will look after different members and thus they get to know every member of the conclave and they, of course, get to know them as well.  In the past this contact would have been by letter, while in these modern times it is more likely to be by email or the phone.

You will have heard orders describe themselves as friendly, but ultimately only you, the reader, can judge this. The nature of OSM with, in effect, four almoners does bring members together and forms a long lasting friendship as well as mutual understanding and respect.

How does it all work?

Question: “So, what are the requirements to join OSM?” Very simple: you need to be a Master Mason, it is as simple as that.

Question: “How much does it cost?” Very little, as certainly for the first few meetings you will not need any regalia at all.  After that you will need a small Breast jewel.

Question: “How many degrees are there?” The Order has three degrees: the first being the initiation (called induction); the second is the Prince’s degree; while the third is the Supreme Ruler (our name for the WM). As with all orders, further advancement is possible to both provincial and grand level; this is based on the work that the brother has undertaken for his conclave and province.

Question: “How can I identify somebody who is a member of OSM?” Again, relatively simply as most of us will wear either a plain arrow lapel pin or a silver or gold bow and arrow.  

Question: “What about the ritual work?” Learning the ritual is encouraged, but we all appreciate that not everybody can learn the ritual and that we all have other pressures in our life both private and masonic, so the conclave will always be able to help and the ritual can be easily divided for a number of brethren to undertake the work.

Structure

Like most orders, we are structured in provinces, which in our case comprises Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, with individual conclaves meeting in Burford, Wallingford, Wokingham, Banbury, Woodstock, Winslow and Beaconsfield.  All meet no more than three times a year. 

The Province of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire was created from the Province of the South Midlands in 2005 and has since been led as Provincial Grand Supreme Rulers (our name of the PGM) by R Wy Bro Alan Frederick Brunning and then R Wy Bro David Kenneth Jesson, before I was appointed in 2018.

The provincial officer structure is slightly different from Craft and other Orders. The most obvious difference is that every province has four Provincial Grand Visitors, whose duty it is to report about each meeting to the Provincial Grand Guide (similar to the Junior Warden) who compiles a report for the Provincial Grand Supreme Ruler. Thus the set-up from each Conclave is copied in each provincial team. Even at Grand Conclave (Grand Lodge), level you have Grand Visitors who visit Conclaves in the British Isles and report to the Grand Guide who compiles a report for the Grand Supreme Ruler (our name for Grand Master).   This is done to ensure that everybody is being looked after properly and that the ritual is performed in an appropriate fashion.  

Visiting is a very important part of our Order and is far more practised than in some other orders; it is at times difficult to know who is a member of the conclave and who is a visitor. This, to a large extent, is carried on at the provincial level where it is not uncommon to see a member of the provincial team from Cornwall at a provincial meeting in Lancashire.

Final thoughts

Whilst this piece of writing is not about me, but about our Order, I have been asked to say a little about my masonic life and times to date.

I was initiated in 1993 into Rathcreedan Lodge in Banbury and have since been exalted into the Holy Royal Arch and have joined a fair number of other orders. 

It is fair to say that I have made some very good friends from as far afield as Scotland and Northumberland, with whom I am in touch throughout the year and who I would not have met had it not been for this Order.  I can also assure the reader that this is quite common amongst members of this Order. 

I am now in the privileged position to hold the office of Provincial Grand Supreme Ruler, which I have held since 2018.  As I said when I was installed, I am merely the figurehead of this, our Province, it is not my Province alone, it belongs to every single member and I am very aware of this.