ANCIENT LANDMARKS

(Page content courtesy of Camp 15 Waterloo)

The Seven Wardens have adopted the following Ancient Landmarks to be used as fulfilling the intent described by Rudyard Kipling in his notes. You will see these Ancient Landmarks at the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer Ceremony.

HAMMER

​A machinist ball pein hammer having been used and abused in work.

ANVIL

A small size blacksmith’s anvil of standard pattern with an honourable working record.

CHAIN

A chain of honourable tradition tried and tested in service, endless, and of length sufficient for the hands of all candidates.

RING

Suitable for the little finger of the working hand, and obtained from one certified source to insure uniformity and security.

Concerning the ring, Kipling wrote:

 “The Ring of Obligation shall be of wrought iron, unpolished, in the shape and thickness of a wedding ring, but no great width. It shall carry no mark. It shall be worn on the little finger of the right hand except where the Candidate is left- handed, for the Ring shall always be upon the working hand. It is not to be worn upon the watch chain (viz: as a piece of jewellery). It is a ring, not a charm.”

“It (the Ring) is rough, as the mind of the young person. It is not smoothed off at the edges, any more than the character of the young. It is hand-hammered all around – and the young have all their hammering coming to them. It has neither beginning nor end, any more than the work of an engineer or, as we know, space itself. It will cut into a gold ring if worn next to it, thus showing that one had better keep one’s work and one’s money-getting quite separate.”

CAMP BOOK

Provided by the Seven Wardens for each Camp includes Charter, Ritual, Notes, the Rule of Governance, and other information gathered from time-to-time pertaining to the constitution of any Camp and the carrying out of the Ritual ceremony. Aside from the camp charters, the content of the Camp Book has been superseded by the 2016 version of the Manual of Camp Practice.