Deponent - a masonic story

A couple of weeks ago I was at the PGRAC of Mid and East Lothian, at Bonnyrigg.
The guest speaker was Ian Fraser, the Depute First Principle of the RA. who, after the meeting of the S.G.R.A. chapter of Scotland will be the 1st Principal Elect - as Charles Ian Woolridge Gordon of Esselmont has now been installed as the Grand Master Mason.

His lecture / presentation was about the deponent of Lodge No.851 Alan Wilson of Zimbabwe.

This Lodge was formed on the 24th June 1897 in Harari. It was named after Major Alan Wilson , a Scot who went out to Africa and ended up in the army there. He led a patrol to capture a native king and on 4th December 1893 was surrounded by a large force of natives when his patrol fought to the death, he apparently being he last man left standing. From what I have read it seems that this could have been avoided as a letter had been sent to one of the kings who responded and sent a letter and gold dust, but this was stolen by two other British soldiers who were subsequently arrested. However their actions led to the death of hundreds of natives and of course, Alan Wilson's patrol.
After the rout, instead of the bodies being decapitated as was the norm they were left to be retrieved, and later the natives wrote " They were men of men and their fathers were men before them".
The lodge was very popular, with 31 Scottish office bearers at the first installation, and even in 1897 all paid £5 each - a lot of money.
The meetings were held " on the 3rd Wednesday after the full moon".
However, over the years due to the economic climate and politics in Zimbabwe the Lodge eventually closed, but has now been despond in Fortrose, Rosshire, and will meet three times a year, with visitors welcome.
A very good mason and member of the lodge is Seppo Ainamo, who works tirelessly running an orphanage for several hundred children in Zimbabwe, receiving a great deal of aid from the Masons.

A bit of useless information, the streets in Harari and Bullawayo are very , very wide and were designed that way as the wealthy had carriages drawn by sixteen horses and the streets had to be wide enough for the horse and carriages to turn in one go.