THE WILLIAM ALEXANDER MEMORIAL

 ORANGEISM IN MIDDLESEX

The Orange Order was brought to the country by L.O.L 128 which was formed in the 6th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. This Battalion was "The Royal East Middlesex Militia" and was based at Hampstead, its original Battalion HQ being in the Parish Church.

The Lodge is recorded as being in existence in 1811, but was defunct by 1830. The Militia was a very ancient force based on feudal obligations. Its soldiers were recruited on the whole, from the poorest members of society such as farm labourers, dockers and the un-employed. They enlisted, took the same basic training as a regular soldier and then returned to civilian life to be called up for training intermittently, but mainly for a two week camp after the harvest was gathered in.

In wartime Militia units were embodied for full time service, taking over the defence of the homeland allowing regular troops to go overseas.

The 6th Middlesex served in the North of England during the Napoleonic war of 1802- 1815 it was here that they were brigaded with Militia Battalions of other Regiments which had served against the Irish rebels and the first Middlesex men were initiated into the Orange Order.

The Middlesex of today would be unrecognisable to our soldier brothers of 1811. In their day the county was mainly rural and devoted to market gardening. With the coming of the Railway, came the Victorian suburbs and with the people moving into the county Orangeism returned.

The main motivation of Orangeism in the county at that time was resistance to the introduction of Roman Catholic rites into the Church of England. A very bitter struggle which was the dominating factor from about 1859 to 1904 when it started to be eclipsed by Irish affairs.

A centre of Orangeism was Willesden where trouble broke out in 1909 over possible illegal Roman Catholic processions. The great Protestant leader John Kensit was also a resident of the county, living at Highgate until his murder in 1902. It is a matter of pride to the Lodge that Pastor George Wise, founder of the "Protestant Reformers Church", Lodges and band was born in Bermondsey in the County of London and grew up there before commencing his Ministry on Merseyside.

No 63 District has had numerous members of Parliament within its ranks these include Sir James Craig who was the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and founded our Sister Lodge L.O.L 1688 in 1922 and Capt Orr who was an Ulster Unionist MP and Grand Master of England, whilst Dr Barnardo whose evangelistic and humanitarian work in East End centered on the "Edinburgh Castle Mission" in Whitechapel included Orange Lodges for Men, Women, Boys and Girls