Eighty years of helping

2004 marked 80-years of the Masonic Youth Welfare Fund helping needy youth.

It began with an idea put into action by Most Worshipful Brother William Thompson, MLA, who was Grand Master from 1914 to 1924.

The first five-years of his Grand Mastership coincided with World War 1, where his son, Horace, was killed on the Western Front. With around 2,900 Masons from NSW enlisted in the armed forces, William Thompson opened a War Benevolent Fund which by 1919 had raised the incredible sum of £18,829.

He also established in 1922 the William Thompson Masonic School at Baulkham Hills to care for and educate the children of deceased Masons, many of whom were orphaned by the war.

William Thompson's decision to establish a fund for youth arose from his strong belief that no matter how well children may be raised and educated, their critical period of life was between the ages of 16 and 21.

He conceived the idea of forming a special organisation outside the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge but related to it and managed by Masons. Its role was to attend to the aftercare of ex-pupils of the school and to ensure they found employment.

In February 1923 a meeting attended by a very large number of Masons initiated the inauguration of the NSW Masonic Schools Welfare Fund. In 1965 it was renamed the NSW Masonic Youth Welfare Fund and its constitution was enlarged to not only assist ex-pupils of the school but to also help needy youth of deceased or incapacitated Masons.

The constitution was expanded again in 1972 so as to assist any Masonic or non-Masonic youth, deemed to be in necessitous circumstances, regardless of race, colour, creed or Masonic affiliation.

In 2001, the NSW Masonic Youth Welfare Fund accepted from the United Grand Lodge of NSW & ACT, full responsibility and authority for the children of the William Thompson Masonic School and, although the School no longer exists, the need continues.