Trevor Huddleston
By Jack Readman
Early Life
Born on June 15, 1913 in Bedford, England, Huddleston and his family soon moved to Golders Green, a suburb in London. After moving from school to school at a young age, he started at Tenterden Prep at the age of seven, and studied there all the way through high school. Huddleston then went on to continue his education at Oxford University, graduating in 1931. In 1941, he took his vows as an Anglican priest and was sent to South Africa in 1943.
Work in Sophiatown
Huddleston served as Priest-in-Charge of an Anglican mission in Sophiatown and Orlando between 1943 and 1956. During this time, after the Group Areas Act was passed in 1950, Huddleston worked alongside Nelson Mandela in protests against forced removals, and, as Superintendent of St. Peter's School, he shut the school down rather than hand control over to the government under the Bantu Education Act. In 1955 he received the first ever Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoe from the ANC.
Anti-Apartheid in the 80s
After rising up through the church to become Archbishop of the Province of the Indian Ocean, in 1981 Huddleston became the President of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He addressed the United Nations several times about South Africa and led a petition for the release of Mandela in 1984. Three years later he founded the Nelson Mandela Freedom at 70 campaign and addressed a Hyde Park rally alongside Desmond Tutu. After casting his vote in the first democratic election in South Africa, Huddleston founded Action for South Africa, or ACTSA in 1995. He died three years later on April 20, 1998.
Significance to the Anti-Apartheid Movement
In Huddleston's earlier years, he took a stand against the apartheid government of South Africa on multiple occasions, helping out leaders Tambo and Mandela in their fights in the 50s. Also in the 50s he did much work to spread awareness of South Africa's situation, publishing the book Naught for your Comfort. After the arrest of Mandela, Huddleston worked to unite anti-apartheid leaders in his absence and fought strongly to get him released. He also continued his work for international support, leading rallies and making speeches all over the world.
Wembley Stadium Speech
ARCHBISHOP TREVOR HUDDLESTON:SPEECH [LIVE 1990]