The existence of Freemasonry among prisoners of war has long been known. In fact, much has been written concerning the existence of Craft Lodges amongst the French prisoners of war captured by the English during the revolutionary War and the Peninsular Napoleonic wars. These prisoners were confined in the United Kingdom, in British Colonies or in towns temporarily occupied by the English forces.

Freemasonry within the French Army was very popular around this time and many Regiments would have had Craft Lodges attached to them. So it would be natural that when taken prisoner, to relieve the monotony of imprisonment, they would form Lodges and devote time to working Masonic ceremonies.

Many of the prisoners were initially housed in military and civil prisons, but as the numbers increased and the prisons became overcrowded, wooden hulks, anchored off shore were brought into use in Plymouth, Chatham and Portsmouth. Many artefacts such as Certificates, Aprons, Jewels, tools and contemporary Minutes still exist and can be seen in the United Grand Lodge Library and Museum at Great Queen Street.

During the period 1740 to 1815 England and France were almost continually at war. In addition, England also engaged in military and naval struggles with Holland, Denmark, Spain and the United States as a result of these countries being Allies of France Those prisoners classified as "Gentlemen" were allowed to reside on parole in certain designated towns where they received a weekly allowance to support themselves. A chance remark to a member of my Lodge resulted in him telling me that near Maidenhead, near where I live, there is a small bridge named the Parole Bridge because it was built by POWs on parole during this period.

Some of you might know that Dartmoor Prison was built by the parolees as a prison to house themselves!! In St Andrews Church in the village of Moretonhampstead near the prison, is a gravestone with an inscription to a French soldier who is shown as a "bombardier" and it has the Square and Compass engraved thereon. A local guide was recently heard explaining that as he was a bombardier, the square and compass would have been used as tools of his trade in getting the range right for the artillery!! So what further proof do we need than that Freemasonry was part of prison life?

Prisoners were exchanged on both sides, but many simply absconded. The treatment of these prisoners of war was generally fair but, as with all Prisoner of War camps there was an unruly element who fostered discontent, organised rebellion and planned escapes. POWs throughout the ages have always attempted to give their guards a hard time and to tie up as much manpower as possible.

Evidence exists of a number of Lodges being set up by these "parolees" and evidence also exists of fraternization between these French Lodges and English Lodges. Indeed a Certificate exists dated 18th April 1763, of the Launceston Parish Organist being admitted as a Joining Member in a French Lodge. It would appear that Lodge Organists were difficult to find even in those days!!

A great deal of information is published covering POWs during this period and is readily available in Masonic Libraries. This information is quite specific and gives details of Lodge names, personnel etc. Many of the French Lodges were formally approved by the Grand Lodge in France.

I would now like to bring this story more up to date by saying something about POWs during the First and Second World Wars. Up to the First World War, Freemasonry in POW camps had been accepted and encouraged as a means of keeping POWs occupied. That all changed in the First World War when meetings were conducted in secret and provided an element of risk which was vital to a prisoner's self respect. Parole became a thing of the past and prisoners were more rigidly controlled. During this period, two Lodges, No 3970 and 3976 were Founded with the assistance of the Grand Orient of the Netherlands and the Grand Lodge of England, within POW camps and both survive to this day. Brethren imprisoned in Turkey in 1918 formed a Lodge of Instruction which was structured like a formal Lodge. It should be noted here that when discussing Freemasonry in POW camps, it was this format that was employed. This Lodge of Instruction in Turkey worked degrees and discussed other Masonic matters. They must have discussed other things as well because at the close of their final meeting, they all escaped! Eight of them made it back to freedom, generally referred to as a "home run".

Turning now to the Second World War - we have all seen a number of war films depicting life in a POW camp: Colditz, the Great Escape and Bridge over the River Kwai and from these we will have built up our own idea of what life was like in these camps. But these are films and they do not reflect the endless hours of utter boredom and the feelings of frustration at being locked up and isolated from one's own friends and families. Prisoners made every attempt to learn new skills - particularly those that could be used in assisting escapes - something that was on everyone's mind. It would be natural for Freemasons to use some of this surplus time to hone their skills with the ritual. There is an excellent book called "The Barbed-wire University" by Midge Gillies which gives details of the real lives of Prisoners of War in the Second World War. There are several personal accounts which record tales of determination, courage and ingenuity in pursing their Masonic Aims. I quote from H W Wylie, a former rubber planter who asked the Commanding General for permission to hold Masonic Meetings in Changi. "The peace and tranquillity of those meetings stood out in great contrast to the turmoil and irritation of the day. Although it was very hot and most of the tie all the men were in rags, ill, hungry, tired and dirty yet it was possible during these meetings almost completely to forget the normal conditions of their lives as prisoners of war. To sit quietly among proven friends and listen to the ceremonies took one's thoughts very far from a prison camp and lifted the mind above the reach of petty annoyances, restored one's balance and demonstrated the possibility of the victory of mind over matter - a very important factor at such a time " Unquote.

We must remember that the Germans were very anti Freemasonry, but did not object to normal religious activity - hence many Masonic meetings were held under the cover of it being "a bible study group". When we think of Masonic Meetings we think of attendance at a Lodge with all that that entailed: a Temple, Officers and members in regalia, Minutes and the furniture and Tools. In the case of Meetings in a POW camp it might just be a meeting of two or three individuals in some hidden corner of a building or exercise yard. Freemasonry gave them purpose, restored their dignity, provided a pattern for living and linked past and present in a certainty of rectitude. One prisoner records that while talking to another prisoner who was making a compass for some escapees, he casually remarked that these would help anyone who felt induced to leave the East and go to the West. From this casual remark and after being proved, he discovered there were forty other known Brethren in the camp. Due to the necessary secrecy, it was not unusual to find independent groups of Brethren in the same camp and because of lack of space and the need for secrecy many meetings were held where the work was done around the table. Ritual books were a rare commodity and were usually the possession of a single Mason. These would be carefully copied and parts distributed to a number of Brethren because the discovery of such a document could often lead to severe punishment.

Japanese opposition to Masonry began after what is known as the Second China Incident in 1937 and this opposition continued to grow, particularly in Japanese occupied China, but Lodges met as normal until the outbreak of war. The attitude of the Japanese to Freemasonry in Prisoner of war camps was ambivalent and unpredictable, ranging from "turning a blind eye" to severe punishment for infraction. Thus it was that Masonic activity varied from camp to camp. Some Commanding Officers recognised the innocent nature of Freemasonry in relation to the war effort, while others saw it as a severe threat. This latter attitude, when combined with their traditional disregard for prisoners' welfare, resulted in very severe punishments. Secrecy was therefore imperative and this secrecy often led to various groups of Masons meeting in the same camp, but totally unaware of each other. We have all heard of tales of deprivation, hunger, sickness and torture, but there was also an unshakable determination to hold meetings, to rehearse ceremonies and to practise the tenets of the craft.

When Singapore fell to the Japanese in February 1942, some 50,000 disillusioned British, Australian, Dutch and Indian troops became prisoners of war of the Japanese. Originally they were held in established barracks, but by September 1943 the number was less than 25,000. Many had died from disease, malnutrition, ill treatment or execution. The remainder had been sent either to Japan to act as slave labour in the mines, to Burma or other parts of occupied Asian Countries. As the Japanese had increasing need for the barracks in Singapore for their own troops, the POWs were moved to a smaller camp and thence to Changi Jail. Changi jail was built to house six hundred prisoners but the Japanese imprisoned 22,000 POWs. Five thousand were housed in the prison and the remainder slept in crude grass huts outside the prison walls. But even under these circumstances Freemasonry flourished. Formal ritual books were like gold dust and if one was discovered with such a book, severe punishments were guaranteed and death often followed. Any Past Masters present would put together scraps of ritual and teach it by word of mouth, as it was done in the early days of Freemasonry. I wonder how we would get on, faced with the same situation today. Meetings would often be disguised as a religious meeting and, if disturbed, the WM, or some other distinguished Brother would switch to a pre-planned sermon or reading from the Bible. There are recorded incidents where the Japanese guards were utilized as Tyler, on the pretext of asking them to prevent disturbance during the "religious service". Tools, Jewels etc were made from anything they could lay their hands on: broomsticks became wands, discarded tins or a broken fan blade became the metal from which jewels were made. Gavels, square and compass were fashioned from timber taken from camp beds. Many prisoners were sent "up country" - a euphemism for being sent to work on the Burma railway. As an aside, I recently received an email from a Companion in Berkshire giving his apologies for a meeting and he told me that his father was a prisoner of war in Changi jail and he was kept alive by a fellow prisoner who later became the Deputy Provincial Grand Master of South Wales. And it was this man who was instrumental in getting my friend into Freemasonry! Escape from the Japanese was practically impossible. While British and Commonwealth forces would be able to mingle with the Northern European population that was impossible in Asia where a European face would stand out amongst the Asian population. In addition, the Japanese offered a bounty to the local population for turning in any escapees. However, despite this, there are numerous cases where prisoners exchanged anything of value like watches in exchange for food