An audience with Neville Barker Cryer is a wonderful experience for any mason interested in the history and traditions of our movement, but to visit him at his own home is an even greater privilege and that was my good fortune on a beautiful late autumn day. Neville was nearing the end of his recovery period following major heart surgery; he looked well and was in fine form. As Neville settled I sensed a warmth about the man and his abode which immediately set me at ease.
     I have read many of his books and articles but I wanted to know something about the man behind the books and what motivated his long running passion for Masonic Orders. His is a fascinating story of a Northern born lad who seems to have had a guiding light looking after him throughout his life.
     As a Son of a Methodist Lay Preacher father and a devout Anglican mother it is not surprising therefore that from an early age young Neville wanted to enter the Clergy and in fact announced his intentions at Sunday School when only nine years of age. He was reminded of his declaration some eight years ago when, after preaching at Fylde Parish Church, he was introduced to a lady who was the very teacher to whom he made the announcement all those years ago.
     His father died when he was only eight years old and his mother then became the sole parental influence in his life. She encouraged him to sit for and gain a scholarship to Manchester Grammar School; she also encouraged him to work hard to gain a Scholarship to Oxford University.
     After his first year at Oxford, as the Second World War had begun, he went for military training at Maidstone with fellow Oxford Undergraduates. Here, irrespective of the comments of his colleagues he would kneel at his bed every night and say his prayers. This activity inspired his then Sergeant to become involved with the church, a fact unknown to Neville until they met by chance more than forty years later at a masonic meeting in Sevenoaks.
     There is a clear indication that ‘good fortune’ has played a part in Neville’s life. He should have been at the D Day Landings but the War Office lost his papers and had no record of him, hence he stayed at Maidstone training whilst his Undergraduate colleagues saw action at the Landings, five of them losing their lives. He was then posted to India. Whilst on the Troop Ship he studied Urdu becoming fluent in that language by the time he reached India, and also found time to arrange religious worship and bible reading on board. In India he was again the beneficiary of some good fortune. While many of his colleagues went off to fight in Burma, he was posted to carry out work on the North West Frontier, a much safer environment, where he assisted the troops in reading and writing. Following the end of the Second World War he trained for the Clergy and was Ordained in 1950

Joining Freemasonry

His first introduction to Masonry came in 1951 at a Diocesan Meeting at Matlock Bath, in Derbyshire, when he was approached by the Archdeacon of Derby, the Venerable George Fitzherbert. Neville was invited to Sunday tea, and after, on the lawn, the Archdeacon pulled out some forms for Neville to sign, saying to him ‘We want you in.’ A Seconder, another Cleric from the Cathedral had already been arranged, and Neville was to report in three weeks time to the Masonic Hall in Derby and knock three times on ‘the green door.’ He was also told to bring thirty three guineas, a not inconsequential sum for a young priest on an annual salary of £250 a year.
     By this time his mother had sold her business, giving everything up to look after him and was still a strong influence in his life. No surprise then that when he mentioned to her at the age of thirty that he was thinking of getting married she was concerned that he was too young. Marry he did, however: he and his first wife met by chance and were a perfect match until her premature death through cancer.
     The chance meeting with such a close soul mate is yet another link in the chain of good fortune in Neville’s life.
     His wife was a great supporter of his Masonic activities throughout their married life; he did however make sure that they had time together. As a clergyman he was at home during the day for lunch whenever possible. He always made sure he returned home from Masonic Meetings by 10.00pm so that they had further time together before retiring to bed. His wife encouraged him to go out to Masonry, because having got the children to bed by 8.30pm she had time for herself.
     Until he reached the rank of Junior Warden, or its equivalent, he never stayed for a meal and that when he got to the equivalent of Past Master he reverted to not staying for the Festive Board.
     Neville has strong views on when meetings should finish, he sees no reason why we should not be able to be home for 10.00pm. Toasts should be prompt and crisply delivered. Responses should be properly prepared after the Responder has been given sufficient notice. In his view, it is wrong to expect someone to respond after the tap on the shoulder at the Festive Board. He also has an aversion to smutty stories which he considers to be unnecessary.

Freemasonry in the Modern Era

I was interested to hear that he did not start to look beyond the mere words of the Ritual until he had been a Mason for twenty five years, during which time he had become a member of every Masonic Degree. When he joined, he said, the objective was to learn the words and to be as perfect as possible. No one ever suggested that he should try to understand the meaning of the words for the emphasis at the time was on presentation not meaning. But he now believes it important that masons understand what they are saying and why.
     I asked him about the Cornerstone Society which focuses upon the meaning of the Craft rituals. He feels that it started off well but has now lost its way, becoming too philosophical, work which belongs more to the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. ‘As it has moved off in this direction I have lost some interest in it as it is becoming distant from the grass roots mason.’
     When I asked him for his views on the future of Freemasonry he was typically forthright. He is concerned about what he sees as the over-emphasis on charity; it has its place, he says, but should not dominate.
     He also supports Mentoring programmes but stresses the need for Mentors to be sympathetic to the needs of their charges.
     But overall, he said, ‘What is needed is an understanding of what we are and where we came from,’ and he added, ‘I think I know where we came from.’ Then explaining, ‘We must understand what is the real basis of Freemasonry... it is Christian understanding,’ he explained and likened our learning to being on a pilgrimage which ends in the Holy of Holies of the Temple where God resides.
     As for the future, Neville is already working on several new books; he has concluded that masons are not big readers so in the future his books will be more in the ‘I just didn’t know that’ genre. We look forward to reading them.