Harry Thomas was initiated into Scrabo Masonic Lodge No.714 on the 26th March 1948. He was the one of the first Entered Apprentice’s to join the newly constituted Scrabo Lodge. Harry had an illustrious Masonic career joining all branches of the order. He was particularly noted for his degree work, guiding many local masons on their first steps in Masonry. WBro. Harry Thomas died on the 5th August 2017. Harry was just a few weeks short of his 96th birthday and was looking forward to celebrating his 70 years in the order when he passed away
Harry served in Bomber Command during the 2nd World War and regularly attended his RAF Squadron reunions in England every year.
But … did you know that Harry was held hostage by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) ??
Harry worked for many years as a field engineer for Shorts Missile Division. In 1969, Shorts encountered technical difficulties with a Ground to Air Missile system called Tigercat, which was the land-based variant of the Shorts Seacat Missile.
A Team of seven engineers and technicians were sent to Amman in Jordan to fix the problem prior to a demonstration for King Hussein of Jordan.
Unfortunately, at the time, Jordan had its own political problems with the ongoing incursions of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Trouble was brewing with the PLO, when they decided to take over Harry’s hotel in Amman and hold the Shorts team hostage. The situation lasted a few days and thankfully no one was injured in the process. The team fixed the technical issue and proceeded to successfully demonstrate Tigercat to the King.
Harry and the team were awarded The Order of Istiqal by King Hussein for their services to the people of Jordan
