Rev N E G Cruttwell
Priest-in-Charge 1943-1946

Norman Edward Garry Cruttwell was born in Somerset in 1916, He was the son of Rev Edward Clement Cruttwell (at one time a Canon of Peterborough Cathedral) and Christian Charlotte Mary Garry. Norman was educated at Lancing College in Sussex and then went on to read Botany at St Edmund Hall, Oxford from 1935 to 1938. Botany remained a keen interest for the rest of his life.

After completing his degree, Norman spent some time at Oxford House, Bethnal Green - a ‘settlement’ house for graduates of the University of Oxford volunteering in East London. This was a High-Anglican Church of England counterpart to Toynbee Hall which some felt was "not sufficiently religious enough". In 1939 Norman studied at Cuddesdon Theological College, from where he joined the Parish of Basingstoke in December 1940. In his research in the Basingstoke Parish Magazine John Pearce found that in November 1943 following the departure of Rev Haslam, the Parish Vicar wrote: “Without his being technically Priest-in-charge, I am asking Mr. Cruttwell to take over the main part of the services and children’s work and other special interests of All Saints with my own help for general supervision and Confessions.” However, by the middle of the following year, he was being referred to as the Priest-in-Charge.

Rev Cruttwell's botanical interests while in Basingstoke are highlighted by his links to the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society. On its 1943 membership list, his address is recorded as The  Rectory, Basingstoke - reflecting the practice of unmarried parish clergy being accommodated there while married clergy were residents of parish-owned properties in Church Square and elsewhere. The papers of the HFC&AS also contain a report on a Botanical Expedition to Greywell and its neighbourhood led by Rev Cruttwell in July 1945, that observed over 60 botanical specimens.

It was announced in October 1945 that Rev Cruttwell would be leaving the parish early in the following year to take up missionary work in New Guinea. A farewell celebration at All Saints' in mid-December took the form of a party with an “American Supper” [This term refers to what is now known as a "bring-and-share" meal - a tradition that All Saints' continued for many years...]  Rev Cruttwell wrote afterwards that: “Wherever I go, Basingstoke and especially All Saints and St Andrews* (where I started), will have a special place in my heart, and I shall not forget the kindness and friendship with which I have been surrounded.” [*This refers to the Parish Mission Hall situated on the old Reading Road that ran up to Norn Hill.]

Rev Cruttwell’s departure for New Guinea sparked a wave of interest in that country in the parish and for a long time after he used to send regular reports on his experiences, and many money-raising and educational events for New Guinea missions were held. The All Saints Missionary Committee, in particular, decided it would like to take an interest in and support the New Guinea Mission.

From 1946, Rev Cruttwell was in charge of Dogura Cathedral and priest-in-charge of Menapi District from 1947. The annual Magazine of St Edmund Hall for 1962-1963 reported "The Rev. N. E. G. Cruttwell has been appointed a Canon of Dogura Cathedral, New Guinea". For at least half the time he spent as a missionary, Rev Cruttwell was accompanied by his widowed mother. Mrs Cruttwell was still travelling to Australia in 1972 at the age of 78. She passed away in Queensland 15 years later.

British newspaper articles of the 1960s relate stories of young people (often sponsored by charities like Christian Aid), joining the VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) International charity to help communities in underdeveloped areas of the world. Canon Cruttwell and his mother hosted such students at the Anglican Mission at Aguan in Papua New Guinea, 3,000 feet up in the Owen Stanley Range. It had been a mission station since 1935 and became a head station at Easter 1965. In writing to one volunteer before his arrival, Canon Cruttwell noted that "...he and his mother are the only Europeans on the station, but there is a big Papuan staff".  He continued his description of the environment: "This is a real pioneer station, ... There is constant building and construction work to be done. So far this has been largely of a bush nature. All our houses, for instance, have grass roofs, except for a small section of shingles with which we are experimenting."  Accounts indicate in 1966 that there was no electricity, other than two batteries and a petrol-driven charger for the radio, but a wind generator had been ordered.

By his own account in a letter published in a 1993 issue of Vireya Vine, the newsletter of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden (Washington, USA), Rev Cruttwell spent 45 years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea (with furloughs to Australia and visits back to England). Canon Cruttwell arrived back in England at the age of 75 in 1991 and became a resident of the College of St Barnabas in Lingfield, Surrey - an almshouse for retired Anglican clergy. Inside the College is a statuette of St Francis; it is a copy of one commissioned by Rev Norman for the Church of St. Francis in Goroka, New Guinea. The animals keeping St. Francis company are native to Papua New Guinea. Rev Cruttwell died at Lingfield in October 1995.

Two aspects of Rev Cruttwell's time in Papua New Guinea are explored in these pages: Rhododendrons and Flying Saucers