Secret handshakes, initiations, mysterious gestures, rolled-up trouser legs, white gloves and aprons – these are many of the connotations of Freemasonry in the minds of non-members across the world.
Mr Thompson feels that myths and misunderstandings unfairly surround the organisation but admits they have not done enough to dispel them over the years.
So as I pull up a seat in the Sands café at the Sands Centre – just hours before 600 members of the Cumbria and Westmorland Freemasons descend on the venue for an annual meeting – he sets about trying to put this right.
“People think it is a huge secret and it isn’t. If someone wants to ask me about it, I will tell them.”
Freemasonry can be traced back to 1646. Stonemasons used signs and words to indicate their levels of skill to other masons – apprentice, fellowcraft or master mason. These words are still used today to recognise the status of a Freemason.
Mr Thompson explained: “During World War Two Freemasons were persecuted by the Nazis so members started to keep things confidential in order to protect themselves.
“Over the years preconceptions have built up in the minds of people and we haven’t helped ourselves by keeping quiet.
“Yes there is a hand shake and yes there is an initiation. There are three stages which lead to a member becoming a master mason.”
Mr Thompson doesn’t offer to teach me the handshake but does explain its origins.
“In the early days of freemasonry, in the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate. After someone had served their time as a master craftsman they would move on to try to seek employment. The person offering the job would ask them to prove their status and this is where the signs and tokens came into it.
“These days the handshake is used purely and simply as a greeting, shared between members. It should not be used for any other reason.”
Mr Thompson, 63, became leader of all Freemasons across the county after taking up the post of Provincial Grand Master in 2008. He is clearly regarded as a important figure, but it is difficult to interpret this status without having a foot in the door. To observe the way the other Freemasons buzz around him, however, shows the high regard in which he is held.
A friendly man with a sweep of white hair, he talks with pride about the organisation that has played a huge part in his life. For the retired deputy governor of Haverigg Prison, the way into Freemasonry wasn’t paved with family connections.
Norman Thompson was persuaded to join up by his mother.
“I remember the day she said to me that I should look into it. Her reference was that she had known a few members who she regarded as upstanding chaps.
“In 1970 I decided to find out more and made some inquiries. But I waited six years before I joined in Millom, aged 29.”
It was through his love of ballroom dancing that information officer Peter Clark,from Maryport, joined up.
Mr Clark, a teacher, added: “I used to take dance classes at the Masonic hall in Aspatria. I got to know a few people and they suggested I join. Three years later, in 1991, I did and I have enjoyed every minute of it.
It is a community, a family. People go out of their way to speak to you and understand you. Freemasonry is something that is a constant in my life, something that I can rely on. And we have a fantastic time together.”
Mr Thompson added: “Freemasonry is an opportunity for people to make themselves better individuals and demonstrate to others that they are considerate, kind and charitable by word and deed to those less fortunate than themselves irrespective of whether or not they are Freemasons.”
There are 3,000 Masons throughout Cumbria and Westmorland and 82 halls across the county – including one in every town.
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http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/focus/more-to-the-freemasons-than-just-the-handshake-1.771980?referrerPath=sport/football
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