Hampshire and Isle of Wight raise £1.9 million for the Mark Benevolent Fund
24 July 2026
On Saturday 18 July more than 500 guests gathered at the Old Thorns Hotel in Hampshire for the grand finale of the Province of Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s seven-year Festival for the Mark Benevolent Fund. The total, announced on the night, was £1,898,775.
The Festival was the Fund’s 158th. The last time Hampshire and Isle of Wight hosted one, in 1990, it raised £357,143.
A lifeboat called The John Prizeman
Of the total, £311,107 will fund a new vessel for the Hamble Lifeboat station, to be named The John Prizeman in honour of the late Pro Grand Master. The evening opened with a Guard of Honour from the Craft Provincial Grand Stewards of Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and R.W. Bro. George Deacon, Provincial Grand Master and Festival President, was recognised with his executive committee for carrying the campaign to its conclusion.
R.W. Bro. Deacon was also presented with a 1934 Festival Jewel once worn by King George VI as a Provincial Grand Master. Brought back to the Festival for the first time in 90 years, the jewel now passes to each active Festival President. At the end of the Festive Board it went to R.W. Bro. Andrew Armbrister, Provincial Grand Master of Warwickshire, whose own campaign ends in July 2027.
The Surrey connection
The Fund’s President is R.W. Bro. Ian Nelson Clark, Past Provincial Grand Master of Surrey, who welcomed the guests on behalf of the Board of Trustees. Thanking the Festival Committee for their years of fundraising, he said the money would help the Fund “continue to support our Brethren and families in need during these financially challenging times, together with other worthy causes providing support in our communities.”
Presentations were also made to Linda Read, the Fund’s Charities Finance Manager, for 22 years of service to Mark Masons’ Hall, and to David Ashbolt, Past Provincial Grand Master for London, for his support of the Festival and of fundraising across the Provinces.
Money raised at the Province’s Charity Golf Days and the Benevolent Fund Dinner goes to the same Fund. The Charity Ball on 24 October is the next Surrey event in the calendar.
Reported in the Surrey Keystone, issue 84, August 2026.
