"SCOTLAND AND OUR RIGHT"
THE SCOTTISH KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
A HISTORY
By Gordon MacGregor Comrie K.G.C.T.J
As of 15th June, 2007, an offer to publish a work detailing the history of the Scottish Knights Templar has been accepted. If you have been involved with the Order at any stage and have stories to tell, documents and pictures to show then please get in touch.
If you wish to pass information on discreetly then that's ok, your identity will not be disclosed at any point in time.
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A BRIEF BUT HEAVILY EDITED OVERVIEW
of the first years of the Grand Priory of Scotland
Francis Andrew Sherry
Grand Prior of Scotland
1925-1997
NON-MASONIC Templary, after a break of some considerable time, was re--established in Scotland in 1972 by Francis Andrew Sherry.
While living and working in London, Frank, as he was more popularly know, had become involved with a number of senior officers of the Grand Priory of England of the Sovereign and Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, including Sir John Waller and Prince Petros Paleologos, under whose patronage he was formally admitted into that Order with the grade of Chevalier, in 1968.
After four years the then Grand Prior of England acting upon instruction from the Grand Master in Portugal, formally established the Preceptory of Scotland in January of 1972 to be presided over by Sherry as Preceptor, who was then raised to the rank of Knight Commander. Once done, Sherry lost no time establishing contact with the Swiss-based Magisterial Inspector of the autonomous Grand Priories, Antoine Leuprecht, with a view to creating a Grand Priory in Scotland. This quickly bore fruit to the extent that within a matter of months Leuprecht wrote to Sherry requesting that he hold a ballot to elect a Grand Prior the result of which Sherry was told to convey orally to Leuprecht as soon as possible. Within one week the phone call was made and the Charter, drawn up and signed and sealed by Leuprecht, was winging its way to an expectant new Grand Prior.
Antoine Leuprecht, 1st Chef Mondial,
1965
With Sherry being London-based during these early years the general running of the Grand Priory of Scotland on Scottish soil was undertaken by the Glasgow-based Chancellor Campbell J. Bryan, and Hugh MacDonald, the then Prior of of St. Columba. In November of '74 it was Bryan who wrote to Leuprecht declaring their success at having procured the consent of the Duke of St. Albans to become official Honorary Patron of the Grand Priories of Scotland, England and Ireland, and in true Scot's tradition, tried to sell him hot off the press badges and lapel pins in almost the same sentence.
Events during this early period were predominantely held in London with the interaction between the Grand Priories of Scotland and England being strong and frequent. What was to become the principal annual gathering of the Scottish Grand Priory, The Soiree of the White Cockade, was first held in 1973, at the Royal Scottish Corporation in Covent Garden, London, the benefitting Charity from the outset and for many years to come being the Highlands and Islands Eventide Homes under the direction of the Trustee Mary Stewart O.B.E., herself a member of the Grand Priory. Only was it six years after establishment, in 1978, that the location of the Soiree was brought onto Scottish soil the chosen venue being the Old Episcopal Church, in Edinburgh.
Throughout the 1970s the Grand Priory of Scotland continued to grow, attracting many well-known and respectable people of various social ranks to its banner. These included the inveterate socialite Brigadier-General Jamie Craik, Lt Col. Kenneth MacDougal, and various members of the Clergy including Rev. Brother Christopher Kiernan and Father Francis Edwards with guest lists of events frequently reading like an edition of "Who's Who."
Investiture of Brig. Gen. Jamie Craik, 1975.
For Sherry work-related problems compelled him to leave the bright lights of London behind as a permanent place of residence and he chose to move back to his native Scotland. This occured in June of 1978 when he gave up his house in Nottingham Road, Isleworth, and purchased 5 Lord Russell Place, in the country's historic capital of Edinburgh. The benefit of this to the Scottish Grand Priory was considerable and he soon surrounded himself with friends comprised of fellow-Chevaliers who all worked together to build up their numbers and status. From the evidence now at hand it is easy to conclude that Sherry planned his move north so as to be in a position to dedicate the majority of his time not to the pursuits of employment but to the growth of his involvement not only with the Grand Priory of Scotland but the Knights Templar movement internationally in which he was becoming more and more of an important player with each passing year.
In his heyday Sherry was a bright and articulate, intelligent individual with excellent communicative skills and high standards of personal decorum. These attributes shone through and made him a highly regarded and respected individual capable not only of appearing and behaving the part but in thinking far deeper into the ethos of the concept of Chivalric Knighthood, far more importantly, they granted him the mental capacity and wherewithall to articulate his thoughts expressively and immotively equally in both written form and to those around him.
With both feet firmly planted back on native heath, Sherry and his team began their preparations to promote the Grand Priory of Scotland on Scottish soil. The plan they had formulated was to use the milestone of 1978, being the 850th anniversary of the first institution of the Order in Scotland to proclaim their return. The spanner in the work, though, was that the Grand Priory was already six years established and this would seriously dampen the impact any relaunch would have and so Sherry contacted Leuprecht in Geneva seeking a reconfirmation which was immediately forthcoming. Again, however, things were not exactly to plan. The problem this time was that the resulting "charter" didn't live up to the esthetic standards expected from such an illustrious and ancient body as the Knights Templar, in other words, it was dull and uninspiring, and so a far more dramatic medieval interpretation was drawn up for the occasion by the then Seneschal of the Grand Priory of England, Dennis Le Fevre.
The invitations sent out made for impressive reading;
"The Grand Priory of Scotland invites you to be present on the occasion of the presentation of the Charter of Re-establishment of the Grand Priory of the chivalric Order of Knights Templar in Scotland. The event will take place within the Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church Hall, Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh at 5.30 p.m. on Saturday 30th September, 1978. The hall is near the foot of the "Scotsman" steps, North Bridge.
The date is appropriate as on this day in 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stewart held a private reception for the Scottish Knights of the Order in Holyrood Palace. Equally fitting is the venue as the church of Old St. Paul's was closely associated with the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745. Our Patron His Grace Lt. Col. the Duke of St. Albans, OBE, is unable to be present but has nominated His Excellency Brig. Gen. the Chevalier Jamie Craik to deputise for him and receive the guests.
Following presentation guests are invited to drink wine with the Knights of the Order."
The result was a resounding success and the following report on proceedings soon after appears;
"ON THE 30th of September 1978, some 850 years on from when the Order was first instituted in Scotland, a small group of Chivalry of Scotland and England were to meet for their first formal assembly in Edinburgh since the reformation of the Priory in recent time. The ceremony was held in the hall adjoining the historic church of Old St. Paul's (Episcopal) in Jeffrey Street, which had a long association with the Jacobite cause in Scotland.
The occasion was the presentation of the Charter of Re-establishment of the Priory, which received Magistral approval on St. Bernard of Clairveau's feast day, the 20th of August. The Charter, which had been illuminated by Chevalier Denys Le Fevre KGCT, was presented to H.E. Brig. Gen. Chevalier Jamie E. Craik, representing the Patron, Lt. Col. His Grace the Duke of St Albans. The Charter was received by the Chancellor, Chevalier Campbell J. Bryan on behalf of the Grand Priory of Scotland and was witnessed by all assembled, which included the Grand Prior of England, Chevalier Robert W. Wright KGCT, and the Grand Prior of Scotland....
Chevalier Ross Cochrane performed the office of Swordbearer throughout the proceedings. At the conclusion of the formalities, all the guests were invited to take wine with the Chivalry of Scotland."
If 1978 had been a year of successful growth on many fronts for the Grand Priory then 1979 was to be even more so what with "exotic" presences, but in the longer term this year out of all others was to sow the seeds of future events.
................> tune in later for more!
Ceremony of Investiture at Jedburgh Abbey
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Bannockburn Commemoration Service - 1st June, 1986.
Being led off by Rannoch MacDonald, Norrie MacLeod and Ewan MacPherson.
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Frank Sherry and the Duke of St. Albans, 1975.
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THE "SCOTTISH" CROSS
Nowadays the most distinguishing feature of a "Scottish Knight Templar" is the eight-pointed cross pattee indented. Much speculation has surrounded the origin of this particular cross and several possibilities have been put forward including that it came into use when the Order "hid" within the ranks of Hospitaller Order in Scotland following its abolition in the 14th century and simply adopted the Hospitaller cross but continued to use the original colour of their's, blood red.
The fact, however, is that this cross did not originate within "hidden" Templary in Scotland but instead it came to Scotland via involvement with the autonomous Grand Priories under the leadership of Anton Leuprecht. Despite the main body of the SMOTJ under the Princes' Regent using the Cross of Lorraine, all the autonomous Grand Priories established by Leuprecht originally used the eight-pointed cross pattee indented. When the Preceptory of Scotland was created by the Grand Prior of England in January of 1972, the Grand Prior of England's letterhead bore the following cross:
This is also the cross used by Chivalry of the Grand Priory of England during these early years, therefore, its being adopted for use in the Preceptory and subsequently the Grand Priory of Scotland in 1972, was their adoption of the regalia and symbolism used by their particular branch of the Order.
The choice and use of this particular cross by Leuprecht was not haphazard, nor was it a mere attempt to make the autonomous Grand Priories under his charge look distinctly different from the main Order, instead it was as a consequence of his involvement within an old "hidden" Order which he and his associates ran very much behind the scenes but parrallel with the SMOTJ in pursuit of a certain agenda.
Look back later for more ............>
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THE AUTONOMOUS GRAND PRIORIES
In pursuance of the policy of expansion of the Order internationally it was decided by the Prince Regent Antonio de Sousa Fontes that Grand Priories would be formed in as many countries as possible even in those which did not have a predominately Roman Catholic population. This, however, was problematic as the Order as it then was, was exclusive to those of the Catholic denomination and so the plan was devised to create a new section of the Order as autonomous, or seperate on paper at least, from the main body to allow for membership to be opened up to all Christians. This was finally implemented in 1959 with the appointment of Anton Otto Emile Leuprecht as Magisterial Envoy to what was termed the autonomous Grand Priories.
Following the death of Antonio de Sousa Fontes in February of 1960, and upon the succession of his son Fernando de Sousa Fontes as Regent, Leuprecht was confirmed as head officer, or "Mondial Chef" of the autonomous Grand Priories of the Order firstly in 1961, then in 1963 and then again in 1965.
The first autonomous Grand Priory created was that of Switzerland, Leuprecht's home country, which ocurred immediately following his appointment in 1959; this was closely followed by the Grand Priory of England in 1960; then the Grand Priory of the United States of America in 1962; that of Italy in the mid-1960s and Scotland in 1972. The last such entity was the Grand Priory of Australia which was established in 1977.
.............> look back later for much more.
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A FEW INTERESTING AND CURIOUS DOCUMENTS
Apologies for a certain degree of censorship in some of the documents listed below but there are those who have mischeviously claimed to have these very documents in their possession and who would try to copy and claim them as their own if given half a chance. Viewing of these and many hundreds more similar documents and photographs is open to all interested parties. If you would like to then please do get in touch at gordon@smotj.co.uk
+ Confirmation by the Prince Regent of Anton Leuprecht in offices - 1965 ->
+ Original Brevet of Francis Sherry - 1968 ->
+ Charter creating the Preceptory of Scotland - 1972 -> Sorry, eyes only. Contact to view.
+ Charter creating the Autonomous Grand Priory of Scotland - 1972 -> sorry, eyes only. Contact to view.
+ Letter by Anton Leuprecht to Frank Sherry - 1977 ->
+ Original 1978 Grand Priory Charter issued by Leuprecht - 1978 ->
+ Illuminated version of the 1978 Grand Priory Charter ->
+ Letter by Anton Leuprecht to Frank Sherry - 1979 ->
+ Promulgation of the office of Chef Mondial by Anton Leuprecht in favour of Francis Sherry - 1981 ->
+ Brevet by the Prince Regent in favour of Chev. Little - 1984 ->
+ Decree by the Prince Regent annulling the office of Grand Prior General - 1989 -> Sorry, eyes only, please contact to view.
+ Statutory Declaration of the Grand Priory of Scotland - 1989 ->
+ Charter creating the Magisterial Priory of Scotland - 2002 ->
+ Invitation to attend forthcoming ceremony - 1971 ->
+ Invitation to attend a forthcoming ceremony - 1972 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade - 1974 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade - 1976 ->
+ Invitation to attend a ceremony of Investiture - 1976 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade & Presentation of the Grand Priory Charter - 1978 ->
+ Invitation to attend a ceremony of Investiture - 1980 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Saint Andrews Day Reception - 1980 ->
+ Order of Ceremony at the Investiture of James Arnold Frere - 1981. ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade - 1981 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade - 1983 ->
+ Invitation to attend the Soiree of the White Cockade - 1985 ->
+ Letters by Major Edward (Ted) Rigby, Grand Prior of Australia to Frank Sherry;
1. 28th July 1976, ->
2. 2nd September 1976, ->
3. 23rd September 1977, ->
4. 26th December 1977, ->
5. 16th May 1980, ->
6. 6th February 1986, ->
7. 25th October 1981, ->
8. 20th September 1982, ->
9. Australian Charter 1977, ->
10. Robin Hale to Frank Sherry 8th September 1989, ->
+ Original envelope from Anton Leuprecht to Frank Sherry - 1978 ->
+ Letter from Baron Bennigsen to Frank Sherry - 1973 ->
+ Letter from J. K. Campbell at Jerusalem to Frank Sherry - 1976 ->
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THE BARGAIN BASEMENT
By popular request the "load of old codswallop" section has returned to act as a counter balance to the jumbled up and jumped up nonsense emanating from the usual quarters. As with before, do continue to come forward with your own tales of woe and farse from the mad camp.
email me at : gordon@smotj.co.uk
+ A REALLY BIG word of caution ->
+ Who is really "defrauding" whom here? ->
+ Altar candles, a very useful and handy source of ignition ->
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