The Halfpenny Coin
"On this we built"
The Halfpenny - many younger people who have never experienced the delights of buying a ha'porth of toffees at the local sweet shop may wonder what this mysterious coin is.
It was one of the smallest denomination coins ever used in Britain. It was abandoned shortly after decimalisation when its value became insignificant due to inflation.
Yet this small copper coin has proved to be one of the most powerful tools in our armoury. When collected throughout the Order and pooled together it allowed the early visionaries of the Order to achieve unbelievable things for those in need.
Perhaps our earliest use of it was in 1902 when the Order first placed a halfpenny levy on registrations in order to establish an orphanage for the children of deceased members. By 1912 the income from this had risen to £1200 pa and helped to fund two orphanages.
For over 40 years these gave loving homes to needy children and helped them to gain the foothold in life they needed.
The levy is no longer applied and thankfully, due to the changes in society,
the need for private orphanages is no longer there. We still look after widows and children of deceased members with funds donated voluntarily by Brethren in the continuous appeal we now call OURS.
The humble halfpenny was again mobilised to great effect when War broke out in Europe in August 1914. Members of the Order who had experienced first hand the problems of transporting the wounded away from the line decided something should be done.
By January 1915 it was agreed that every Brother would again pay a levy of a halfpenny on their registration fee.
This time the money collected was used to commission a specially designed ambulance for use on the front line. By the end of the war 18 had been built and each saw heavy service at home or abroad. All were driven by members of the Order, some of who had otherwise been declared medically unfit for service but nevertheless went on to earn commendations in the front line.
There is little doubt that those halfpennies helped to save the lives of countless servicemen. On a lighter note, one ambulance even provided a mobile Lodge room for Brethren serving abroad.
In 1917 an annuity scheme was set up for members of the Order who had suffered severely whilst in service during the War and for the widows and orphans of members killed. In 1919 it was agreed that in order to maintain the scheme the halfpenny levy would again need to be applied. The ha'penny once again proved its worth.
Sadly, the events of the world mean that the scheme has needed to be maintained to this day, though, again, this is now done by voluntary donation rather than by levy.
The last recorded use of the halfpenny levy was in 1923 when it was again put into use in order to set up convalescence homes for members and their spouses. Although they have seen some considerable change since their introduction we still maintain two homes.
Many more causes, such as the funding of lifeboats in 1883 and the fund for the victims of the Mining disaster at Senghenydd in 1913, were supported from private donation and voluntary collections in our Minor Lodges.
From these initiatives, born of great necessity, grew our ever increasing involvement in supporting good causes everywhere. While our first loyalty will always be to our fellow Brethren and to local good causes we have opened our hearts, and our wallets, to people in need wherever they are.
© Animation by Bro. Ted Eccleshall R.O.H.