Alec McCowen CBE was a generous supporter of Terrence Higgins Trust for over 25 years before he passed away in 2017 at the age of 91. He had a very personal connection to our work after his partner and fellow actor Geoffrey Burridge sadly died of AIDS related illnesses in 1987. We were incredibly touched that he remembered us in his will.
The award-winning actor’s friends and family recently joined us at the newly opened Alec McCowen Suite at our head office in London. They saw the space and to hear about how his financial support has helped us to change lives. Among his loved ones, Dame Penelope Wilton – one of Alec’s closest friends – joined us to say a few words.
Dame Penelope spoke about how she and Alec would meet every fortnight to go to the cinema or lunch. She said it is shocking when you lose someone ‘with so much life in them’, adding she’s never known anyone ‘who said yes to life so strongly’.
She said she was delighted to be there with his family – who he adored – to hear more about Alec’s incredible impact.
It’s hard to overstate the transformative difference Alec’s legacy has made on Terrence Higgins Trust. And the countless lives he’s changed both now and will in the future.
He helped launch our innovative self-testing service in 2018. With so much stigma still surrounding HIV, many people are reluctant to get tested in a healthcare setting. Having that free, discreet testing service where you can test at home has made the difference between someone testing or not.
This means that fewer people are living undiagnosed with HIV, and that they can live long, healthy lives, with no risk of passing the virus on to future partners. It is a vital, ground breaking service and a key tool as we work towards our goal of ending new HIV cases in the UK by 2030.
Alec’s legacy also enabled us to rapidly respond to needs of people living with HIV throughout the coronavirus pandemic. We saw increasing demand from our service users facing mental health problems, loneliness and concerns about their health. While other areas of funding were affected, Alec’s legacy ensured we could dramatically transform our services so that people had someone to turn to in the crisis. Without his generosity, this wouldn’t have been possible.
His kindness has helped us launch our new strategy Together We Can and make our ambitious mission of being the first country in the world to end new cases of HIV by 2030 and improve the nation’s sexual health. From the first HIV activism in the UK to our work in tackling sexual health inequalities and preventing new cases of HIV, we have always been a radical and ambitious force. Our strategy for the future embraces this spirit.
Because of all this, we're honoured to open the Alec McCowen Suite at our base in London that is used for gathering, learning, creating, and bringing communities together. This is a historic time – and building on Alec’s generosity, we will do everything in our power to end new cases of HIV in the UK by 2030 and improve the nation’s sexual health.
Gifts in wills will help us be there until the last person living with HIV needs us.
