The activist Ally Van Tillo, who has died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease aged 67, was the founder of the UK Aids Memorial Quilt. It is part of the world’s largest community art project, originating in the US and with chapters around the world, and consists of quilted panels made by friends, partners, family members or colleagues of those who died of Aids-related illness. The Quilt is for commemoration and activism, and against stigma and homophobia.
Ally was born in Gourock, a seaside town in Renfrewshire; adopted as a baby by Elizabeth Taylor, a pianist, and John Hume, an electrical engineer, he was named Alastair Hume. His first years were spent in Gourock, growing up with his younger sister, Vivienne, before the family moved to Edinburgh, where Ally went to George Heriot’s school. He was brought up to be whoever he wanted to be, and, when he was 13, his mother helped him come out.
