Born: 21 December, 1922, in New Jersey.
Died: 30 April, 2008, in Edinburgh, aged 85. IN A varying life that was dedicated to serving the community and teaching, Algernon (always known as Algy) Haughton spent his academic car
eer as a member of the English department at Ampleforth College before retiring in 1974 to live in Scotland. He was involved in the setting up of Lothlorien Community in Dumfriesshire and then lived in Edinburgh where he worked for Gay Switchboard. In the early 1990s, he was associated with the work done by Scottish Aids Monitor. The latter is now known as the Waverley Care Trust. In all these undertakings, Haughton remained unselfish, generous of his time and committed to helping others.
Edward Algernon Haughton was born in New Jersey into a Plymouth Brethren family, but was educated in Sussex after his mother's death and his father's return to England. During the war, he served with the Royal Navy and the experience laid the foundations of his belief in Roman Catholicism to which he converted in the late Forties. Haughton read English at Downing College, Cambridge, and taught at a prep school before going to Ampleforth in 1954. His devotion and love of the language and its literature was of paramount importance throughout his teaching career. "It was the sheer joy and vigour of his readings of Shakespeare," the school magazine wrote on his retirement, "that encouraged his pupils to see English studies not as just another academic hurdle, but as a world of profit and delight."
Haughton is remembered at the school for his consideration and his encouragement of all the pupils he taught. "They trusted the integrity of his response to literature because they saw the same vital outgoing response in his relations with them and with his colleagues."
He was also in charge of the annual theatrical productions and had the pleasure of directing Rupert Everett as Titania and Julian Wadham as Puck. In his autobiography, Everett wrote of his nerves before that production, "I couldn't act. Algy Haughton was worried. He told me where to move and how to say my lines and I followed his instructions religiously. I loved Algy and I wanted to make him proud of me."
At the end of the performance, Haughton hugged Everett, saying: "Superb. Just superb."
On his retirement, he and his wife, Rosemary, bought land near Castle Douglas. There they built a large log cabin and founded the Lothlorien Community that helped people with mental health problems. Lothlorien had a strong belief in everyone's potential for wellbeing, even in the midst of pain and distress. It was not an easy task to set up and administer, but the organisation flourished and when Haughton moved to Edinburgh, in 1989, their work was continued by the Buddhist Rokpa Trust.
Haughton lived a life of many contrasts. His strong Catholic convictions were succeeded by later years as an agnostic. His own personal ambiguous sexuality (he fathered ten children with his wife) was contrasted with his later work for various Scottish gay charities: such irregularities never let him waver in his deep-seated belief in humanity and the creation of close-knit communities.
In Edinburgh, Haughton worked for Scottish Aids Monitor, where he worked as an understanding "buddy" for those diagnosed positive for HIV. At Gay Switchboard, he helped to develop the Icebreaker programme which is run from Greenside Terrace by Switchboard volunteers. It aims to provide an informal and welcoming environment where gays and lesbians can meet to discuss matters of interest and any personal problems in a relaxed atmosphere. It was the type of work that Haughton strongly supported: he was always a good listener. With his firm belief in the individual he was an encouraging counsellor and is fondly remembered for his patience and courtesy.
His last days were spent in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary surrounded by his wife, family and many friends. He repeatedly ordered champagne, but willingly settled for whisky: it was typical of the man.
Algy Haughton is survived by Rosemary, whom he married in 1948, their ten children and two foster children.
The full article contains 697 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
