Barton Freemasons give £200 to Dads Walking 500 miles for suicide charity

Freemasons of St Matthew Lodge in Baron met up with the “Three Dads”, who were passing through Barton upon Humber on their Walk of Hope.  Averaging about 20 miles every day they left Stirling on April 17th, and plan to be at Norwich Town Hall on May 11th.  Each of these three men have tragically lost daughters to suicide, and  are walking the 500 miles to  promote awareness and raise funds for the charity Papyrus.

“It all began with Simon Tipple’s WhatsApp message”, said DC Alastair Huteson. “We knew that time was of the essence, and so a decision was made to catch up with them the next day and offer some support. To facilitate this, our Charity Steward Alan Muse dashed off a cheque for £200 and brought it round to me.”

Lodge member Nick Lumb said: “It was an emotional morning. One minute I was sitting down to a coffee, then I got a WhatsApp message, and the next I was picking up a cheque from Alastair’s place of work, and handing it to Andy Airey as he and the entourage came across the Humber Bridge.  Then the heavens opened, and we walked through the streets of a very wet Barton – along with the Three Dads, supporters of the charity,  the Fire Brigade, a camera crew, Humberside Police, the Mayor, our local MP, staff from Tesco, assorted well-wishers and a hundred or so schoolchildren.  Thankfully, the George Inn provided coffee and bacon sandwiches, and being greeted at their door by a piper really tugged at the heart strings.

“I’d only recently set up the Lodge WhatsApp group and it really made a difference in this case”, said Simon. “We could respond quickly, and St Matthew were able to help this very worthwhile charity and these truly amazing men. In conversation with them we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Andy’s Dad had been a Freemason.”

Suicide is the biggest killer of young people under 35 in the UK, and Papyrus believe that such tragic and devastating loss of life is preventable. They also believe that no young person should have to struggle alone with thoughts of suicide,  and they work with communities to recognise and respond to emotional distress.

Pictured here in the George Inn, (where the original St Matthew Lodge first met in September 1787), are Tim Owen, Senior Warden Nick Lumb, Andy Airey, Inner Guard Simon Tipple, and Mike Palmer.

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