Fred Moulton - 50 Years in Freemasonry

I am delighted to be here this evening to present two Long Service Awards to W Bro Frederick Kenneth Moulton MBE.

W Bro Fred, you were Initiated into the Aeron Lodge no 7208 on the 22nd of February 1973 which was 50 years ago yesterday. All Initiation meetings are special, but yours was particularly notable because the Worshipful Master of the Lodge W Bro Tom Adams invited your father to occupy the Chair and perform the ceremony. You were Passed the following year on 28th of March 1974 and Raised on 28th of November 1974.

The Lodge Offices which you held and your progress to the Chair is lost in the mists of time, but you became Worshipful Master of the Lodge on the 1st of June 1989.

You were first appointed to Provincial Rank in 1996 and you must have been spotted at the very highest level because in 2005, just 9 years after your first appointment you were appointed as the Acting Provincial Junior Grand Warden by my illustrious predecessor, RW Bro Dr John Benjamin Lloyd.

The following year you were promoted to the highest rank in the gift of the province, that of Past Provincial Senior Grand Warden.

In the Holy Royal Arch, you were Exalted into the Ystwyth Chapter on the 9th of September 1976. You went on to serve the Chapter as Joshua in 2006, Haggai in 2007 and Most Excellent Zerubbabel in 2008.

In the Royal Arch Province, you were appointed to serve as Provincial 1st Assistant Grand Sojourner in 2009. In 2016 you were promoted to the rank of Past Provincial Grand Sword Bearer.

In the real world, you were born on Saturday 22nd June 1940 in Hackney in London. Your parents ran a dairy in Hackney during the war and it wasn’t until 1947 that you moved to a farm in Llanon and then in 1950 to Aberaeron where your parents ran a drapery shop.

You went to school at Llanon Primary School and Aberaeron Secondary Modern School, leaving in 1956 to become an Apprentice Compositor in Bristol for 4 years, followed by 5 years as a full time Fireman, serving in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Aberystwyth.

After 5 years as a full-time fireman, you returned to Aberaeron to join your father in the Drapery Business, which you ran for 41 years, retiring in 2015. You also continued to serve in the Part Time Fire Service for a further 35 years, with 34 of those years as Officer in Charge of the Aberaeron and District Fire Brigade. No wonder the late Queen Elizabeth II awarded you the MBE.

You have been married to Kay for 57 years. You have one son who is a retired Royal Marines Colonel and three Grand Children who are now in their 20’s.

W Bro Fred, that is quite a list of achievements. You can be justifiably proud of your distinguished masonic career, which you have managed to combine with, a happy home life, a successful business career and a lifetime of service to your community.

W Bro Fred, I am delighted to present you with these certificates and badges to mark 50 years’ service in the Craft and 46 years’ service in the Royal Arch – Many congratulations.