Helen Margaret Taylor Thompson , née Laurie Walker (7 August 1924 – 6 September 2020) was a British aid worker who co-founded Europe's first AIDS hospice.

Life

Helen was born to George Laurie Walker, Chairman of

Africa Inland Mission Established in 1895, Africa Inland Mission (AIM) is a Christian mission sending agency focused on Africa. Their stated mission is to see "Christ-centered churches established among all African peoples." AIM established the Kapsowar Hospital in 1 ...

, and Helen MacDonald Glegg, who died shortly after giving birth to her. She had one older brother, Stuart Alastair Laurie Walker, and was orphaned aged nine, when her father also died, shortly after helping to set up Kapsowar Hospital. She was raised under the care of her step-mother. Helen's maternal family were a notable Anglo-Scottish one; Sir Alexander Glegg JP, one-time Mayor of Wandsworth and Chairman of the Council of the

Congregational Union of England and Wales The Congregational Union of England and Wales brought together churches in England and Wales in the Congregational tradition between 1831 and 1966. Background The Congregational churches emerged from the Puritan movement, each church operating ...

, was her grandfather, while her uncle was the well-known evangelist A. Lindsay Glegg. On her paternal side, she believed that

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

was a distant cousin of her father

Helen had hoped to become a doctor, but this ambition was thwarted by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1942, she joined the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

, signing the

Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of Classified information, state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security. However, in its unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secret ...

aged nineteen; she sent coded messages to agents in the field and arranged airdrops into

occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

, including a third of a million counterfeit pounds for the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. She had been invited to serve as an agent in the field herself, but was told that

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

had said "he will not have the women on his conscience", as he felt none would return; Helen was reportedly 'furious'. After the war, she ran her own successful business for several years, and then turned for the rest of her life to charity work. In 1952, Helen became a member of the board of the

Mildmay Mission Hospital Mildmay Mission Hospital is a specialist voluntary charitable hospital and rehabilitation centre in Bethnal Green located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is close to Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney. It is the only hospital ...

. The hospital had been founded by

Catherine Pennefather Catherine Pennefather born Catherine King (c. 1818 – 12 January 1893) was an English home mission worker. She was president of the Association of Female Workers, and she edited a magazine and wrote. She created a cottage hospital in Bethnal Gr ...

in 1877 in a converted warehouse in Old Nichol slums behind

Shoreditch Church Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. It was meant to be closed in the 1980's, but Helen led the campaign to keep it open and, inspired by Jesus' love for the outcast, converted it into Europe's first AIDS hospital, in the face of strong opposition. With Lord Andrew Mawson and Adele Blakebrough, in 1995 Helen organised a meal for 33,000 people of a range of backgrounds to enjoy together. Termed the 'Great Banquet', this prompted the formation of the Community Action Network in 1998, which continues to provide support for other charities. In 2000, Helen founded the charity 'Education Saves Lives', designed to education children in the developing world about health issues. Helen died in September 2020, at the age of 96. Her funeral was held in the Chapel of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

with a eulogy given by The Lord Chartres.

Awards

In 1990, Helen was awarded the MBE and, in 2005, the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In 2018, she was chosen as one of the BBC's '' 100 Women'' who have made an impact. In 2019, she was awarded an MD (Hon) from the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

for her charitable work, particularly in the field of medicine.

Personal Life

Helen married John Derek Taylor-Thompson CB in late 1954. He was one of Her Majesty's Commissioners of

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

and died in 2014. Helen adopted a little girl from

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

at the height of

Pol Pot Pol Pot (born Saloth Sâr; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian politician, revolutionary, and dictator who ruled the communist state of Democratic Kampuchea from 1976 until Cambodian–Vietnamese War, his overthrow in 1979. During ...

's atrocities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Helen Taylor 1924 births 2020 deaths British charity and campaign group workers Officers of the Order of the British Empire