Explore the Quilt

The collection of UK AIDS Quilts were made between 1989 and 1996 to commemorate friends, lovers and family members who passed away from an AIDS related illness during this time. You can zoom in to some of the specific details listed below.

The bottom left panel remembers Douglas J McCusker. His sister describes his vibrant red and orange hair cut, and his love for trying different fashion trends. She describes him as ‘the warmest most loving man I have ever known’.

The centre left panel remembers Steve Waters. Steve grew up in the Forest of Dean with his mini collie, Kim. He was a lover of Christmas, hence the tree on the panel design and the column refers to his study of classics at university.

The top right panel was made by a group of friends for Vaughan Michael Williams. His friend, Gill, remembers his: ‘generosity, laughter, honesty, glamour, love, courage, hedonism, music, his dusty houseplants and his rubber vest.’

The top centre panel remembers Don Melia, described as: ‘a rebel son of ministers’. The caricature on the panel is Matt Black, Dan’s alter ego from his gay comic strip series “Buddies”.

The bottom centre panel remembers Mark William Tyack, a proud Londoner who attended Goldsmiths university. His niece, Beth, wrote the poem on the bottom left corner:

‘Creeping round every comer
Expecting to see him there,
All my good dreams turn to nightmares
He’ll always be with us deep in our hearts
We only rem[em]ber the really good parts
No one can think what I’m thinking us for always.
He’ll be with us for always’

Mark’s Dad wrote these words for his son:

‘His laughter was better than birds in the morning, his smile
Turned the edge of the wind, his memory
Disarms death and charms the surly grave
Early he went to bed, too early we
Saw his light put out; yet we could not grieve’
More than a little while,
For he lives in the world around us, laughs from the sky.’