The Pilgrims
On 16 July 1902 an informal meeting took place at the Carlton Hotel in London, at which the decision was taken to establish The Pilgrims of Great Britain. Those present included General Joseph Wheeler, the famous cavalry leader of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War; Colonel (later General Sir) Bryan Mahon, who had commanded the troops relieving Mafeking in 1900; the Hon Charles Rolls of Rolls-Royce fame and a notable aviation pioneer, and Harry, later Sir Harry, Brittain. The title of the Pilgrims, not to be confused with the Pilgrim Trust, had nothing whatever to do with the Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers of 1620, but was chosen as a short and concise name which would express the idea of members of the English-speaking world travelling from one country to another.[1]
The main objective of the Pilgrims was, as it still remains, the encouragement of Anglo-American good fellowship.[1]
Over the years the roll-call of distinguished guest speakers at Pilgrims’ events has been most impressive - Lord Curzon, Mark Twain, Admiral Peary, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), Stanley Baldwin, Ramsey Macdonald, George Marshall, Dean Acheson, Anthony Eden, Archbishop Fisher, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry Kissinger, Caspar Weinberger, HRH The Princess Royal and General Lord Dannatt - to name but a few.[1]
The Pilgrims of the United States came into being at a meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on 13 January 1903. The Pilgrims of Great Britain and the Pilgrims of the United States have reciprocal membership. By tradition the Pilgrims join together in a single toast His/Her Majesty the King/Queen and the President of the United States. The first speech on British soil by a new American Ambassador to the United Kingdom is to the Pilgrims of Great Britain and the first speech by a new British Ambassador to the United States is to the Pilgrims of the United States.[2]
Mission Statement…
Founded in 1903, The Pilgrims of the United States, an association of men and women, in alliance with the Pilgrims of Great Britain, seeks to foster fellowship between Americans, the British and other English-speaking peoples. In addressing current national and international issues, it emphasizes enduring historic, cultural, economic and social bonds.[2]
Carroll Quigley
“…the existence of this Wall Street Anglo-American axis is quite obvious once it is pointed out. It is reflected by the fact that such Wall Street luminaries such as John W. Davis (Freemason), Lewis W. Douglas (Alpha Delta Phi), John Hay Whitney (S&K 1926, Father S&B 1898 and Grandfather S&B 1863)[…] were appointed to be American ambassadors in London.” — Harvard professor Carroll Quigley
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - Presidents [3,p178]
1902 to 1914 - Field Marshall The Earl Roberts (Freemason)[8]
1915 to 1917 - Viscount Bryce (Called to bar, Lincoln’s Inn)
1917 to 1942 - Field Marshall HRH The Duke of Connaught (Freemason)[5]
1945 to 1948 - The Earl of Derby (Freemason)[5]
1948 - Viscount Greenwood
1950 to 1958 - The Earl of Halifax
1958 to 1962 - Lord Birkett (Called to bar, Inner Temple)
1962 to 1965 - Lord Evershed (Freemason.[6] Called to bar, Lincoln’s Inn)
1965 to 1977 - Lord Harlech (Became friends with JFK, the ambassadors Son. Died in a car crash in 1985. Age 66[9])
1977 to 1983 - Lord Astor of Hever
1983 to - Lord Carrington (1985/88 - 6th Secretary General of NATO)
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - Chairmen of the Executive Committee [3,p178]
1902 to 1913 - The Venerable Archdeacon William MacDonald Sinclair (Freemason)
1913 to 1919 - Harry Brittain (Called to bar, Inner Temple)
1919 to 1929 - Lord Desborough (Freemason) [10]
1929 to 1945 - The 17th Earl of Derby (Freemason)[5]
1945 to 1948 - Viscount Greenwood
1948 to 1958 - Sir Campbell Stuart
1958 to 1967 - Sir Chistopher Chancellor
1967 to 1977 - Lord Astor of Hever
1977 to 1993 - Robert Sigmon
1993 to - Robert Worcester
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - Honorary Secretaries [3,p178]
1902 to 1913 - Sir Harry Brittain (Called to bar, Inner Temple)
1919 to 1943 - Sir John Wilson Taylor
1953 to 1964 - Anthony Gishford
1966 to 1967 - John Ackroyd
1968 to 1961 - Lt-Col Stuart Chant-Sempill
1991 to - Peter Barton
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - Honorary Treasurers [3,p178]
1902 to 1903 - Sir William Bell
1903 to 1907 - Stephen Gambrill
1908 to 1912 - Sir William Bell
1913 to 1943 - Sir John Wilson Taylor
1943 - Sir John Caulott
1944 to 1971 - Sir Julian Crossley
1971 to 1975 - Anthony Gishford
1975 to 1981 - John Corbett
1982 to 1997 - Sir James Butler
1997 to - Lord Sharman
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - Secretaries [3,p178]
1905 to 1919 - Mrs M. E. Welsh Lee (formerly Miss M. E. Elliott Wright to c 1917)
1919 to 1953 - Drs Ada Doyle
1954 to 1962 - Mrs Stella Field
1962 to 1963 - Miss Hilda Wilson
1963 to 1970 - Miss Mary Burfield
1971 to 1975 - Mrs Muriel Bell
1975 to 1997 - Mrs Z. Micallef (formerly Mrs Soutry, to 1978)
1997 to 1999 - Mrs Jan Dennett
1999 to - Mrs Tessa Wells
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - British Ambassadors to Washington [3,p178]
1902 to 1903 - Michael Herbert
1903 to 1906 - Sir Mortimer Durand
1907 to 1913 - Sir James Bryce
- Prime Minister: Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman and H. H. Asquith
- President: Theodore Roosevelt (Freemason) and William H. Taft (S&B 1878. Freemason)
1913 to 1918 - Sir Cecil Spring-Rice
- Prime Minister: H. H. Asquith and David Lloyd George
- President: William H. Taft (S&B 1878. Freemason)
1918 to 1919 - Lord Reading
- Prime Minister: David Lloyd George
- President: Woodrow Wilson (Col. Edward M. House)
1919 - Sir Edward Grey
- Prime Minister: David Lloyd George
- President: Woodrow Wilson (Col. Edward M. House)
1920 to 1924 - Sir Auckland Geddes
- Prime Minister: David Lloyd George and Andrew Bonar Law
- President: Woodrow Wilson (Col. Edward M. House), Warren G. Harding (Freemason) and Calvin Coolidge (Conn. to Russell and Co./Freemason connections)
1924 to 1930 - Sir Esme Howard
- Prime Minister: Ramsay MacDonald
- President: Calvin Coolidge (Conn. to Russell and Co./Freemason connections) and Herbert Hoover (Bohemian)
1930 to 1939 - Sir Ronald Lindsay
- Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain, Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald
- President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Freemason) and Herbert Hoover (Bohemian)
1939 to 1940 - Lord Lothian
- Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill (Freemason)
- President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Freemason)
1941 to 1946 - Lord Halifax
- Prime Minister: Winston Churchill (Freemason) and Clement Attlee
- President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (Freemason) and Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
1946 to 1948 - Lord Inverchapel
- Prime Minister: Clement Attlee
- President: Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
1948 to 1952 - Sir Oliver Franks
- Prime Minister: Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill (Freemason)
- President: Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
1952 to 1956 - Sir Roger Makins
- Prime Minister: Winston Churchill (Freemason) and Sir Anthony Eden
- President: Harry S. Truman (Freemason)
1956 to 1961 - Sir Harold Caccia
- Prime Minister: Sir Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan
- President: Dwight D. Eisenhower
1961 to 1965 - David Ormsby Gore (Lord Harlech from 1964)
- Prime Minister: Harold Macmillan
- President: John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
1965 to 1968 - Sir Patrick Dean
- Prime Minister: Harold Wilson
- President: Lyndon B. Johnson
1968 to 1971 - John Freeman
- Prime Minister: Harold Wilson and Edward Heath
- President: Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon (Bohemian)
1971 to 1974 - Lord Cromer
- Prime Minister: Edward Heath
- President: Richard Nixon (Bohmenian) and Gerald Ford (Freemason)
1974 to 1977 - Sir Peter Ramsbotham
- Prime Minister: Harold Wilson and James Callaghan
- President: Richard Nixon (Bohemian) and Gerald Ford (Freemason)
1977 to 1979 - Peter Jay
- Prime Minister: James Callaghan
- President: Jimmy Carter (Trilateral Commission)
1979 to 1982 - Sir Nicholas Henderson
- Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher
- President: Jimmy Carter (Trilateral Commission) and Ronald Reagan (Bohemian. Hon. Freemason)
1983 to 1986 - Sir Oliver Wright
- Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher
- President: Ronald Reagan (Bohemian. Hon. Freemason)
1986 to 1991 - Sir Anthony Ackland
- Prime Minister: Margaret Thatcher and John Major
- President: Ronald Reagan (Bohemian. Hon. Freemason) and George H. W. Bush (S&B 1948. Freemason. Bohemian. Delta Kappa Epsilon)
1991 to 1995 - Sir Robin Renwick
- Prime Minister: John Major
- President: George H. W. Bush (S&B 1948. Freemason. Bohemian. Delta Kappa Epsilon) and Bill Clinton (Rhodes 1968)
1995 to 1997 - Sir John Kerr
- Prime Minister: John Major
- President: Bill Clinton (Rhodes 1968)
1997 - Sir Christopher Meyer
- Prime Minister: John Major and Tony Blair
- President: Bill Clinton (Rhodes 1968)
The Pilgrims of Great Britain - U.S. Ambassadors to he Court of St. James
1899 to 1905 - Joseph Choate
1905 to 1913 - Whitelaw Reid (Delta Kappa Epsilon) - 1907, Lydig Hoyt (S&B 1906), Secretary to the United States Ambassador
- President: Theodore Roosevelt(Freemason. Delta Kappa Epsilon) and William H. Taft (S&B 1878. Freemason)
- Prime Minister:
1913 to 1918 - Walter Hines Page
- President: Woodrow Wilson (Col. Edward M. House)
- Prime Minister:
1918 to 1921 - John Davis (Freemason)
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1921 to 1923 - George Harvey.
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1923 to 1925 - Frank Kellogg (Freemason).
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1925 to 1929 - Alanson Houghton
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1929 to 1932 - General Charles Dawes
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1933 to 1938 - Robert Worth Bingham (Freemason)
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1938 to 1941 - Joseph Kennedy
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1941 to 1946 - John Winant
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1946 to 1947 - Averell Harriman (S&B 1913)
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1947 to 1950 - Lewis Douglas
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1950 to 1953 - Walter Gifford
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1953 to 1957 - Winthrop Aldrich
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1957 to 1961 - John Jay Whitney (S&K 1926)
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1961 to 1969 - David Bruce
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1969 to 1974 - Walter Annenberg
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1975 to 1976 - Elliot Richardson (Freemason)
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1976 to 1977 - Anne Armstrong
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1977 to 1981 - Kingman Brewster
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1981 to 1983 - John Loius
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1984 to 1989 - Charles Price
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1989 to 1991 - Henry Catto
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1991 to 1994 - Raymond Seitz
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1994 to 1997 - Admiral William Crowe
- President:
- Prime Minister:
1997 to 2001 - Philip Lader
- President:
- Prime Minister:
2001 to - William Farish
- President:
- Prime Minister:
The Pilgrims of United States - Founders [4,p154]
Dr Russell Bellamy
William E. Carson
General Adna Romanza Chaffee (Society of the Army of Santiago. Military Order of the Dragon)
General Henry Clark Corbin (Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States)
William Butler Duncan (Daughter Dorothy Duncan, who married Thomas M. Carnegie III (1901–1954) in 1922, a grandson of Thomas M. Carnegie and grandnephew of Andrew Carnegie).
John W. Griggs (Theta Delta Chi)[21] - 43rd United States Attorney General by William McKinley (Freemason Oddfellow).
John J. McCook
Robert Johnstone Mooney
Herbert Noble
Rt. Rev. Henry Codman Potter (Freemason)
Lindsay Russell
Sir Percy Sanderson
General Joseph Wheeler (Freemason)
Cassius M. Whicker
Benjamin D. Woodward
The Pilgrims of United States - Presidents \ Vice Presidents[4,p152]
1903 to 1907 - President, The Rt. Rev. Henry Codman Potter
1907 to 1912 - President, William Butler Duncan
1912 to 1917 - President, Joseph H. Choate
1917 to 1928 - President, Chauncey M. Depew (S&B 1856)
1928 to 1946 - President, Nicholas Murray Butler
1946 to 1955 - President, John W. Davis (Freemason)
1955 to 1996 - President, Hugh Bullock
1997 to - Henry Luce III, son of Henry R. Luce (S&B 1920)
Vice President, William Wallace Crapo (S&B 1852)
The Pilgrims of United States - Chairman of the Executive Committee[4,p152]
1903 to 1904 - Lindsay Russell
1904 - George T. Wilson
1905 to 1906 - William Butler Duncan
1907 - Stewart Woodford
1908 to 1919 - Frederick Cunliffe-Owen
1921 to 1923 - Charles H. Sherill
1924 to 1931 - Frank L. Polk (S&K 1894)
1932 to 1938 - Charles C. Paulding, nephew of Chauncey M. Depew (S&B 1856)[4,p54]
1939 to 1945 - Thomas W. Lamont
1945 to 1953 - Gano Dunn
1953 to 1996 - Hugh Bullock
1997 to - Henry Luce III (Son of Henry R. Luce (S&B 1920))
The Pilgrims of United States - Honorary Secretaries [4,p152]
1903 to 1904 - Benjamin D. Woodward
1905 to 1907 - George T. Wilson
1908 to 1909 - Louis C. Hay
1910 to 1919 - George W. Burleigh
1919 to 1921 - Hunter Wykes
1921 to 1927 - Albert E. Gallatin
1927 to 1944 - Elihu C. Church
1944 to 1946 - Henry R. Sedgwick
1946 to 1947 - Bryce Metcalf
1947 to 1965 - Edward K. Warren
1965 to 1971 - Walter S. Marvin
1971 to 1973 - Benjamin Strong
1973 to 1976 - Francis T. P. Plimpton
1976 to 1985 - Harold H. Helm
1986 to 1996 - Herbert Brownell
1996 to 2000 - Mark Dixon
2000 to - - Laurence Charles Windsor Jr.
The Pilgrims of United States - Honorary Treasuers[4,p152]
1903 to 1905 - Robert A. C. Smith
1906 to 1929 - William Curtis Demorest
1930 to 1934 - John S. Rogers
1935 to 1953 - Eliot Tuckerman
1953 to 1968 - C. G. Michalis
1968 to 1985 - John M. Schiff
1985 to 1996 - John R. Dexell II
1996 to - - Eben W. Pyne
Winners of the Gold Medal of The Pilgrims of the United States [4,p153]
1957 - Sir Winston Churchill (Freemason)
1963 - General Dwight D. Eisenhower
1969 - Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Others - to be completed
John Jacob Astor - Member.[18,p88]
Nicholas Murray Butler - Chaired the Organising Committee for the 1929 event.[18,p89]
William Allen Butler - Member [18,p58]
President Groverland Cleveland - Became a Pilgrim in 1903.[4,p76]
Frederic Coudert - Member [18,p58]
John W. Davis (Freemason) [4,p14]
William C. Demorest - Member [18,p58]
Allen Dulles - Invitation to Dinner.[22]
Douglas Dillon - A Member of the executive committee from the late 1960s until his death in Jan 2003.[4,p147]
Samuel W. Fairchild - Member [18,p58]
Henry Kissinger (Bohemian) - Vice President of the Pilgrims of the United States [4,p149]
John J. McCook - Member [18,p58]
J. Pierpont Morgan Sr - Elected a Pilgrim and a Vice President in 1910. Founder of the banking house of J.P.Morgan, his friendship with Key Edward VII was the start of a long relationship between the house of Morgan and the British Royal Family.[4,p95]
Alton B. Parker - Member [18,p58]
Frank Polk (S&K 1894) - Member[18,p206]
Elihu Root (Sigma Phi. Eucleian Society) - Vice President of the Pilgrims after WW1 [4,p84]
Benjamin Strong [26]
R.A.C. Smith - Member [18,p58]
Frank A. Vanderlip[11] - Secretive Jekyll Island Meeting -> Federal Reserve
George T Wilson - Member [18,p58]
Skull and Bones / Others / Related - to be completed###
Dean Acheson (S&K 1915)[2] - Speaker
Winthrop Williams Aldrich, son of Nelson Aldrich (Freemason)[2]
Philip Golden Bartlett (S&B 1881)
Samuel Reading Bertron (S&B 1885)
Stephen John Brademas (Rhodes 1950)
Henry P. Davison[11] - Both sons S&B. Both daughters married Skull and Bones
Chauncey Depew (S&B 1856) - President of New York Pilgrims.[18,p205]
Richard Melancthon Hurd (S&B 1888)
Francis Fitz Randolph (S&B 1911)
Bernard William Rogers (Rhodes 1947)
Robert Vincent Roosa (Rhodes 1939)
Charles E. Saltzman (Rhodes 1925)
William Wallace Crapo (S&B 1852)
[1] - Pilgrimsociety.org - The History of the Pilgrims of Great Britain
[2] - Pilgrimsociety.org -The Pilgrims of the United States
[3] - Amazon - The Pilgrims of Great Britain - A Centennial History by Anne Pimlott Baker
[4] - Amazon - The Pilgrims of the United States Cenntennial History by Anne Pimlott Baker
[5] - Book - 10,000 Famous Freemasons by William R. Denslow Vol l - A to D
[6] - Book - 10,000 Famous Freemasons by William R. Denslow Vol ll - E to J
[7] - Book - 10,000 Famous Freemasons by William R. Denslow Vol ll - K to P
[8] - Book - 10,000 Famous Freemasons by William R. Denslow Vol ll - Q to Z
[10] - Hungerford Lodge.org.uk - Lodge 3200
[13] - World Money Power II by Charles Savoie 2005
[14] - Truth Ref Library - UK Patriots Researching The Truth[br]
[15] - 2019-09-19-Pilgrims-Society-Membership-List-(1902-ca-2012)
[18] - The Pilgrims Society and Public Diplomacy 1895-1945 by Stephen Bowman.
[19] - Prabook.com - Charles E. Saltzman (Rhodes 1925) - Pilgrims (New York City)
[20] - FYI - Silverstealers.net - Pilgrim Society research
[21] - Skillman Library - Lafayette College - Theta Delta Chi, Phi Charge - John W. Griggs
[22] - The Pilgrims dinner invitation to Allen Dulles, CI Director
[23] - FYI - nndb.com - The Pilgrims
[24] - FYI - Bibliotecapleyades.net - Pilgrims Society by Joël van der Reijden
[25] - FYI - Bibliotecapleyades.net - Pilgrims Membership list by Joël van der Reijden
[26] - Corbet Report - War Profiteering in WWI - ref. Benjamin Strong.
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