Office Bearers 1962 – 1965

R.W.M. F Warrender – 1964 – 1965
I.P.M. N Park
D.M. F Thorne
S.W. J Love
J.W. J Hastie
Sec. J Cruickshank
Tres. G E Henry
S.D. E G Daniel
J.D. J McDonald
I.G. J Whyte
O.G. R Forrest
Marshal. W J Mutch
Organist. N H Park
Chaplain. H A Bremner
S.S. P Knowles
J.S. J Keith
Almoner. G E Henry

Comments by Bro. Gordon Mackay P.M.

Many of the male relatives on my mother’s side of the family were Freemasons, and a significant number of them belonged to Lodge St. James No. 256 in Peterhead. At the age of twenty-four, I developed an interest in joining the Craft myself. However, due to the lengthy waiting list at Lodge St. James, my grandfather suggested that I might progress more quickly by applying to Lodge St. Olaf No. 1188 in Cruden Bay.

My grandfather was a close friend of Fred Warrander, and Fred was delighted to propose me as a candidate for Lodge St. Olaf. At the time, I knew very little about Fred’s life before I joined the Lodge, but over the years we became extremely close friends. Fred and his wife, Margaret, had no children of their own, and I always felt that he regarded me as the son he never had.

In those early days, Fred became far more than simply my proposer; he became my mentor within the Lodge. He encouraged me to take office at the earliest opportunity and inspired me to learn ritual lectures, broadening both my enjoyment and my understanding of the Craft. His guidance, patience, and friendship shaped much of my own Masonic journey, and he played an immeasurable role in my life. One of the greatest honours I have ever known was being at his bedside on the night he passed to the Grand Lodge Above.

Yet despite the profound influence he had upon me, I never took the time to properly document his own remarkable Masonic career. To this day, I know surprisingly little about the full extent of his achievements within Freemasonry, despite a service that spanned almost sixty years.

Fred was initiated into Lodge St. Olaf on 20th January 1945. He was just twenty-two years old and had only recently returned from active service with the RAF during the Second World War. During his time in the service, Fred served as ground crew and as a driver, roles in which he became highly skilled and professionally qualified. Those years clearly shaped much of his working life and character. Upon returning to civilian life, he spent many years driving service buses throughout the North East of Scotland, becoming a familiar and trusted figure to countless passengers across the region. In his later working years, he became especially well known and warmly regarded as a school bus driver throughout the Buchan area, where generations of local children knew him not only as a dependable driver, but as a kind and respected presence in their daily lives.

Much of his early Masonic life revolved around the old Public Hall in Cruden Bay, where Lodge St. Olaf met for the first twenty-four years of his membership. Indeed, Fred served his term as Right Worshipful Master between 1962 and 1965, making him one of the last Masters to preside over meetings held in the Public Hall.

I vividly remember Fred speaking about how the degrees were conducted in those days, often recounting stories filled with humour and nostalgia. One particularly memorable anecdote concerned the use of the stage in the Public Hall during a part of the Third Degree — a tale he told with great delight and vivid detail.

He also spoke fondly of the practical realities of operating the Lodge in those years: the setting up and dismantling of furniture, the preparation of the hall, and the collective effort required to transform the venue into a functioning Masonic Lodge for each meeting. There was a genuine sense of camaraderie and shared purpose among the brethren of that era.

Fred was among the dedicated members who later came together to purchase and renovate the old stables that formed part of Simmers Bakery in Serald Lane, only a short distance from the Public Hall. The project that eventually created the Lodge premises we know today was undertaken largely through the hard work and determination of the members themselves. He often described the challenges they faced during the renovation and the immense pride they felt in creating a permanent home for the Lodge.

He also told me about the decommissioned church that provided many of the fixtures and fittings still visible within the temple today — most notably the beautiful altar situated in the East, which continues to serve as a tangible connection to the Lodge’s past.

Looking back now, it frustrates me deeply that so many men who spoke so freely and eloquently about their experiences within the Lodge never had their stories properly recorded for future generations. As time has passed, that realisation has become one of my greatest motivations: to capture, preserve, and document as much of this history as possible within the pages of this website.

At times it feels like a monumental task. The more I uncover and record, the more I realise there is still left to discover. Yet deep within my heart, I believe Fred would approve of the work I have undertaken, and that thought alone makes every effort worthwhile.

In 1972 Fred was a member of the St. Olaf Team who won the John Marshall Bowling Cup.

Lodge St. Olaf were winners of the 1972 John Marshall Bowling Cup. Pictures far left P.M. Fred Warrander, receiving cup, RWM Jimmy Love, in white cardigan, Sec. Bro. James Clark. Also in the picture, second from right, Bro. William McDougal Gordon and far right, Provincial Grand |Master, J Marshall.

Picture Gallery

The gallery below contains a collection of photographs of Fred throughout his Masonic life. Included are photographs of Fred with his wife, Margaret; with Lord Burton, the Grand Master Mason; and alongside fellow members of the Lodge from his era taken in 1959, which shows Fred seated on the far left, with his older brother Jock standing directly behind him.

Both Fred and Jock also appear in the group photograph taken during the Lodge’s 75th Anniversary celebrations in 1994, as well as in photographs from my own installation ceremony later that same year.

The collection also includes a photograph of Fred receiving his diploma upon his installation as Honorary Grand Almoner from the Provincial Grand Master Bro. Douglas Grant, a fitting recognition of his long and distinguished service to the Craft.