
Coachlines - September 2022
27.09.22 The Master Julian Leach
Master’s Message September 2022
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
It is with immense sadness that I must begin this first message of my Master’s year with a tribute to Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth II. Like so many of you, she has been in my life, all my life, having been born in the year of her Coronation. Therefore, it seems as if she will always be there, but no. I believe that she has been an inspiration to all her people.
Following her pledge at the age of 21, when she devoted her whole life to us, her people, she certainly lived her life so that she fulfilled that pledge, never wavering from it. She and her husband were sustained in these endeavours by their strong faith in God and in doing so, set all of us a wonderful example. The world has lost someone very special.
If you are grieving, as I am, please accept my sincere condolences. Here is the letter of condolence I sent to His Majesty King Charles III.
In case you missed it, you can see the proclamation of the King at St James’s Palace this link, between 1hr 25 and 1hr 35:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/
I would now like to take this opportunity to wish His Majesty King Charles III, God’s strength in providing us with the kind of example and leadership that we have almost taken for granted for 70 years. God Save the King.
The year ahead
You will see what I have said in the front of The Coachmaker and Directory which will soon be dropping on your doormats, thanks to the gargantuan efforts of Lesley Upham and her Communications Committee.
In the Election Court report there are links to the speeches that I made during my installation on 1st September, which will give you an idea about the sort of person I am and that after the difficult couple of years we have had, we shall return to having fun while we do the serious things we are involved with. In order to get back to our Livery traditions, I can announce here that I intend to bring back a Covid safe version of The Loving Cup. Some will love me for it, and some may not but in my view, it symbolises what we are about.
Our first major event will be our Aerospace Dinner in the delightful Clothworkers’ Hall on 8th November. It will be a great pleasure for me to meet as many of you as possible.
This is closely followed by the Lord Mayor’s Show on Saturday 12th November. Although somewhat more about charity now generally, traditionally, this is when the Livery Companies show off their new Lord Mayor and lead him in procession to the Royal Courts of Justice to swear his oath. He then leads the procession back to The Mansion House in triumph. It is a fabulous thing to be part of. We are fielding a beautiful coach with four-in-hand and there will be a great opportunity for many Coachmakers and their families to join the coach in the procession. More information will come to you from the Livery Committee in due course.
To end the year, we will be holding our Carol Service in St James Garlickhythe and afterwards in Tallow Chandlers’ Hall on 8th December. This year, we are going to ring the changes a little bit. The Service will be an hour earlier. The choir will be the one that gave such a wonderful performance at The Master’s Installation Thanksgiving Service and some of them will follow us back to Tallow Chandler’s Hall to entertain us with Christmas songs, while we enjoy wine, mulled wine, canapés and mince pies.
There will be lots more during the year and I will finish now in wishing you all a happy Livery Year and I look forward to meeting you all at the various events.