Templars are recruiting

From the Sunday Express...

FOR more than 700 years they have been the subject of myth and legend after an angry Pope ordered their destruction and drove them underground.

Now the Knights Templars are back in the open and have launched a recruitment drive.

Last night an extraordinary public meeting took place to show potential recruits what the Order is about and what can be expected of them. Membership is open to men and women.

Russ Kellett, who is starting a new legion of Templars, said: “The idea is to attract fresh blood into what is an excellent organisation whose aims are to live a pious life and help in a charitable way people who may need our help.

“People believe that the Templars were destroyed between 1307 and 1312 but most of the knights involved simply disappeared and carried on with their work.”

He is reluctant to reveal too much about The Order of the Knights Templars but says many knights in other branches have carried on a family tradition stretching back generations. His legion isn’t the only one to be created in the past two years. He said: “We are still very popular and people are very interested in what we do. The Order does good work in many ways but doesn’t boast about it.”

The Knights’ official title is The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the ­Temple of Solomon and they became famous for their role in the Crusades in the Middle Ages. They built castles and temples around Europe and enjoyed affluence and influence as well as a reputation for their fighting skills.

Their rising power led Pope Clement V to order them to disband in 1312, which led to knights being executed or fleeing.

Mr Kellett said: “The Knights Templars did carry on, in this country and elsewhere and we will be meeting regularly and visiting fellow branches as well as having guest speakers.”

Members can expect to learn about medieval battle techniques and swordsmanship and undertake charitable work. Those at the first meeting in Filey, North Yorkshire, heard about the order’s origins, myths and legends and some of the secrets surrounding its creation.

Mr Kellett said: “Our work now is more necessary than ever before. We have attracted some quality applicants from varying backgrounds.”