Fred Shade was brought up in a family of freemasons - his father was an active member of the local lodge and was a superb ritualist. His uncles were also masons. Also, there were masons on both sides of the family going back a number of generations (see William Little publications), with the occasional ancestor also being a member of the Manchester Unity Oddfellows.

He was Initiated, Passed, Raised and Installed as Master of his lodge (Pythagoras No.344) by his father, and these events were supported by his uncles and other relatives. His flute teacher, Leslie Barklamb was present when he became a Master Mason at the age of 18 years (the privilege of a son of a mason). The photo taken on that occasion of himself with his father and his teacher is one of his treasures.

Fred's brothers, Ron and Neville, also became members of the same lodge, were also Initiated, Passed, Raised and in due course Installed as Master by their father. Truly a family affair. The Shade family, actively encouraged and supported by their mother Beatrice, was one of several families in that lodge. They have many happy memories of personal and family events in this fraternity. Their father, Ern, was a senior member of Grand Lodge and was a long-serving Grand Director of Music, reaching the rank of Past Senior Grand Warden. (He died in 1999.) Ron was in a Grand Lodge Team for several years together with their father, and Neville was a Director of Ceremonies of their lodge for several years.

Fred's particular interest is in the research area and he has given many papers to lodges over his 39 years as a mason, including the Victorian Lodge of Research and other research groups. His knowledge and membership covers many degrees and Orders and he continues to present papers in all of them.

He has been through the chair of a number of Orders, and is active in them including the masonic Rosicrucians and Knights Templar, where he holds senior rank. His father was also a member of some of these other Order, and they have both been elevated to the 32nd Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. Several of his papers for public presentation are attached to this site.

Fred sees the masonic fraternity as being part of the mortar which holds society together, a fraternity which has as one of its aims "to make good men better", and which assists the member on his journey through life, his quest for meaning. The lodge room, the "men's house", is also a "house of meaning". It is a place where moral and spiritual philosophy are presented in a very ancient way, in sign, symbol and dramatic ritual. These features have an important place in Fred's life, especially as he is in a position to initiate brethren to higher knowledge and introduce them to the deeper side of things. And although the lodge room, and the other Orders which operate under the umbrella of freemasonry, introduce moral, philosophical and spiritual themes, it is up to the individual to apply them and to seek meaning for himself. One of the prerequisites for membership is a belief in a Supreme Being - it is the only religious question asked of the prospective candidate, as the fraternity is not concerned with religious or sectarian issues. (Religion and Politics have no place in the lodge room.) However, masons are obliged to follow a spiritual path and to apply its teachings, and this is to be resolved outside the fraternity. The Craft, as it is known, complements the individual's personal faith and religious allegiance. It has done so for over 300 years.

The Craft is truly multicultural and welcomes brethren of all faiths and cultures. As an example of this, while on a trip to Madras in 1975 for the centenary of the Theosophical Society, Fred attended lodge meetings in that city as well as in Delhi, where brethren of different faiths were present, and the sacred texts of these faiths were open at the pedestal or altar. It is an extraordinary sight to see these sacred texts respected in this way. It does not mean that brethren recognise the texts as of equal spiritual value, rather, that the sacred text revered by each brother is given respect, as is the brother who sits alongside you.

Fred sees the lodge room, its rituals and traditions, as an important aid in a person's psycho-spiritual development. Depth psychologists who are masons have assessed its teachings and techniques from this point of view and confirm its effectiveness as an aid to personal development. The fraternity is a dynamic institution which provides, among other things, some certainty and encouragement in this increasingly chaotic and complex world.