Office Bearers 2000 – 2002

R.W.M. Bill Murray
I.P.M. Jim Conner
D.M. Mark Dunn
S.M. Barrie Harper
S.W. Ewan Robertson
J.W. Graeme Sutherland
Sec. James Conner P.M.
Tres. Doug Sheal
S.D. George Hall
J.D. Neil Daniel
I.G. David Platt
Tyler. Brian Geddes
Almoner Kenny Davidson
Chaplain. Derek Stephen P.M.
S.Steward. Geoff Preston
J.Steward. Malcolm Davies
B.B. Brad Croll
Marshal. Kevin Smith
Organist. Gordon Mackay P.M.

Bill Murray was initiated into Lodge St. Olaf on 30th April 1987, one of many new members who had relocated to the North East of Scotland during the height of the oil industry boom. Arriving at a lodge filled with young men he already knew through his work, Bill quickly immersed himself in both the internal life of the lodge and its many social and charitable activities.

From the outset, his enthusiasm and adventurous spirit were unmistakable. In the very year he joined the lodge, Bill became a crew member in Lodge St. Olaf’s second entry into the infamous Ythan Raft Race. Only a few months later, drawing upon his considerable experience as a hillwalker and mountaineer, he led a team of four brethren on a sponsored expedition along the 100-mile West Highland Way.

Even under ideal conditions, such a journey would have been demanding. However, the team had ambitiously planned to complete the route in just four days — a punishing schedule that they would soon come to regret. Despite the hardship, the trek became one of the lodge’s most memorable adventures, remembered fondly by all who took part.

Over the years that followed, Bill would become central to many of the lodge’s most notable exploits. He was a familiar face on subsequent raft race crews and a constant presence on the lodge sabbaticals and excursions that became part of Lodge St. Olaf folklore, many of which are now chronicled within the pages of this website.

During the term of office of Right Worshipful Master Derek Stephen, Bill was part of a lodge delegation that travelled to Caithness, on the far northern reaches of the Scottish mainland. Derek had family connections there through a member of Lodge Laxford, and Lodge St. Olaf had been invited to confer a Second Degree on behalf of the lodge.

It was during the long journey north that the delegation realised they were without someone to deliver the Second Degree Tracing Board. Undeterred, Bill volunteered to learn the work en route. Remarkably, after only a few hours of preparation, he delivered the lecture with such confidence and polish that it became the stuff of legend among the brethren of Lodge St. Olaf. The episode perfectly illustrated Bill’s extraordinary ability to absorb and present lengthy passages of ritual with clarity, composure, and precision — a gift from which the lodge would benefit for many years thereafter.

Bill progressed steadily through every office within the lodge before being installed as Right Worshipful Master in the millennium year of 2000. It was a role he embraced wholeheartedly, carrying out his duties with dignity, warmth, and distinction.

At the time of writing, Bill remains the Father of the Lodge. Now aged 75, he is the oldest regular attender at Lodge St. Olaf and continues to play an active role in its ceremonial work. His ritual performances remain as polished and dependable as ever, delivered with the same dedication and excellence that have characterised his remarkable contribution to the lodge for almost four decades.