In common with several other large British ocean liners, there was a Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes Lodge on board Caronia. My recollections of the RAOB, as a lad of 18 at the time, are quite vague. Certainly, the Caronia RAOB lodge were very active aboard, mostly raising funds for displaced seamen, and other seamen's charities. I suppose that the reason that my recollections are so vague is because whenever I made enquiries, there was always an aura of mystery surrounding their activities and apparently you could only join if you were “invited”. What made it all the more curious was that nobody, but nobody, would ever admit to being a “Buff”! Certainly I remember seeing the regular notices of future meetings, usually held in Caronia's gym. Despite all this, these guys were very active and definitely formed part of Caronia's history. One of the highlights of their calendar was the Annual Buffs Ball, held for Officers and crew.This ball was usually held in late September or early October in the Sandringham Restaurant during the Autumn Mediterranean Cruise. As soon as the last passengers had been served their dinner, all the tables in the centre of the restaurant would be unbolted and taken out into the galley.A live band, made up from various crew members, would install themselves just inside the main doors. Within an hour, the room would be decorated and completely transformed into the equivalent of an elegant floating night-club. Needless to say, we all dressed for the occasion! At the other end, nearest the galley, a fabulous buffet would be laid on, almost equalling those prepared for the passengers. After the ball, at around 2am, all the removed tables would be returned to the restaurant and bolted back into place on the deck and then laid-up for breakfast.All of the preparations mentioned above, along with the drinks service was provided by the Brothers, making this event another enjoyable highlight of life on board. So, whilst they may have been reticent at disclosing their membership, there were certainly enough members to arrange a really fabulous night. Through the good offices of Bob Philpott, I've managed to glean some information from one of the surviving Caronia Lodge members - Tommy Colclough. When the Caronia left Cunard service, the Caronia Lodge wasn't disbanded. It came ashore under the auspices of the Southampton Maritime Grand Lodge. It wasn't until 55 years after it was originally formed that it finally closed, at the beginning of 2004.