Sir James Wilfrid Stubbs, KCVO, TD (1910–2000) was an English

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

administrator. He was Grand Secretary of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron T ...

from 1958 to 1980.

Early life and education

Born on 13 August 1910,"Sir James Stubbs", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), 4 April 2000, p. 25. Stubbs was the elder son of Elizabeth, ''née'' Pope, and the Rev. Wilfrid Thomas Stubbs (born 1875), the vicar of Barkway and the son of the Anglican bishop William Stubbs. He had two younger brothers (Thomas Arthur and Hugh William) and a sister (Katherine Muriel Rose). One of his uncles was the colonial administrator Sir

Edward Stubbs Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (; 13 October 1876 – 7 December 1947) was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong. He caused controversy while Governor of Ceylon over the Bracegirdle Incident. Early life and educati ...

. A. C. Fox-Davies,
Armorial Families
', 7th ed. (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1929), vol. 2, p. 1873. James Stubbs attended Charterhouse and then

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, where he studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. In 1931, he joined the

Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...

, becoming a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Career and retirement

After graduating from Oxford, he was employed as a teacher at St Paul's School. He served in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

during the Second War and ended his service with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. After a period teaching again at St Paul's, he successfully applied to be principal assistant to

Sydney White ''Sydney White'' is a 2007 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Joe Nussbaum and written by Chad Gomez Creasey based on the story of "Snow White". The film, starring Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton and Matt Long, was released theatrically on ...

, the Grand Secretary of the

, the governing Masonic

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

for most of the country. He was promoted to Assistant Grand Secretary in 1948, Deputy Grand Secretary six years later and then succeeded White as Grand Secretary in 1958. During this period, he assisted with the establishment of the

Grand Lodge of India The Grand Lodge of India (GLI) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within India, it was officially constituted on Friday 24 November 1961. There were three delegations from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Grand Lodge of Ireland and Grand L ...

in 1961 and the 250th anniversary of the English Grand Lodge in 1967. Stubbs was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 1979 and retired in 1980. He was given the Order of Service to Masonry in 1996. An avid traveller, Stubbs wrote ''The Four Corners'' (1983), as well as an autobiography, ''Freemasonry in My Life'' (1985), and ''The Government of the Craft'' (1982). He died on 7 March 2000; his wife Richenda (''née'' Streatfeild, sister of

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the ...

) had died in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, James 1910 births 2000 deaths Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Royal Corps of Signals officers Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order