# Order of the Golden Age

The Order of the Golden Age (OGA) was an international animal rights society with a Christian, theosophical and vegetarian emphasis, which existed between 1895 and 1959.

## History

The Order of the Golden Age (OGA) was conceptualised in 1881 by Rev. Henry John Williams (younger brother of Howard Williams) and formally established a year later. The OGA was first known as the Order of the Companions of the Golden Age and was dedicated to the memory of James the Less. The first general meeting was held on 8 September 1881 at Brympton in Somerset. Henry John Williams was president, R. Bailey Walker was vice-president and Frederick L. Catcheside was treasurer. A shortage of funds prevented its growth until Sidney Hartnoll Beard re-established the OGA in 1895.
The renewed OGA's headquarters were located at Beard's residence in Ilfracombe. The Order promoted psychical research, spiritualism and vegetarianism. A conference for the Order took place at St. Martin's Town Hall, London in 1897. Speakers included Rev. J. H. N. Nevill, J. I. Pengelly, Frances L. Boult, Charles W. Forward and May Yates. Members read messages from America, India and other countries.
George Cozens Prior was honorary solicitor for the Order from 1901 to 1903. In 1904, the OGA's new headquarters were located at Barcombe Hall in Paignton. Beard was editor of The Herald of the Golden Age (1896–1918), the official journal for the OGA. The aim of the journal was to promote the "fruitarian system of living, and to teach its advantages." The journal promoted vegetarianism from a Christian perspective. According to an advertisement of the journal, it "challenges the morality of Carnivorous Customs and advocates Practical Christianity, Hygienic Common Sense, Social Reform, Philanthropy and Universal Benevolence. It is opposed to War, Slaughter, Cruelty and Oppression, and is designed to promote Goodness, but not goody goodyism, and Orthodoxy of Heart, rather than Orthodoxy of Creed." Josiah Oldfield, the noted British lawyer, physician and promoter of fruitarianism, was a member of the OGA.
In 1896, Rev. Gideon Jasper Richard Ouseley founder of the Order of the Golden Age and United Templary was involved in a dispute with Beard and complained that the organization was being confused with his own. In 1904, the OGA was reconstituted and declared to be "founded in 1895 by Sidney H. Beard" with the consent of Henry John Williams.
By 1909, the OGA was active in 47 countries, and its headquarters transferred to London. The OGA organised successful concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. The OGA even claimed to have converted Pope Pius X to the vegetarian diet during 1907. In 1938, the Order decamped to South Africa upon the death of their official Founder and President, Sidney Hartnoll Beard, to become forgotten about by the vegetarian movement until the 21st century.

## Position on fish eating

The OGA did not oppose consumption of fish. In 1902, the OGA stated that "the eating of fish caught in a net has never been forbidden to members of The Order, and the original rule still remains in force... The Order stands on the basis of its original foundation, and this foundation declared that the eating of net-caught fish should not exclude from membership".
The OGA had two classes in its membership, companions and associates. The companions were vegetarians who abstained from fish, poultry and red meat, whilst the associates abstained from only poultry and red meat. Both were considered members of The Order.
OGA's position on fish eating was criticized in an article in The British Medical Journal which questioned "is not a fish as much deserving of consideration on 'humanitarian grounds' as a sheep?".

## Legacy

A commemorative website was created in 2006 and the OGA was mentioned in a modern published history of the vegetarian movement a year later. A large collection of volumes of The Herald of the Golden Age were digitised by the Internet Archive in 2008.

## Council Members

Notable council members include:
| 1897–1913 | Sidney H. Beard (also president) |
| 1897–1897 | Edmund J. Baillie |
| 1897–1897 | Robert Semple |
| 1897–1905 | Frances L. Boult |
| 1897–1899 | Albert Broadbent |
| 1897–1897 | Charles W. Forward |
| 1897–1898 | J. Isaac Pengelly |
| 1897–1903 | Harold W. Whiston |
| 1897–1913 | Henry John Williams |
| 1898–1898 | James Christopher Street |
| 1898–1913 | Alfred Mansfield Mitchell |
| 1899–1904 | Arthur Harvie |
| 1899–1904 | Walter Walsh |
| 1900–1902, 1905–1913 | Josiah Oldfield |
| 1901–1904 | Robert H. Perks |
| 1902–1904 | Charles A. Hall |
| 1902–1904 | John Todd Ferrier |
| 1902–1907 | Eustace H. Miles |
| 1907–1908 | James Edge Partington |
| 1907–1909 | Ernest Newlandsmith |
| 1907–1913 | Robert Bell |
| 1910–1911 | Otto Abramowski |