OK, I’ll admit it – this is a bit of fun for a Monday… but I’ve been working through the later years of St Saviour’s, Oxford Street, and into the Acton years of the church. In doing so, I stumbled upon the following in the account of the laying of the foundation stone at Acton in 1924.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I found the idea of the Prince of Wales being met by an order of ‘Buffaloes’, quite amusing… In actual fact, this reference is not to buffaloes at all, but rather speaks about the link that the Association had with Masonic, and non-Masonic (but similar) organisations. The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes was not a masonic order, nor was it royally approved, nor did it date from antediluvian (i.e. before the flood) times, nor did it consist of buffaloes… However, in common with the Masonic Lodge, it was a very large, charitable organisation with powerful and influential members, particularly known for their philanthropy.

I say ‘was’ – it still exists.

The ROAB is just one of the colourful organisations associated with the story of the Deaf church in London. We’ll try and bring you more as we discover them.