Give youth its chance! That's a point made to me by a veteran Orangeman I was chatting to recently.

We were discussing the whole question of recruitment into the Orange Order and the prospects of increasing membership.

The Orange brother who recalled the heady years of the immediate post-war years when membership was at a record level, made the valid point that nothing will be gained by dwelling on those golden years of the Institution.

"Of course, it was marvellous, and people were queuing up to join the Order. We had just emerged from the Second World War, when the Order was to a large extent just ticking over, due to so many brethren being in the Forces, and no parades taking place.

"People were keen to get out again and enjoy normality, and they flocked to join organisations like the Orange Order and Royal Black Institution. We have to face the fact that we live in an era when many people are not inclined to join any organisation. But there is still a great opportunity to bring more people into our ranks," he declared.

One point he made very forcibly is that we need to not only bring in many young members, but also encourage them to the full when they do join.

From personal knowledge I know that is happening, and am aware of a number of Lodges which have appointed teenagers and men in their 20s to hold the highest offices.

This has encouraged other young men to join, and the result is that a whole range of interesting programmes have been initiated in the Lodge.

This has been welcomed by the older brethren, and far from being resentful, they are delighted to find the young officers making their mark. I would also stress that the quality of the new members is very high, and they are good church attendees, and excellent citizens.

This has not happened in all cases, and some Lodges do tend to re-elect officers who have held important positions for years.

Nothing wrong with that - no problem at all! If Lodges are happy with their officers, that is fine, and I have absolutely no doubt that this is a common feature throughout the province.

The point I am making is that everything possible should be done to encourage young people to join our organisations, and if they are keen to take part in the running of the Lodges, then give them a chance.

We have a wonderful section of the overall Orange 'family' in the form of our Junior Orange Institution, and the encouraging fact is that membership is increasing.

We have to do all we can to encourage all Junior Orange members to graduate into the adult Order - male and female. We can achieve this, then we should give those Junior brethren the go-ahead to make their mark as soon as possible in the adult Orange Order. It makes sense, and I am confident most readers share my point of view on this important issue.