In 1757 (approximately 259 years ago), The Independent United Order of Mechanics was founded. 1945 Composite Lodge came into being. This is not an easy task, to say the least a great milestone for any organization to reach. It is also a testament that we are beneficiaries of a rich legacy of ancient customs and traditions that forms the principles of the mechanics teachings.
FROM the Past……..
Composite Lodge was founded in 1945 to not only bring a society of people together, but to develop the intellectual and moral solidarity of mankind” as a means of building a better Trinidad & Tobago through the brotherhood of the LODGE.
It was the late Bro. Lalchan Jaggernauth, M.B.E. a prominent sports organizer and businessman who was instrumental with many others to form the Southern East Indian Society. He got together a few who were already in the Mechanics Order, at his home on the 26th August 1946 and planned a Mechanic Lodge.
It was on the 16th November 1946, the inaugural ceremony was held at a rented Lodge at Springvale, San Fernando, with nine foundation members taking office with four others in the Management Committee.
…AND SO COMPOSITE LODGE #1 HAD ITS FIRST MEETING.
We are proud to name the thirteen with their official positions who laid the
foundation stone for Composite Lodge #1, Independent United Order of Mechanics (I.U.O.M.) (E C ) which has been doing a great deal of good for our people in this country and which has been a beacon in Mechanism.
FOUNDATION MEMBERS:
Bro. Frederick B Supersad Illustrative Grand
Bro. Clifford Rachpaul Deputy Master
Bro. Gilbert Mohan Secretary
Bro. Irvine Supersad Assistant Secretary
Bro.Lachan Jaggernauth Treasurer
Bro. Leslie Supersad Senior Deacon
Bro.Daniel Meighlal Junior Deacon
Bro. Stephen Ramrekha Indoor Guard
Bro.Sitapersad Beharry Tyler
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE:
Bro. J.G. De Caires
Bro. John Ramjassingh
Bro. Norman Ramdin
Bro. C. Birusingh.
All of the foundation members all have gone to the Great Beyond but they have left a
legacy of which we are justly proud. On the night of the inauguration fourteen candidates were initiated among whom were our late Grand Master Bro. Isaac Dindayal and Bro. Enoch Ramsaran, our Trustee.
In the early fifties there was a depression in Composite Lodge #1 almost to the verge of dissolution, but a few stalwarts stood up strongly to keep the Lodge alive, among them being Bro. Fred Supersad, Bro. Edward Dwarika, Bro. Enoch Ramsaran, Bro. Bhanwandass Mulchan, Bro. Sam. A. Ali, Bro. Daniel Meighlal, and some others. In 1955 a strong effort was made to revive the Lodge, and from then on nothing could have stopped Composite Lodge #1 from growing stronger and stronger in all directions.
Composite Lodge #1 again, went through another period of depression as members were staying away from the Lodge and seemed no longer interested in the affairs of the Lodge. Again a few stalwart members stood their ground in the likes of Bro. Ramkissoon Sawh, Bro. R.B. Singh, and Bro. Sieu M. Sirju, Past Grand Master Bro. Ramdeo Rampat, Present Grand Master Bro. Kelvin Sawh, Present Eminent Commander Bro.Apzal Khan, Bro. Kidram Mahabir and the Late Bro. Ramsaroop Sirju, and so within the early 2000’s Composite Lodge #1 started to rise again.
All this time through the rise and fall and the rising again of Composite Lodge #1, the Grand Lodge of Trinidad and Tobago was always with us, especially the Grand Masters, the late Bro. John. A. Maitland, Bro. Joseph Peterkin, Bro. Isaac Dindayal, Bro. Ramdeo Rampat and Bro. Kelvin Sawh. We are however, very fortunate to have with us today the Present Grand Master of the Trinidad and Tobago Grand Lodge Bro. Kelvin Sawh and also the Past Grand Master Bro. Ramdeo Rampat and these gentlemen are also members of Composite Lodge #1. Prosperity made the Lodge look upward and outward and so in 1960 a drive was made to build our own Temple and the same year Four Thousand Dollars was put away in the Temple Fund. The Late Bro. Lachan Jaggernauth took the initiative and drew up a subscription list and the first night it was presented financial promised reached a thousand dollars. From then on, the Temple Fund kept on growing as the Brothers came out generously donating cash and materials. It was decided that no donations from outside the membership would be accepted and this policy was stuck to right to the end.
To find a piece of land was a problem. Approaches were made by interviews and correspondence to the San Fernando Borough Council, Ste Madeleine Sugar Co. (now Caroni Ltd) and other land owners with no success. We were offered a site by the late Bro. A.B.Mootoo and the late Bro. Sooknanan Maharaj but those were unsuitable. Finally, the late Bro. H.V. Gopaul leased us the land on which the Temple stands today i.e. 115 park Avenue, Gopaul Lands, Marabella. We are especially grateful to him and his family who are still kindly disposed towards us. We also accepted a gift from the late Bro. S.A. Blades, the then Grand Master, and from Bro. Errol Cravador of Covenant Lodge who did the electrical work free.
In October 1962, the same year we started, the Temple was dedicated by the retired Grand Master Bro. John. A. Maitland who was very happy to see his “baby” grown up in its own “house” with a “large” family. In our Silver Jubilee Year, 1971, the Temple had been extended twenty feet both upstairs and downstairs and in the years that followed more and more improvements and extensions have been made, and today we are housed in an edifice of which we are justly very proud.
Good Friday, 24th March 1967, was a red letter day in the history of Composite Lodge #1, when a Dispensation was granted to establish its own Grand Christian Encampment. It was named the JAGGERN’S GRAND CHRISTIAN ENCAMPMENT to perpetuate the name of the late Bro. Lachan Jaggernauth, M.B.E, who had done much for Mechanism in South Trinidad. Companion Isaac Dindayal was appointed Eminent Grand Commander and Companion J.N.Ramsahai, the Grand Secretary.
…to the future
In recent years Composite Lodge #1 has had its share of problems where membership is concerned but with a few stalwart members we have again raised to the occasion and our membership is slowly starting to rise. In December 2013, at our Annual General Meeting, a new management team was elected with the following officers elected to hold office:
Bro. Seeram Sooklal Illustrative Grand
Bro. Morton Rackal Deputy Master
Bro. Ramkissoon Sawh Secretary
Bro. Apzal Khan Treasurer
Bro. Daniel Sahadeo Assistant Secretary
Bro. R.B.Singh Chaplain
Bro. Shayandath Jerrybandan Senior Deacon
Bro. Peter Sookdeo Junior Deacon
Bro. Krishna Kalliecharan Indoor Guard
Bro.Anslem Kalliecharan Tyler
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Bro. Sieu.M. Sirju
Bro. Ramdeo Maharaj
TRUSTEES
Bro. Kidram Mahabir.
Bro. Anslem Kalliecharan
This history of Composite Lodge cannot end without mentioning the invaluable assistance of Bro. Ramkissoon Sawh, Bro. Sieu Sirju, Bro. Kidram Mahabir, Bro. Apzal Khan, Bro. Shayandath Jerrybandan, Bro. Morton Rackal, Grand Master Bro. Kelvin Sawh and the Past Grand Master Bro. Ramdeo Rampat in charting the course of Composite Lodge #1.
As we continue to progress, we must remember that to survive the storms of society in today’s world, our hands need to be joined, our efforts needs to be unified, so we can learn from the lessons of history, the wisdom for our future.
As Composite Lodge celebrated its Platinum anniversary (70years), we must remember that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Composite Lodge will continue its work and in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Life is a journey, not a destination.
The lodge fraternity itself has had quite a lot of misconception about what “Lodge business is all about” and I would like to venture a little, about what we are about.
Our Lodge teaches us that we must believe in God and should always be true. Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue. To be good and true is one of the first lessons in Mechanism.
We teach all our brothers to live a good and noble life, to respect our elders, to assist the members of our community and more so to be a brother mechanic, and in the case of a deceased brother, care for the wife and children. In essence, the Lodge carries out those humane principles of Charity and Benevolence not only within its membership, but through this very membership, they may be instrumental in spreading to society at large the true meaning of Fidelity, Benevolence and Truth.
Psalm 133 -: Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity. It is like the precious ointment on the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aarons beard, that went down to the skirts of his garment and as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded His blessings even Life forever more.
May the Lord continue to bless Composite Lodge 1 and all its members, and may we grow from strength to strength.
