Maurice Roberts Celebrates his 100th Birthday

Leicester Freemason Maurice Roberts celebrated his 100th birthday on the 13th February 2020, an event marked by his fellow Freemasons with a presentation that took place at Roundhill Lodge in Syston, Leicestershire.

Maurice was born in Manchester in 1920, going on to serve in the Royal Air Force from the age of 19, and gained his wings in 1944, flying a Halifax bomber in support of the Allied troops after they had landed on D-Day.

Now living in Kirby Muxloe with his wife Sylvia, Maurice has a son, Peter, and a granddaughter and great granddaughter who now live in South Africa.

Maurice joined the Halford Lodge No.3919 in Leicester, in December 1954, serving as Master of the Lodge in 1968, where he remained as a member for over 37 years. In 1975 he became a founding member of a new Lodge, the Roundhill Lodge No.8639 meeting in Syston, where he was made an Honorary member in 2013.

As an avid enthusiast of Freemasonry, Maurice also became a founding member of the Lodge of St. Simon & St. Jude No.8729 in Hinckley, where he again became Master of his Lodge in 1981, and made an Honorary member in 2008. In honour of his service to Freemasonry, Maurice was appointed as Provincial Grand Senior Warden in 1980 by the Provincial Grand Master of Leicestershire & Rutland, and then several years later in 1982 he was honoured with an appointment to Grand Rank in the Royal Arch as Past Grand Standard Bearer at a ceremony carried out at Freemasons’ Hall in London.

Maurice’s achievements in his life have not gone unnoticed, a very recent article in the Leicester Mercury entitled “Bomber Pilot Maurice Celebrates Milestone” showed how our local hero played such an important role in World War Two.

The Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Brian Carruthers attended the meeting at Roundhill Lodge on Thursday 20th February to pay tribute to such a dedicated Freemason and well-respected member of the community. Brian presented Maurice with a certificate to celebrate his 100th birthday and his over sixty years as a member of the Freemasons, stating, “It is a great privilege for me to be here with you this evening, to present to you this certificate, and help celebrate your 100th birthday”.