R.W. Bro. Arthur Currie was initiated in Vancouver & Quadra Lodge No. 2 on August 3, 1898. This Lodge had its proud roots in the founding of Freemasonry in British Columbia and, one of its Past Masters, M.W. Bro. Israel Wood Powell, became the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia in 1871.

Following his initiation, Bro. Currie became very active in his Lodge and, in 1905, was its Worshipful Master.  Two years later, in 1907, he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of District 1, Victoria.

During the First World War, R.W. Bro. Currie attended Lodge meetings whenever he could.  There are records of his visits to Lodges in England.  It is less clear, however, if he was attended, or even held offices in military or occasional Lodges near the Front.  A number of years ago, descendants of R.W. Bro. Currie donated his Masonic regalia to the Canadian War Museum.  There were three aprons: Master Mason with familiar sky-blue trim, another with light brown trim, and a Past Master’s apron illustrated here.

The Director of Collections at the War Museum, himself a Freemason, was puzzled by the Master Mason apron with brown trim. He assumed that it was sky-blue, and that it had been discoloured or at least faded. He sent it to the Imperial War Museum in London, England, where tests were conducted on the regalia. Much to everyone’s surprise, the trim on the apron was deemed to be a shade of brown, likely khaki, not faded blue, and could possibly have been used in a military Lodge.

It is hoped that more research might be conducted on Currie’s regalia, given that we are now in the midst of commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the First World War.