An
appreciation by The Rt. Revd. Dick Third
Nathaniel
Kemp Nye was born on 4 November 1914, the son of Charles
Nye, a Secretary of the Temperance Society, and his wife
Evelyn. He was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School,
and after theological training at King’s College,
London and Cuddesdon, was ordained in the Diocese of
Southwark in 1937. He served his title at St Peter, St
Helier, a parish to which he was subsequently to return
as Vicar.
In
1941 Niel married Rosa Jenkins (universally known as
‘Budge’) while he was a Chaplain in the RAFVR.
During his service in Italy he was taken prisoner,
reported as missing and presumed killed. But Niel was not
so easily silenced. He had left his prison when the
Italians surrendered and before the German commandant
arrived. He trekked for several weeks before reaching
Allied lines, whilst his grieving wife and friends held
memorial services for him in London, Farnborough and
Cuddesdon.
After
the war Niel was appointed Rector of Holy Trinity,
Clapham, the parish which as the home of William
Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect had had such a great
influence in the previous century on the life of the
church and nation. But when Niel arrived it was in a
sorry state, and the congregation at the institution in
the bombed church had to be protected from falling debris
by fishing nets suspended from the roof. The Rectory of
29 rooms was similarly filthy, but at the instigation of
Eric Abbot, a lifelong friend, the Nyes housed students
from King’s, enabling them to begin their courses.
After
eight years, in 1954, Niel was appointed Vicar of St.
Peter, St. Helier, a vast housing estate of 40,000
people, which included a large hospital, and was served
by a large staff. During the course of his ministry
Niel was to train 27 curates and 8 parish workers. It was
here that Niel’s gifts were used to full effect.
‘It was a wonderful training ground for all who
served with him. He gave us all great scope, trusted us
to work hard, and gave us superb encouragement and
individual attention.’
Another
former curate writes: ‘I was grateful to learn that
parish life could be so much fun.’ And another,
Bishop David Wilcox: ‘I have vivid memories of the
parish holidays, with Niel jumping off the diving board
into the pool, umbrella and all! Or disguising himself as
a tramp, when we had to go to try to find him in the
nearby town.’
Bishop
John Neale, yet another former curate, has written:
‘Throughout his life and ministry Niel had an
astounding ability to establish a close relationship with
everyone he worked with. It was not one of Vicar and
Curate or priest with colleague. It went further
than that and became an almost disarming example of close
friendship and love, in which he respected each member of
staff, trusted them and shared his ministry with them to
an extent I did not believe possible before I met him,
and have rarely found to be equalled since.’
Although
they had by then a growing family, Niel and Budge kept a
house which was open to everyone. A colleague recalls:
‘I often thought that Budge’s ministry in the
kitchen was quite as important as Niel’s in the
study. I don’t think I ever went into the Vicarage
through the front door.’ Budge in those days ran a
number of groups, especially for the nurses at the local
large teaching hospital. Niel was in demand as a
preacher. He worked often with the Village Evangelists,
and conducted Parish Missions and Retreats.
In
1960 Niel went into the Diocese of Canterbury as Vicar of
All Saints, Maidstone. Again he and Budge quickly made
their mark, bringing a new sense of family into that vast
mediaeval building, and setting about finding the proper
use of its resources. A curate of those days says this;
‘If you want a phrase which sums Niel up, it is: He
who sweareth unto his neighbour and disappointeth him
not, though it were to his own hindrance. This incredible
‘putting himself out’ comes most readily to
mind. And that goes for Budge too, because they really
are one.’
 Niel
Nye (centre) during a Parish Holiday c 1963 |
He called upon the
services of his brother David, who had become
Architect and Surveyor to the Diocese of
Guildford, to devise a transformation of the
daughter church of St. Philip into a multi
purpose building to serve the whole community.
Here again they had inherited an over-large and
almost derelict house. It fell to them to
supervise the building of a modern Vicarage and
thereby to suffer the trauma of another move of
their home. He became an honorary Canon of
Canterbury Cathedral, and in 1965 was appointed
Rural Dean. But Niel was not to be confined to a
single parish for very long. In 1966 Archbishop
Ramsey appointed him Tait Missioner. Four years
later he combined this post with that of Warden
of St Gabriel’s, the Diocese Retreat House
at Westgate. Here he was in his element, and his
teaching skills and deep devotion were freely at
the service of the whole diocese. |
His
final appointment was as Archdeacon of Maidstone in 1972.
For the first time, this was not linked to a Residentiary
Canonry, and Niel was free to devote all his energies to
a pastoral ministry in which he gave himself generously
to the clergy of the area and their wives and families.
He was not an archdeacon who busied himself with drains
and administrative committees, he aimed to be an arch-deacon
– a chief servant – of the living church and
all its members. In this he succeeded wonderfully, and as
in other places during his long ministry, became greatly
valued and deeply loved.
When
he retired to Boughton Lees in 1979 Niel was not in full
health, but he quickly established an active life style
which would put many younger men to shame. In addition to
giving frequent help in the parish, he developed new
skills of craftsmanship, in picture framing to a
professional standard, and fashioning many items of which
his speciality was the rocking horse. In the life of his
new community he was inevitably a leading figure,
organising in his 80’s the open air nativity
pageants which had been so important in St Helier.
A
great Christian priest, and a great human being, Niel
will be remembered with joy and thanksgiving by a host of
people who have been helped in their discipleship by his
encouragement and example.