Unification

The first attempt of Druidic Unification had been made by Bro. Hart, Grand Secretary of the American U.A.O.D. in 1858, when he enquired of the English Orders whether they would join the American U.A.O.D. in endeavouring to form a federation of Druidism with the present orders. The A.O.D. and the U.A.O.D. agreed, in endeavouring to embrace also the Manchester order , these failed to respond, and this effort was allowed to drop. In 1867 an unsuccessful attempt was made to re-unite the A.O.D. on a voluntary basis, but this also came to nothing, and for over forty years no further attempt was made. Unification became a dead letter.

In the early years of the twentieth century, Bro. H. Fricke, the leader of German Druidism, visited the U.S.A. and approached the American leaders with a suggestion for a worldwide amalgamation of Druidism, and found a favourable response. Hoping, at first, to link up the various so-called “United Orders”, a conference was called in Hull, in 1906, attended by the English and German U.A.O.D. and with the blessing of the American U.A.O.D. This led, two years later, to a Congress in 1908 in Munich, when the German, English and American U.A.O.D. all got together. The agenda and report of this congress were sent to all Druids’ societies throughout the world, together with an invitation to them all to meet in London five years later.

Arising from this correspondence, certain Grand Lodge Officers appointed by the A.O.D. and led by P. Imp. G.A’s Bros. C Beale and J.A.Miles, toured certain German Lodges in 1909, and a representatives of the Australian order,on holiday Europe, met brethren of the A.O.D., plus English and German U.A.O.D. The results of all these meetings were that for the first time a truly representative gathering of the Druidic order throughout the world was held in London in 1913. The parent A.O.D. , English U.A.O.D., Manchester O.D., with the German, American and Australian Orders were all represented by delegates. The Grand Secretary of New Zealand attended as a visitor, and they adopted the motto “Unity Peace and Concord” throughout the world.

So far as can be learnt, the small splinter group formed by the seceded Welsh lodges died out, while the equalised Sheffield order has steadfastly refused to join the federation, which in 1913 officially adopted the title of International Grand Lodge of
Druidism on the bases of “In things essential, Unity, in non essential, fullers liberty”