My great great grandfather Edward Thomas Warren was a policeman in Victoria from 1856 to 1886 when he retired, first in Geelong and then Bendigo. He died in 1892. His funeral notice from the Bendigo Advertiser made reference to the AOF Court Bendigo and contained other acroynyms I did not know. I discovered that AOF stood for Ancient Order of Foresters. The AOF was set-up as a non profit organisation to provide financial and social benefits as well as support to members of their families in times of unemployment, sickness, death, disability and old age. Last night I discovered their Museum in the UK and emailed them requesting information about the funeral notice. The first AOF Court (branch) in Australia was set up in 1849 in Victoria. B.U.D. stands for Bendigo United District which was one of several A.O.F. districts in Victoria. Court Bendigo (3549), was founded in 1861and was a constituent Court of the Bendigo United District. In 1892 when Edward died the Court had 170 members, and was meeting at Bee Hive Chambers, Sandhurst. After Edward's name were the initials P.C.R. which stands for Past Chief Ranger. "A Court (branch) Chief Raqnger was a member elected by his peers to serve a term in office as Court Chairman for a period of either 6 or 12 moonths. It was a position of honour, and selection as such was a mark of acknowledged respect held by fellow members in the court. At the end of the term in office an award of a medal/jewel might be made, inscribed accordingly, and a P.C.R. certificate awarded to be framed and hung in the member's home." The reply from The Foresters Heritage Trust concluded: "It is fascinating to learn of the existence of the funeral notice, it is not something I have come across in an Australian context before. Many thanks for contacting us about it, it is a useful snippet for the Trust's Archive." I then emailed them a copy of the funeral notice for their archives. Does anyone know anything about the operations of the AOF in Bendigo? I would assume that the funeral notice inviting "fellow members of the Court and Order to follow the remains of our late Brother" would have been common. Thanks Chris