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Fermanagh and Tyrone United L.O.L. No. 1367
was one of Belfast's "country lodges", originally
formed for the benefit of brethren who hailed from rural areas,
but were residing in the city.
The Lodge was formed on April 6, 1949 with the transfer certificates
of brethren joining in those early days reading like a directory
of rural townlands in Fermanagh and Tyrone.
The Lodge decided that the banner would depict scenes representing
their native counties. On June 30, 1950, the Lodge unfurled
its first banner in a ceremony participated in by the then
District Chaplain of No. 6 District, Bro. Rev Ian R.K. Paisley.
One side of this banner depicted Colebrooke House, Co. Fermanagh,
home of the Brooke family, with portraits of the late Lord
Brookeborough's two sons who were killed in action during
the Second World War.
The banner shows a tree in the foreground of Colebrooke House
under whose branches the vigilante organisation named "Fermanagh
Vigilance" - the forerunner of the Ulster Special Constabulary
used to stand while guarding the estate.
The reverse side showed Caledon Castle, County Tyrone, birthplace
of Field Marshal Viscount Alexander of Tunis. The Lodge has
had four banners since its formation; the first 3 were unfurled
by the late Lord Brookeborough, two of them while he was Prime
Minister.
The
second unfurling taking place at Stormont Castle in 1954 at
his invitation. Indeed one of the last public engagements
Lord Brookeborough performed before his death was the unfurling
of the third banner on June 29, 1973.
The Lodge has taken part in several Twelfth demonstrations
in Fermanagh and Tyrone, although the closeness of association
with the two counties has waned over the last few years. Increasing
ease of transport has meant that brethren working in Belfast
tend to remain members of Lodges in their home locality.
While L.O.L. No. 1367 no longer meets the needs of such brethren,
it rises to the challenge of making the Order relevant to
a new generation, at the same time not forgetting the sacrifices
and loyalty of those who have gone before. It was the late
Lord Brookeborough himself who chose the motto on the banner
"We will remember them."
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