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Finances

There was no silver spoon in Leslie’s mouth, though neither did he ever know real hardship, thus fulfilling one of the expectations of ‘Sunday’s Child’. As a child he was brought up by parents, Billy and Selina, who had pulled themselves out of the working class, and who probably had known real hardship – certainly there is good evidence that Leslie’s mother had had a tough time. But by the time Leslie was born the family was rapidly becoming ‘respectable’.

Billy did possess a nice gold pocket watch, but we know of no other luxuries and certainly, unlike Irene’s family, there was no motorcar. Billy seems to have been doing quite well until the collapse of the cotton industry in 1921, and had become a shareholder in the Regent mill where he worked. However the shares were eventually worthless and Leslie told me his father had experienced difficult times after losing his job, probably in 1927 or 1928 (see Billly Dunkerley). He was coming to terms with his new situation as a sales representative for Walker and Homfray’s brewery when he died tragically in 1936. His estate was assessed as worth £309-18s-11d, a not inconsiderable sum in those days, but there is reason to believe that much of that might have come from a life insurance policy that paid off the mortgage on the family home.

After his father died, Leslie was almost certainly the main breadwinner in the family and knew he had to be careful with his money. Certainly he was the one that the family depended on in a practical way, for it was he who obtained probate for his father’s estate, and who arranged for his mother to receive a small widow’s pension. Probably neither his sister Gladys nor his older brother Albert ever had much more than was needed for day-to-day expenses. I understand that Leslie helped put his brother Clare through Goldsmith’s College in London, starting in 1931, and certainly if there was a family need Leslie could be counted on to help out where possible.

Everything Leslie possessed until after he retired, he earned for himself. He heeded the exhortations of the Scout Law and the bible about thrift and saved money when he could. This paid dividends when he and Irene agreed to marry as there was money to pay cash for good furnishings. When the opportunity presented itself they were also able to obtain a mortgage to buy their own home at Circular Road, which may have cost around £900. In those days it was impossible to get a mortgage without having saved a significant amount of money over a period of a few years with the prospective lender. The house was eventually sold for £3,400 in 1966 and replaced by their retirement bungalow at 555, Bolton Road, Bury at a cost of £3,800.

Leslie’s steady employment at St. George’s allowed him and Irene to build up their financial position. Annual bonuses from the company were used first and foremost to pay down the mortgage and spare money was invested safely in building societies and National Savings Certificates. Leslie would have nothing to do with risky investments such as shares, citing his father’s bad experiences with part-paid shares that he maintained had nearly ruined his family, and had in fact ruined many others (see poem). Neither did Leslie have much faith in ‘insurances’; the only one he ever owned was purchased from a struggling Prudential salesman, a friend of a friend, for whom Leslie felt sorry! I remember ‘the man from the Pru’ calling periodically with his books to collect the premiums.

It seems that by about 1951 the mortgage had been redeemed as in 1952 Irene and Leslie felt they could afford a small car, and from then onwards savings began to accumulate. I have recollections of Christine and I being sat down at the dining room table to sign applications for National Savings Certificates after our parents had reached the limit of what they were allowed to have in their own names. The thought went through my mind that really the money was mine and I was rich! Thereafter the pattern of keeping savings on deposit (but seeking out the best rates) and taking up successive generations of National Savings products continued with little variation. The only shares that Leslie was ever persuaded to acquire were the standard allotments of privatisation shares for himself and Irene with the Trustee Savings Bank, of which his good friend Bill Andrew was a manager.

On about 15th March 1944 Leslie had become a member of The Foreman and Staff Mutual Benefit Society (later apparently The Foreman and Staff Friendly Society). This was in effect a pension scheme that he had been instrumental in establishing for the benefit of certain senior employees and the directors of St. George’s. Because there were statutory limits on the F & S pension scheme at that time, F & S made arrangements with Friends Provident for a back-up scheme to, in principle, duplicate their own. This effectively gave rise to two single-life pensions when Leslie eventually retired, probably on 29th January 1971. In 1990/91 F & S was taken over by Britannia Life.

From 1st August 1952 St. George’s started another pension scheme for senior employees, including Leslie, with Northern Assurance Co. Ltd. This gave rise to a joint-life second-death pension and a tax-free cash lump sum that Leslie used to buy a single-life purchased life annuity, both with Commercial Union. In 1973 the St. George’s pensions were £1,048 gross per annum. Only the F & S pension appears to have had any increases in payment such that the gross amount rose, to £1,056 by 1985 and £1,248.24 by 1995/96, the last full year of payment. There was a great deal of inflation during the 1970s and Leslie and Irene’s private pension income was very severely affected. Between 1974 and 1988 Leslie's annual state pension, which benefited from some compensation for inflation, rose from £618 to £2,083, an increase of 337% and far more than his private pension. The consequence was that Leslie and Irene, and many other pensioners in similar circumstances, saw their careful plans for retirement frustrated. They ended up being thrust into the arms of the state, which was in fact responsible for the economic mismanagement of the economy that caused the inflation in the first place. It was a huge confiscation by the government of the private resources of the middle class.

In many ways people will not notice that the fundamentals of the world they live in shift slowly but inexorably over the decades of their lifetimes. We often believe that the lessons we learned in our youth can be applied as our guide and stay - we call it 'experience'. The truth is that we need to keep learning and adapt to circumstances as they change. Leslie grew up and learned to manage his money in times first of deflation (when it paid to be a lender rather than a borrower) and then of low inflation, after the Second World War until the 1960s. However the financial tectonic plates were shifting and UK inflation increased from the late 1960s until the mid 1970s, culminating in 1975 when it reached an eye-watering 24%. Between 1959 and 1987 UK inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, averaged 7.7% per annum, which means that Leslie and Irene’s savings and income were halving in value every 8½ years! This was devastating. At that time it paid to be a borrower rather than a lender, because the real value of a lender’s loans were halving every 8½ years! I remember reading an article in a news magazine, ‘Time’, I think, and trying to understand inflation (which was a worldwide phenomenon just then). I asked Leslie about deposit interest rates on one of his building society accounts. The conversation went something like this: I said, "So, if you have your money on deposit at 8% a year and inflation is 10% a year, at the end of the year you’ve actually lost about 2% of your money haven’t you?" He said: "Well, maybe", and paused before continuing, "but you know, Philip, 8% a year is still a very good rate of interest." This was what he had learned as a young man, and at the time that would have been right. It shows that inflation is a corrosive evil through which the government effectively puts its hand deep into the pocket of every saver and every person in the country living on a fixed income (especially pensioners), and helps itself at will. Leslie did not read any publications that provided sound economic analysis after he retired . He was ever thoughtful, but even thoughtful people, even a retired Company Secretary, find it hard to really understand, and even harder to take avoiding action.

Leslie was always open handed with money. I have already mentioned that he helped out more than one family member who was experiencing financial difficulties, and he was always generous in support of Masonic events and charities. He often paid for friends and their wives to attend ladies evenings, which not only gave him pleasure but also boosted attendance and helped to promote Freemasonry to potential future members.

Irene and Leslie were never extravagant and lived within their means. Not for them foreign holidays while they still had a family to bring up, a posh new car every year or two, or a big house. This allowed them to accumulate sufficient capital to survive the depredations that the inflation of the late 1960s and 1970s wreaked on their private pensions, with concern but ultimately without hardship.

Both concern and hardship were providentially ameliorated by three unanticipated inheritances during the 1970s, just when inflationary devaluation of Sterling was at its worst. The first was half the value of the house of Gladys Stott (Leslie's sister), about £2,000, after Gladys died in 1975. The second was probably about £2,700, representing one third of the value of Irene’s mother’s house after sister Margaret Tuson had died in 1976. The third, probably a larger amount - and totally unexpected - came after Irene’s cousin Doris Warhurst died in 1977. Irene and Leslie’s trip to Brazil was financed out of the generosity of cousin Doris.

Leslie was thrifty, yet generous. He was responsible and took the family finances seriously, yet he had no love of money. He wanted enough to maintain the family standard of living and a bit to spare so that he could occasionally do something special, like treat someone or have a nicer holiday. He was successful in that the resources he left were adequate to ensure that Irene would want for nothing, and to provide family help where needed. He must have been satisfied with the way he had managed, and relieved that things had finally worked out. To close this section I shall add a poem in Lancashire dialect by Joseph Baron, about attitudes to money, that Leslie found sufficiently relevant to type out and use as a bookmark.

    SOME FOOAK  

    Glossary

    Ther’s some fooak are olez on t’ chunner
    An’ there’s nob’dy can tell wot abeawt;
    An’ there’s others as look black as thunner
    They’re as sacklus as hens are i’ t’ mowt.
    They’re young an’ they’re strong an’ they’re healthy,
    They possess every God-given sense:
    But they’re not wot they choose to call ‘wealthy’ –
    Meanin’ sov’rins an’ shillin’s an’ pence.

    A mon may have brass an’ be ailin’ –
    May be fizzickt his life through bi’ quacks –
    May be worried to death abeawt failin’ –
    In his morals may be rayther lax –
    May be vulgar, be childless an’ friendless –
    Hev no pleasures but bettin’ an’ booze –
    May hev worries and warches ‘at’s endless,
    Yet – be envied bi theawsands o’ foos.

    Poor foo’s it’s for shadows yer pining
    An’ yo’ve substance reight under yo’r een;
    Up aboon yo’ God’s lamps may be shining
    As yo’ rake up yo’r muck-heaps so keen:
    An’ yo’ scrape an’ heap up an’ keep sighing,
    An’ God’s marvels are lost to yo’r seet,
    While yo’r brief stay on earth here is flying,
    Then, of a sudden – how sudden! it’s neet.

    Oh, look on yon breet orb descendin’
    In a glory o’ crimson an’ gowd –
    On yon ocean as tempests are rendin’
    Wi’ a fury, sublime to behold,
    On each bonny green vale an’ each river,
    On mountains, on brids and on trees,
    Ay, an’ think as yo’ thank the Great Giver,
    Could earth’s treasure buy marvels like these?

    Oh list to sweet song as is ringing
    From yon thrush to his mate up i’ t’ nest –
    Stop an’ hearken yon young muther singing
    To her babe as it smiles at her breast;
    Hear each hard-workin’ thing ‘at’s created
    As it utters it’s innermost bliss –
    Is sich rapture bi gowd estimated?
    Could a million buy music like this?

    Hev yo’ just a green hill to walk up to,
    An’ a song fro’ a linnet or lark?
    Hev yo’ just an owd crony to talk to,
    Or a book, when yo’ve finished yo’r wark?
    Hev yo’ wife and young childer as love yo’
    An’ mek breeter yo’r life wi’ their mirth?
    Then, thank God in His Heaven above yo’ –
    For yo’r t’ blessedest mortal on earth!

Lancashire Dialect

(Go to article discussing the origins and development of Lancashire dialect)

As can be seen from the poem above, Leslie had a deep interest in Lancashire dialect. It is almost certain that his father, Billy, spoke Lancashire dialect as a boy and at his work in the cotton mills, although he would more and more revert to Standard English as he grew older and moved into wider social circles. Billy used to say: "Put can’t at th’ back of ‘th dur and try again", which is Lancashire both in structure and in tradition, and of course he was responsible for calling Leslie ‘Jammy o’ th’ potates’, which is hardly regular English!

Leslie did not use Lancashire dialect even among friends – I’m not aware that any of them spoke it, so he had no cause or excuse – but he had an abiding love for it both as a language and as a repository of Lancashire wit and wisdom. I don’t know that he inherited any dialect books from his father, although he might have done, but in time Leslie came to have an interesting collection of dialect books of his own. There were twenty volumes of the works of Ben Brierley, eleven volumes of the works of Edwin Waugh and works by Tim Bobbin and Ammon Wrigley, among others. He also owned a number of anthologies that included works by Sam Laycock, Sam Fitton, and many other writers, and strayed into Yorkshire dialect and even Geordie! Inevitably he had books of poems by Robert Burns, one of the first poets to write in vernacular English (though a Scot!). Leslie was quick to point out that Burns, Waugh and, of course, Brierley, were Freemasons. Thus were mixed ‘business’ and pleasure!

Unfortunately Leslie’s collection of dialect books was broken up some years before he died while I was abroad, under the mistaken impression that they did not interest me. Most went to be sold via brother Clare, but by good luck and the kindness of Clare’s wife, my Auntie Brenda, I have been able to recover a fair number of them.

Leslie had a love for words, expressed at different times of his life in jokes (particularly puns), in his dedication to word-perfection in Masonic ritual, in dialect itself, in word-games from newspapers, and last – but not least! – in Scrabble, of which he became a devotee (addict?) in his declining years.

Beyond Lancashire dialect, Leslie had a wider regard for poetry, and possessed a number of books of poetical works, notably including the complete works of Rudyard Kipling (also a Freemason) and Tennyson’s poetical works, plus various anthologies. Quite frequently Leslie found he could combine his interests in Freemasonry, or the spiritual dimension, with his love for dialect, poetry, or both.

Leslie’s interest in poetry and dialect extended beyond an appreciation of these arts, for he was occasionally moved by the Muse, writing under the cunning nom-de-plume of ‘J. Eldon Curley’. He would probably never have claimed to have written poetry, but he certainly produced verse!

The oldest example of his verse I can find was perpetrated on Irene in a letter sent on the occasion of her 24th birthday in 1940, about the time of the Manchester blitz when there was always the threat of air-raid sirens. It may be recalled that at the time Irene worked attending the public in her sweet cum tobacconist shop that also loaned out library books. Thus quoth the poet:

24th BIRTHDAY ODE

To write at a table, I now sit down to
Send you greetings, I feel bound to
When I think of you, behind the counter
(Pause while the romantic thought seeps well in) …
I hope you’ll be fit, with muscles all a-crack-o,
I hope you’ll sell all your tobacco.
I wish you all the wealth of Dukes,
By letting out your library books.
And when night comes with rest for Irene,
I hope she sleeps bowt hearing sireeeeen.

In spite of this assault on her good taste and sensibilities, Irene was clearly a sucker for punishment as she still later married him!
A more serious effort also dates from 1940 when J. Eldon Curley wrote the following verse for the programme to accompany the Ben Brierley Lodge December Ladies Evening:

THE LADIES

Some folk we’ll treasure o’ eaur lives,
Eaur Mothers, Sisters, Sweethearts, Wives.
We’re proud o’ them and reightly so –
They’re gradely foalk, Ah’d have thi know.
They’ve gan us o’ good lifts on t’way,
We owe ‘em mooar ner we can pay;
And but for them, as yo’ll allow,
There’d be no sich things as Masons neaw.

There’s nowt to match thi Mother’s luv,
Hoo nursed thi – tender as a dove;
When tha were young an’ helpless too,
Hoo sacrificed so mich for you.
So think o’ every Mother wi’ pleasure,
Good Wives an’ Ladies o’, let’s treasure;
To men they act like lumps o’ leaven,
And bring to earth the touch o’ Heaven.

Then while we’re here – afore we’re gonners,
Let’s toast ‘em wi fullest honours;
So men an’ Masons at this party,
Stond to yer glasses – then most hearty.
Drink to the Ladies, a very good health
An’ wish ‘em o’ happiness an’ wealth,
Then having lived upreet, like Failsworth Pow ,
May t’ Good Lord receive ‘em aboon shuzheaw.

The most satisfying outlet that Leslie found to express his love for Lancashire dialect came through various talks he gave over the years to groups as varied as the New Moston St. Chad’s Church of England Men’s Society (CEMS) in 1955 (which ordered a repeat performance in 1956 and a third dose in 1958), St. Paul’s Methodist Women’s of Shaw in 1963, a group at Dunham Massey in 1981 and the Middleton Masonic Fellowship in 1982.

At these meetings Leslie would read a selection of dialect poems and no doubt conduct discussions of both the poems and the medium, thus helping to prolong an interest in a language rich in vocabulary, expression and local history. As an example there follows one of Leslie’s favourites, by Sam Fitton, that appears on all his lists.

MY OWD CASE CLOCK

Glossary

We o’ han cherished things no doubt,
We somehow feel we cornt do ‘bowt:
Some furniture we value heigh,
We’n things ‘at money couldna’ beigh.
I have an owd case-clock a’ whoam
I wouldna’ sell for any sum;
It stood i’ th’ corner, so I’m towd
When first I coom to live i’ th’ fowd ;
It stons theer yet, an’ neet an’ day
It measures time an’ ticks away –
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

Its cheery dial seems to say:
"Let’s laugh to while the time away,"
An’ though it hasno’ changed its chime
It’s sin some changes in its time;
It’s gazed on o our household crew,
It’s watched ‘em come, it’s watched ‘em goo.
When little Jack were ta’en one day
It watched us side his things away,
An’ when our tears began to flow
It said "Cheer up, Time heals, I know;
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

It’s like a sentinel i’ th’ nook;
Th’ owd lad con read me like a book,
An when I’ve had an extra glass
It seems to know, it does bi’ th’ Mass!
That clock’s both human an’ divine;
One neet I geet a bit o’er th’ line;
It chuckled, as it winked one e’e:
"Tha’s had a drop to’ mich I see,"
It hiccupped, "Well tha art a foo";
The beggar seemed to wobble too: –
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

When little Bill were born, th’ owd clock
Seemed fain to have one moor to th’ flock,
But while it smiled it little knew
His mother wouldna’ live it through;
It watched ‘em lay her in her shroud
An’ somehow didna’ tick so loud;
It seemed to say: "There’s trouble here,
They’n lost their main-spring, too, I fear;
I’ll howd my noise till th’ trouble’s o’er."
But now it ticks on as before: –
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

It’s sin some marlocks in its time,
When I were young an’ in my prime
It watched me courtin eawr Nell;
It seed us kiss, but winno tell;
It seed me smile on th’ weddin’ morn,
An’ swell wi’ pride when th’ first were born;
It’s sin o th’ childer in their pomp;
It’s watched ‘em laugh, an’ sing, an’ romp,
An’ when I’ve joined ‘em in their play
It’s said "I’m fain I’m wick today –
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

Alas! There coom a time when trade
Were bad an’ I felt much afraid
I’d ha’ to sell my dear owd clock
To pay for corn to feed my flock.
I felt distracted. Things grew worse,
An’ when a chap’s an empty purse
An’ hawf-a-dozen meawths to feed,
If he’s a heart it’s bound to bleed.
I sowd th’ owd couch to buy ‘em bread,
An’ th’ owd case-clock looked on an’ said:
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

I axed th’ owd clock: "What mun I do?
I welly think tha’ll ha’ to goo;
I’m loth to part wi’ thee, owd lad,
But th’ childer starve, an times are bad.
Say shall I sell thee, too, owd friend,
Or does ta think ‘at times ull mend?
I know tha’d raise a pound or two,
So mun we part? Come, tell me true."
I welly thowt it shook its yed;
It seemed to frown on me an’ said: –
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

I didna’ sell th’ owd clock at o’,
For times improved. It seemed to know.
It’s like a dog, for wark or play,
It knows quite every word I say.
When times are good it looks so glad;
Its dial drops when times are bad.
Then, like a sage, it ticks an’ sings,
Remindin’ me ‘at time has wings;
An’ when I’ve gone to – God knows wheer,
Th’ owd clock ull still be tickin’ theer:
"Tick, tock; tick, tock."

If you would like to read more Lancashire dialect, go to this link.

The Christian Dimension

We have already discussed how Leslie was almost certainly a Sunday School scholar at St. John’s church in Failsworth and how he was confirmed there, along with brother Lewis, when he was fifteen years old. He was still a Sunday school teacher at St. John’s up to the age of thirty-one in 1937 (see picture), and he was married there in 1942.

After moving to New Moston in 1944 Leslie continued his church life at St. Chad’s, where I was baptised, where Christine and I attended Sunday school, and where Christine was married. Leslie and Irene normally went to morning service and would contribute half a crown each to collection, a worthy sum in those days (well, it impressed me!). The move to Bury in 1966 brought a transfer to St. Stephen’s church where some years later Leslie ‘flaked out’ (in his own words) during the service on a couple of occasions and finished up in hospital. These experiences so embarrassed him that subsequently, and understandably, he no longer attended church services. However he continued to receive pastoral visits at home, in Bourne from Canon John Warwick, with whom he enjoyed discussions about Christianity.

It was during the period from about 1935 to 1944, while living at Lord Lane, that Leslie discovered the writings of Canon Peter Green and the Rev. Leslie Weatherhead. Over time he acquired ten books of each writer and a number of other religious books, particularly about St. Paul of whom, it would be fair to say, he became something of a scholar. Another writer he admired was H. V. Morton, whose ‘In the steps of the Master’ he bought while in Grasmere in the Lake District in 1941 as a present for Irene. Leslie’s bookcase contained numerous other religious books, including several bibles (Moffit’s translation, the Authorized version and the New English version), the Talmud, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, the Apocrypha, Peake’s commentary on the bible, and a series of books about Palestine. There were also several books on mysticism, and a couple on the origins of the universe.

Many of the books, including virtually all those by Peter Green, are annotated, sometimes heavily so, often in two of three different periods – indicating re-reading of the more treasured volumes from time to time. Frustratingly, many of the annotations are written in Pitman’s shorthand. In addition there are frequent book marks, ranging from the proverbial tram or bus ticket (occasionally with a discernable date) to the more common old envelope used as scrap paper, or a simple sheet of paper. The papers often carry notes, sometimes with page references, in pencil, ballpoint or typed.

Among the marginal annotations it is quite common to find the symbol of a point within a circle. Where this occurs, it often marks a note in the book about the ‘heart’, or ‘God in his Heaven’, something ‘deep in the very nature of man’, ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is within us’, and so on. Clearly this symbol, and what, to Leslie, it represented, was extremely important to him. It is interesting to note that Leslie almost certainly first came across this symbol in Scouting where it was used as a tracking symbol meaning ‘I have gone home’. This was its literal meaning, indicating the end of the trail, but it also came to be used when a Scout died, meaning, ‘I have gone to the Father’. Cousin Jonathan says that Leslie’s sister Gladys told him that this symbol was originally on the grave of Lewis Dunkerley in Failsworth cemetery, but to her disappointment it was later lost. The family has now completed a project to restore the grave, and has replaced the symbol (see photo below).

There is good evidence that Leslie was re-reading his favourite religious books, especially those of Canon Peter Green, into the late 1980s and early 1990s when he could no longer keep up his Masonic activities, especially after he came to live in Bourne. His was a questing mind, a mind continually searching for meaning and understanding in life, for purpose, for enlightenment. Much of his thinking was linked to symbols, especially Masonic or Christian, such as the square and compasses or the cross of Jesus (or the point within a circle). He marked many inspirational passages in his books and would also type out on scraps of paper thoughts or verses that impressed him as important. Some of these he would use at Masonic meetings - as grace before a meal, or to be printed into the various programmes, or in short talks he gave there.

From time to time, after I became a teenager, Leslie and I would have discussions about things that interested us, and these often had a religious or spiritual dimension. It is hard now to recall their precise content, but I do remember with pleasure that they were satisfying experiences and, indeed, one of the greatest senses of loss that I had when he passed away was the knowledge that those discussions could no longer be; it is not easy, for some reason, to find people who enjoy discussions about the big issues in life.

So there is no doubt in my mind that Leslie had a deep Christian faith and experienced many moments of transforming spiritual happiness as his mind linked with the thoughts of others, particularly through the medium of the written word. At such times he felt he had discovered priceless pearls – pearls of wisdom – that he would want to re-locate and re-read, hence the marginal notations and typed copies left in his books and elsewhere.

It is impossible to do anything approaching justice to Leslie’s Christian activity in such a short review as this, for his was a lifetime of study and enquiry. Therefore I am choosing to end here with a copy of one of his own typed transcriptions, found tucked into a book of Canon Peter Green. It seemed important to Leslie, and I can understand why. It comes from a discussion, by a Hindu, of the symbolic meaning of the Cross of Christ.

"The Cross has two simple lines; one horizontal to the earth and one vertical. It is a cross-road or crossing point. The horizontal line equals time – past, present and future (moving in a line A:B:C). We live in that line. The vertical line is Eternity – the now. It is always present; there is no past or future to it. It goes only higher and higher – not forward.

Time and eternity meet where Jesus is crucified: that moment where Jesus died is the now. If you die in the now, you are reborn you are resurrected. Then there is no death for you, because time disappears and you are eternal. The cross is a symbol of time and eternity meeting. And that point must be your death. It cannot be anything else, because when you disappear from the time-world, you become part of eternity. And both cross – where do they cross? Here and now, at this moment they cross. Now is the moment where the cross exists. But if you go on moving horizontally, in the future, then you miss. If you start moving from this very moment vertically, you are on the cross; you will die as you are and you will be re-born – new birth, absolutely new. And through that birth no death exists - Life Eternal! To Jesus the cross was a time symbol: time and eternity crossing. But for Christianity it became a sad death symbol of suffering. If Jesus had been in India and he had not gone to the Jews, and if we had painted the cross – it would have still been the same but Jesus would have been different. He would be just like Krishna; ecstatic, his face smiling, his whole being smiling, because this is the moment of ecstasy. When time disappears, you die to the world of time and you are re-born to the world of eternity – at that moment you must be ecstatic. That is what Hindus have called – samadhi."

Freemasonry^[3]

What is Freemasonry?
When I was a young boy growing up in New Moston it was not unusual for me to come home from some activity, such as Cubs or Scouts, to find six or seven cars parked outside our house. This was most unusual in those days and no doubt attracted considerable attention. Once in the house I would discover the presence of a group of perhaps six or eight men who were usually just ending a meeting with sandwiches, cakes and cups of tea. These men always seemed so nice and friendly to me. They were all Freemasons and they were usually having some kind of rehearsal. I formed a good opinion of Freemasons, and I think that this was the main reason why I eventually expressed an interest in becoming one.

A pamphlet published by Grand Lodge in 1984 defined Freemasonry as:

"one of the world’s oldest secular fraternal societies … a society of men concerned with spiritual values. Its members are taught its precepts by a series of ritual dramas, which follow ancient forms and use stonemason’s customs and tools as allegorical guides. The essential qualification for admission and continuing membership is a belief in a Supreme Being. Membership is open to men of any race or religion who can fulfil this essential qualification and are of good repute …"

 

"The basic principles of Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Brotherly Love in its sense of the promotion of tolerance and respect for the beliefs and ideals of others, and the building of a world in which that tolerance and respect, together with kindness and understanding, can flourish. Relief not in the limited sense of monetary giving but in the widest sense of charitable giving of money, time, and effort to assist the community as a whole. Truth in the sense of striving for high moral standards and in the conduction of one’s life – in all its aspects – in as honest a manner as possible. In simple terms, a Freemason is taught his duties to his God, his fellow man, and the laws of his country."

The usual form in which a Freemason practices his craft, within my limited experience, is as follows: A meeting is convened, behind closed doors, at which one of the series of ‘ritual dramas’ is carried out. This might be, for example, the initiation of a candidate. A set form of words is used, not unlike, say, those used at a church baptism, or in a theatrical play, with various actors playing particular roles within a hierarchy, all under the direction of the Worshipful Master of the lodge. Certain information is presented and explained to the candidate. After the meeting ends there is usually a meal, or other refreshments, at which there may be speeches and toasts. This is called the ‘social board’ and is considered an essential part of the proceedings. Humour and instruction may be included in the speeches, and there may be musical entertainment, such as singing or instrumental performances. Freemasonry has been accused of being a secret society; Leslie rebutted this, saying instead that it was a society with secrets, and indeed there is nothing so stop a Freemason from identifying himself publicly as such.

Progress through the ranks
Leslie possibly became aware of Freemasonry about the time that his father joined Ben Brierley Lodge, number 3317, in 1920 when he was a thirteen years old Boy Scout. In later life he was very much of the view that just as there was ‘Scouting For Boys’ so there was ‘Masonry for Men’, and as time went by and his father gradually progressed through the various offices at ‘Ben Brierley’ he may have anticipated that he too, one day, would become a Freemason.

By the time that his father became Worshipful Master (WM) of Ben Brierley Lodge in 1935 Leslie was about ready, and it was anticipated that Billy would initiate his son into the lodge during his year in office. Such a happy occasion, however, was not to be, for Billy died the following April and I remember Leslie telling me that he withdrew temporarily to consider his course of action. By the following year however he had resolved to go ahead and he was proposed for membership by his old friend Sam Cronshaw, and seconded by John Taylor.

It may be recalled that Sam had been Superintendent of St. John’s Sunday school from 1906 to 1932 and he was Head Master of the Day School from 1924. He was also the Honourable Secretary of St. John’s Parochial Church Council and a member of Ben Brierley Lodge and Ben Brierley Chapter. At the time he was 61 years old. Sam would have known Leslie at Sunday school from a very young age and, through the lodge, he would of course have known Billy. John Taylor was probably the ‘Jack’ Taylor that Leslie had known at Froggatts in 1931 and who was to become his employer in 1939. Jack had been WM of Ben Brierley in 1933/34. When Leslie was Initiated into Ben Brierley on 8th March 1937 he would have felt that he was moving among friends, for everyone would have known his father and been keenly aware of the frustrated intention for Leslie to join during Billy’s year of office.

Leslie was Passed on April 12th 1937 and Raised the following September 13th. Thus began a lifelong commitment, for Leslie had found something that would continue to fascinate, satisfy and challenge him until the day he died. Within a year or two, as his Masonic knowledge developed, he began to put behind him the things that had previously occupied his free time. Rugby, Scouting and activities such as Sunday School teaching all ended as Freemasonry took over; it was also in 1938 that Leslie began courting Irene – another lifelong love. As mentioned previously, these years were truly the great watershed of his life.

There were a lot of brethren in the lodge ahead of Leslie and he was not immediately able to begin progression towards the position of Worshipful Master. However he made himself useful in other ways. In 1943-46 he was Assistant Secretary, but by the Masonic year 1947-48 he had become Senior Deacon and so progressed normally to become Worshipful Master in 1950-51 (see figure).

Not satisfied with the standard fare of Craft masonry, Leslie very soon decided to follow his father’s steps into Royal Arch Freemasonry by becoming a member of the Ben Brierley Chapter. This probably took place in 1938 or 1939 for Leslie was Exalted on 16th September 1940. He progressed through the various ranks, as Scribe Ezra in 1946 to 1948, the Prophet Haggai in 1956 (when Alfred Robinson, a man hugely respected by Leslie, was Z.) and then achieved the highest office, First Principal, Zerubbabel, in 1957.

During the years of the Second World War W. Poyser Bullock, rector of St. Chad’s church in New Moston, a stone’s throw from Leslie’s new home at Circular Road, began chairing informal meetings of Masons in order to keep alive Masonic activity at this difficult time. After the war ended the members of this group wanted to continue their fellowship but realized that they would now need to regularise their meetings. A decision was taken to found a practice lodge, as permitted under Masonic regulations, for which purpose they requested and obtained the sponsorship of the Ben Brierley Lodge. Accordingly the Ben Brierley Lodge of Instruction was founded on 12th October 1946 with Leslie Dunkerley a member of its General Purposes Committee. Meetings were held on Monday evenings at 8.00 p.m. and from this the lodge took its popular name ‘Monday Night At Eight’ – the name of a favourite wartime comedy radio programme.

The idea of ‘Monday Night At Eight’ was that members would be drawn from many lodges based in the area and would have the opportunity to practice, in a ‘safe’ environment, the various ceremonial rituals that would later be worked in their own lodges. ‘Monday Night at Eight’ also gave the brethren the opportunity to discuss the meaning of all the Masonic signs, symbols and rituals and for the less experienced members to receive the benefit of instruction from the more experienced, and to make friends outside of their own lodges. The founders were determined to help raise standards and knowledge of Freemasonry and soon discovered that their venture filled an important need; the lodge prospered. A co-founder was Herbert (‘Bert’) Henderson, a real gentleman and friend whom Leslie always held in the highest regard.

In 1955 Poyser Bullock, who was Preceptor ('instructor') of ‘Monday Night at Eight’ unexpectedly died and it appears that J. Sweeney, the Deputy Preceptor, became Preceptor in his place. Leslie seems then to have moved up to the role of Deputy Preceptor but unfortunately J. Sweeney also died and in 1956 Leslie found himself appointed Preceptor. It was a happy choice for he retained the post for 31 years until 1987 and oversaw growth to over one hundred members. Such was the value of the lodge that in 1978 no less than 16 members were installed as WMs of their respective lodges.

When Leslie retired as Preceptor of ‘Monday Night at Eight’ on 8th June 1987 the members presented him with an illuminated address inscribed as shown in the picture.

On the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of ‘Monday Night at Eight’ W. Bro. Graham Homes wrote:

"For most of its history James Lesley (sic) Dunkerley WAS the Lodge of Instruction; a founder continuously in office for 41 years … Leslie probably holds something of a record for the number of candidates he introduced into the Craft during his lifetime but he would always say that he was more interested in getting masonry into men than men into masonry and this he did in no small measure through the Lodge of Instruction."

The next step in Leslie’s Masonic development came on 20th February 1956 when he joined the Salford Rose Croix Chapter of which one of the founders had been Bert Henderson. It is not difficult, therefore, to imagine how Leslie’s introduction came about. Rose Croix teaches that salvation is only possible by following the principles of the Christian faith and it is therefore hardly surprising that Leslie was attracted to it. Over the following years he worked his way through the various ranks of the Rose Croix and became master – a rank known as Most Worshipful Sovereign – on 17th October 1966.

There is a system of Freemasonry called the Ancient and Accepted Rite, consisting of 33 degrees. Notionally the Craft represents the first three degrees and the Chapter the fourth. Thereafter, in England, the next worked degree is that of the Rose Croix, designated the eighteenth. Again in England, the next degree is the 30th, conferred only on those who have been Sovereign of their Rose Croix Chapter. Leslie achieved this on 19th March 1968. He subsequently went on to serve Salford Rose Croix as DC for eleven years from 1971 to 1982.

Leslie’s interest in the Ben Brierley Lodge of Instruction, the Chapter and the Rose Croix did not mean that he lost interest in the Craft. On the contrary, as a Past Master he served as Director of Ceremonies of the Ben Brierley lodge from 1953 to 1964, helping to ensure that high standards were maintained in the meetings. Such hard work brought its rewards for he was honoured with Provincial rank, being appointed PPJGW in the Craft on 26th May 1964 and PPAG Soj in the Chapter on 10th April of the same year; the Chapter promoted him to PPGSN on 18th April five years later.

The Provincial Ranks were no mere sinecures for he was now expected to visit other lodges and chapters as a guest and to make reports on their activities. To Leslie this must have been a pleasure because he already had many friends in lodges in the area as a result of making and receiving visits, and through Monday Night at Eight. Just how all this activity was encompassed is remarkable, and even if it did make of Irene a ‘Masonic widow’ it gave him great pleasure.

Irene, of course, was not the only one in such a situation and indeed many Freemasons’ wives became very good friends and sometimes met in the evenings when the men folk were off about their duties. Thus Irene was pals with Amy Allen, Ida Henderson, Dorothy Crossley, Cis Baines and others. The girls, too, were catered for at Masonic Ladies Evenings, really quite lavish gala events with whist drives, a formal meal and dancing. Out would come the ball gowns and sparkly jewellery, and the ladies hair dressing salons did good trade. Each year there were two Ladies Evenings for the lodge, and two for the Chapter, plus invitations by other lodges or chapters, so plenty of good fun in fine company was had by all.

Leslie’s continuing dedication to Freemasonry eventually earned him several important honours. On 16th April 1972 The Duke of Kent made him an officer of Grand Lodge with the rank of PAGDC. On 27th April 1978 The Earl of Cadogan welcomed him into the Supreme Grand Chapter with the rank of PG Std Br. The Craft further promoted him to PJGD on 28th April 1982. On 21st February 1985 he reached the milestone of his 100th act of representation at Cornucopia Royal Arch Chapter.

Improbable as it might seem, Leslie found time for many other acts of Masonic service. In 1972 he became a founder member of a new Royal Arch Chapter at Integrity Lodge, number 163, and helped nurture its early development by undertaking the role of DC for nine years until 1980. He also became a joining member of his brother in law Arthur Jones’ lodge at Chatburn, Clitheroe, number 401, always spoken ‘four-nowt-one’. He was also involved with a research lodge, the Lodge of Living Stones, which met in Manchester.

Time marched on and in 1987 Leslie was honoured on the occasion of the completion of 50 years as a member of Ben Brierley lodge. The following year saw his contribution to Integrity Chapter acknowledged when he was made an honorary member. In 1990 there were further honours on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his exaltation in Ben Brierley Chapter, of which he was made an honorary member, and in addition the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite elected him to the 31st Degree. This promotion, in England, is considered a great honour and is only conferred on a strictly limited number of members.

On his move to Bourne in 1991 Leslie was finally compelled, at the age of 84, to detach himself from active Freemasonry. He resigned from Salford Rose Croix, but the brethren would not have it and promptly elected him an honorary member. Similar treatment followed from the Ben Brierley Lodge of Instruction in 1992. Leslie continued in contact with many of his Masonic friends until called away to serve the Grand Architect of the Universe.

Brother Clare’s Progress and Companionship
Leslie was tragically deprived of the experience of sharing his Freemasonry with his father, or indeed with his dearly-loved brother Lewis, who died before he could become a Freemason. Brother Clare was six years Leslie’s junior, but a strong family bond developed between them and in 1942 Leslie had the great pleasure of proposing Clare for membership of Ben Brierley Lodge. Clare’s Initiation, Passing and Raising all took place during that year and he went on to become Worshipful Master of the lodge in 1958.

By 1946 Clare followed Leslie into the Ben Brierley Chapter and became its First Principal in 1961. He also followed his older brother into the Ben Brierley Lodge of Instruction and the Salford Rose Croix, of which he became Sovereign in 1975. However Clare did not simply follow brother Leslie through Freemasonry, but carved out his own path. He became passionately interested in the origins of Freemasonry and its symbols and in this context joined the Manchester Lodge for Masonic Research, no. 5502. He served for many years in various roles, including as editor, and contributed papers to its published Transactions. In his later years he travelled extensively, giving talks in other lodges about his many Masonic interests.

Like Leslie, Clare also became a Provincial Lodge Officer and ultimately a Grand Lodge Officer, finally attaining the Thirty Second Degree, thus surpassing his older brother.

It is impossible to overstate the high regard and ‘brotherly love’ that Leslie felt for Clare, and the happiness, therefore, that he enjoyed with him. In notes prepared for the occasion of Clare’s 50th anniversary as a member of Ben Brierley Lodge Leslie wrote:

"I have never known anyone so talented and versatile as Clare. … His outstanding interest in Masonry is well-known. … To quote the great Mr. Shakespeare - "One man in his time plays many parts" - and may I add - all to such perfection. My personal 'hunch' is that the Royal Arch must be his 'first love' where he has served not only the progressive Offices, but also gone the extra mile as a Past Z through his outstanding service as Scribe E of the BBC [Ben Brierley Chapter]".

The Preferment Issue
In 1959 something that strikes me as absolutely extraordinary happened. It was to be the 50th Anniversary of Ben Brierley Lodge, and by happy chance Clare was Worshipful Master. It was to be a grand occasion. From Leslie’s point of view there was the prospect of some extra icing on the cake, for the Provincial Grand Secretary of East Lancashire wrote to inform him that the Provincial Grand Master wished to take the opportunity to promote him to Provincial honours by conferring upon him the rank of Past Provincial Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies, and would Leslie be good enough to ‘let me have a note of acceptance’. Somewhat surprisingly under the circumstance it took Leslie a month to respond, and astonishingly he turned the offer down. He wrote:

"The proposal has had long and more than earnest consideration and whilst I am mindful of the compliment being paid to me, I find it impossible to accept the honour. This is because I feel it is one being conferred upon the Lodge arising essentially out of the Jubilee Celebrations, and that being the case, I cannot allow myself to take precedence over those of my brethren who have seniority as Past Masters over me, in our Lodge. If I permitted myself to accept, I know I should always have it on my conscience that I had allowed personal desire to outrun what was right.

There are three senior Past Masters to me in our Lodge and for each, in differing ways and for various reasons, I have the highest possible regard and affection. In view of the valued friendships which subsist between us, I am convinced it would be wrong of me to do anything which might mar the happiness of our personal relationships.

If I were persuaded to accept the very kind offer made, I know I should feel uncomfortable concerning those Brethren each time I put on the clothing of a Provincial Officer if they were not likewise (in the fullness of time, one hopes) similarly clothed. Obviously therefore, anything which would leave me with a troubled mind is wrong and I do regret having to decline the Office offered me".

This letter provoked an immediate response, in fact the very next day:

"I understand your scruples but I am afraid your action is not very well advised; when the Lodge is specially honoured in connection with the Jubilee Celebration seniority in the Lodge is not the only factor.

The Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master makes his personal selection and the honour is personal to the individual. I do not think you will find the slightest jealousy among the other Past Masters and as you know, as time goes on let us hope they will all join you in the ranks of the Provincial Officers.

I hope you now feel in a position to accept the honour offered to you".

Leslie didn’t! His reply was:

"Thank you … for your kindness in endeavouring to advise in what I find to be a most perplexing difficulty. I appreciate what you write about the personal nature of such appointments but since seniority is a factor and as the offer arises expressly out of a Lodge celebration, acknowledgement of those points only serves to indicate that my first decision was correct.

I am most anxious that my inability to accept the offer should not be wrongly interpreted as I am deeply conscious of the honour the offer itself accords me personally. One has the highest possible regard for our R. W. Provincial Grand Master and would not wittingly displease him. Even so, I feel he would understand that I cannot be expected to act against the dictates of conscience.

There is not likely to be the slightest question of jealously on the part of other Past Masters in the Lodge as conditions of perfect amity exist between us. On the contrary I feel they are so generously disposed towards myself that if they knew of this offer they would put pressure upon me to accept it. They would adopt, I feel, the same approach that you have made, namely, to ‘understand my scruples’ and yet ask me to ignore them.

I feel miserable about the whole business but as the entitlement to preferment is others’ before mine, I must ask you to please understand my perplexity and unwillingness to ‘jump the queue’.

I do therefore sincerely regret my inability to accept the honour you have again asked me to accept".

And there matters rested. One cannot help feeling that this was a problem not often faced by Provincial Lodge! What does it tell us about Leslie? One could take the view that the Provincial officers might have been tempted to take, that Leslie Dunkerley was being unnecessarily difficult and questioning their authority.

Alternatively one can take Leslie’s own explanation of his situation at face value, i.e. that he placed a greater importance on doing what he considered to be right with regard to his friends than he did on personal advancement. Yet at that time advancement to Provincial rank must have been one of his greatest ambitions in Freemasonry.

To my mind, the latter is much the better explanation, for, as Leslie said, a situation that should have produced great happiness for him instead made him feel ‘miserable’. After initially rejecting the honour he was given plenty of opportunity to change his mind and, as the Provincial Secretary said, had he told his fellow lodge members it is likely they too would have pressured him to accept. But there is no evidence that Leslie discussed the situation with anybody (I am aware of it only because I have discovered the correspondence). In any event Leslie had to wait for five more years before he was once again offered Provincial honours, and this time he accepted! For the record, the three senior Past Masters were each, in time, honoured with Provincial rank.

What was Freemasonry for Leslie?
This is a question to which it is very difficult to provide a satisfactory answer; I feel tempted to say ‘it was everything’. Certainly Freemasonry answered deep needs in Leslie in a way that nothing else he found ever did. And, I believe, it satisfied those needs. Perhaps those needs were for structure, for fellowship and for purpose.

Leslie grew up in a structured society and felt comfortable within those structures. For example, in Sunday School he progressed from scholar to teacher; in Scouts he progressed from Cub to Scout then to Rover and so on to Scout Master; in rugby he played as a member of the team and eventually became captain of the Rovers team; at work he always expected loyalty from those under him but in turn was always respectful of his superiors. Masonry fitted in perfectly in the sense of structure, which was absolute within the lodge. You started at the bottom and by hard work progressed. Respect was accorded to those of higher rank and given from below. Interestingly too, in English Freemasonry Princes of the Royal blood have been very closely associated with the organization, normally occupying, by invitation, positions at its very head. For example, in 1874 Prince Albert Edward, Price of Wales, later King Edward VII, became Grand Master, and in 1986 the Grand Master was HRH the Duke of Kent. In a sense, then, the deference shown within the structure of English Freemasonry is closely tied up with loyalty to one’s country and to conformity with the ancient structure of class and position within English society. I don’t think this was an attraction of Freemasonry to Leslie, but it is something within which I believe he felt comfortable. It seemed ‘right’.

Leslie had experienced fellowship in Scouting, whose Law describes the organization as a brotherhood (‘A Scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other Scout …’). He had a genuine belief in the value of benign brotherhood, as found in Scouts, and a keen sense of service to others as part of that brotherhood. No doubt this sense of service led to him becoming a Sunday School Teacher and a Scout Master so that he could ‘put something back’. The idea and value of teamwork, another attribute of brotherhood, was also enshrined for Leslie in his rugby playing.

In Freemasonry, after the ritual, interaction continued around ‘the social board’ where there was warm and genuine fellowship. There were, and no doubt there still are, those who saw in Freemasonry only an opportunity to insert themselves into a society of the comfortably off, where by dint of favour and preferential treatment they could obtain business favours and, if they fell on hard times, obtain some financial help. The charitable aspects of Freemasonry are undeniable, as is the self-sufficiency of the brethren. But they are rather a consequence of the calibre and values of the members than the result of privileges asked or granted. It was this calibre that I sensed among Leslie’s Freemason friends as a boy, and I am confident that I was not mistaken. Men who made good Masons also made good friends, because they could be relied upon to fulfil their obligations and not to be underhand. A sense of this came through in letters written by Leslie to Irene in 1943, six years after he had become a Mason. Of his work colleague Edmund Ashworth Leslie wrote he "is a grand fellow despite the fact he is not a Free Mason", and of his friend Alf Dakeyne "He’s a great fellow is Alf, but there when you consider he’s a Free Mason you don’t wonder why do you?"

Whatever satisfaction Leslie drew from Freemasonry in the sense of order or friendship, however, it was less than he gained from the speculative side - a sense of purpose.

As discussed in a consideration of his Christian values, at some time in his youth Leslie developed a keen spiritual sense, a need to find purpose in life, a quest for the Truth. At first his involvement at church and Sunday school satisfied this need, and he obviously made an immensely positive impression, as shown by the remarkable personal reference given to him in 1935 by the Rev. W. A. Edge, quoted earlier.

Leslie’s interest in religion has already been discussed, but here we might just recall that during the 1930’s he acquired a bookshelf of religious works, including several about St. Paul, whose quite mystical and often abstruse writings appealed to him. As the years went by and Leslie became a respected Freemason so his contributions at the social board, and doubtless in the lodge too, when appropriate, addressed the issues of the Good Life, including moral and spiritual values. Indeed his willingness to talk at length became something he was gently ribbed about – in 1975 his great friend Harold Matthew, a most gifted raconteur, quipped during a talk about the writer Ben Brierley, whose name the lodge had adopted, "what my talk may lack in depth I am going to make up in length – sorry the other way about – Leslie is going to make up in length." The truth is that Leslie was happy to go both long and deep, and among the listeners there were many who took away from the meetings something they were unaccustomed to receive – food for thought.

Between 1978 and 1983 Leslie prepared and gave a number of talks at different Masonic meetings in which he sought to present some of the beliefs and understandings he had arrived at as a result of his Masonic studies and experiences. Although Freemasonry requires of its members a belief in God, it in no way tries to dictate the nature of that belief. So the God of the Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus or any other, is equally valid. Nevertheless, Leslie was keenly aware that as Freemasonry arose out of the building of the great English gothic cathedrals it had roots in Christianity, and indeed until 1723 Masonic manuscripts actually contained specific Christian references. At that time, so as to make Freemasonry universal in its appeal, such references were removed and thus Freemasonry, as later Scouting, became non-sectarian and could unite, as brothers, men of all creeds.

A unifying theme of the talks given by Leslie is the connection between the symbolism of Freemasonry and the Judeo/Christian, and particularly the Christian, traditions that were so important to him. In one of these talks, given at the level of the Craft, he developed a number of themes that drew on both Masonic and religious (Old and New Testament) ideas, but perhaps the most important to him, and the one with which he ended his talk, related to the difference between outward and inward things. He referred to Jesus’ revelation to the disciples:

"The Kingdom of God is within you ... This is the deep significance of the symbol – ‘A point within a circle’. Representing God at the heart of man. God at the centre of the universe. The point also may be taken as a symbol of God and the circumscribing circle representing all creatures equally near or equally distant from God’s love. The circle itself is also a symbol of God – The Being having neither beginning of days or ending of years. The unbroken line of the circle also invokes a much favoured Masonic title of the Deity ‘The Eternal’".

He continues:

"In his Essay on Man, Alexander Pope wrote: "Know then thyself, presume not God to scan – The proper study of mankind is man". St. Paul, addressing himself to the same subject gave the clearest possible answer when he wrote (1. Cor. 3:16) "Know ye not, that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Further, "This again stresses the great truth ‘the Kingdom of God is within’, and it is because we hunger to learn the truth relating to our own being, that we … hammer on the door … in order to gain access to our inmost selves – the secret repository of our hearts".

In a second talk, given at the level of the Chapter, he develops his theme of a continuing quest for the truth by focusing on a search for true spiritual light. The most powerful story he uses to illustrate this again relates to St. Paul, this time when he was still known as Saul of Tarsus, who initially set out full of bigotry to persecute the nascent Christian community.

"However, on the road to Damascus, God caused the incandescent brilliance of the True Light to burst into his soul which had been so blinded with prejudice – that he was then, for a while, deprived of his actual physical sight. The tremendous impact of this transforming experience was such, that instead of being a persecutor of the hated Christians, his immediate question was – "Lord what wilt Thou have me to do?" and he became the greatest advocate of the new faith. Thereafter, by virtue of his great missionary zeal, Christianity spread throughout the whole of Western Europe, eventually reaching Britain and so enabling the natives of this land to emerge from pagan darkness".

After developing the ideas of ‘seeing the light’ Leslie continues:

"This inner spiritual illumination with which both Craft and Royal Arch Masonry suggest we should identify ourselves, is wonderfully expressed by Robert Browning:

‘Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise from outward things. In whatsoever you may believe, there is an inmost centre within ourselves, where Truth abides in fullness, and where to know, rather consists in opening out a way whence the imprisoned splendour may escape, than effecting entrance for a Light, supposed to be without’."

[In passing it may be noted that this is not an accurate statement of the quotation, which is from 'Paracelsus' and can be found in its correct form by clicking here].

Possibly the sentiments expressed in these talks provide us with the best understanding of why Freemasonry was of fundamental importance to Leslie. He had probably always sought a Purpose in his life, initially achieved through Scouting and church; the reference from the Rev. W. A. Edge of 1935 tells us how far he had progressed in his quest by then. At that point in his life he was already deciding to enter Freemasonry and would have done so in 1936 had it not been for the untimely death of his father. However once he did become a Freemason in 1937 his quest for Purpose and Meaning, and for Light, continued for 53 years, culminating in him attaining the 31st degree in 1990. This honour was, by special license, bestowed on him at home because of his failing health. Thereafter his quest for true enlightenment continued through active study of his collection of books and through telephone conversations and correspondence with his many friends, perhaps especially his brother Clare.

Among Leslie’s papers I found several separated copies of an ‘Address to the Brethren’, in somewhat archaic language and of unknown origin. The penultimate paragraph of this document, quoted below, summarises the wherefore and the why of Leslie’s personal quest within Freemasonry:

‘The Brother who has thus far discharged his duties as a Freemason may patiently await the arrival of his dying throb, and as we severally experience that awful moment when the soul shall take wing to that boundless and unexplored expanse above, may we all be able to say "It is well finished, admit us to the Grand Lodge Above", where the divisions of time shall cease and the glories of an endless eternity burst upon our view.’