After serving for seven years as the Local Care Officer for the Blackpool Group of Lodges, W.Bro Kenneth Buckley decided to stand down.

Ken has had a wide and varied career in Freemasonry being initiated into Royal Preston Lodge No. 333 on the 11^th January 1979.  Ken says that in the Royal Preston Lodge it was tradition that the Tyler’s Toast was always given by one of the Lodge Stewards. He went on to explain that none of the Stewards knew which of them would be called upon until the Director of Ceremonies said, “The Worshipful Master calls on Brother……, for the final toast of the evening”.  Ken added, it certainly kept us all on our toes, and made sure we knew the ritual.

In 1985, Ken moved to Thornton on the Fylde coast and became a member of Emblem Lodge No. 6727, reaching the chair in 1998; this year was also the Golden Jubilee of the Lodge.

In 2003, Ken was appointed Local Care Officer for the Blackpool Group, and he was part of a team which brought the new care structure into being, the culmination of this being the bringing together of the seven charities into one;
THE WEST LANCS CHARITY FUND.

 After indicating to Ian Robertson, the Blackpool Group Chairman that he wished to stand down, interviews were held and the successful candidate was,  W.Bro. Peter Mann.

 Peter was initiated into Ashlar Lodge No. 5154 on January 1989, becoming Worshipful Master in 1995.  Peter has a vast experience to call up on being Charity Steward from 1996-1999.  A.D.C.1999-2005, Lodge Almoner up to present date.  A Director of the Blackpool Masonic Hall plus the Group Auditor.

 Peter is a very popular Freemason and all in the Blackpool Group wish him great success in his new roll.

Finally it must be noted that the Freemasons of Blackpool will always be in the debt to Ken Buckley, not only for his dedication as the Care Officer, but also as the Blackpool Web Master.

 At the centenary of Blackpool Masonic Hall, W.Bro. William Eardley produced a booklet tracing the history of the building and each Lodge and Chapter that met there.  Ken enjoyed reading this booklet, and thought it might be of interest to a wider audience.

 Consequentially he approached W.Bro Steven Reid, who at that time was the A.P.G.M. for Blackpool, with a view to producing a Web Site for the Blackpool Group, using Bill’s booklet as a foundation.  This was agreed and, www.masonichall.org.uk was born.

 After a lot of hard work he managed to get the site listed by GOOGLE, and is at present Number 3 for the search words, “Masonic Halls”  Because of this high rating the South Fylde Webmaster asked if a link could be provided to their site, this was duly done.

 The site has evolved over the years but Ken is open to any suggestions to improve the Web Site