Barnaby Miln
Encyclopedia
Barnaby Miln is a social activist and former British magistrate
. He is best known as the originator of the AIDS Awareness ribbon
, World AIDS day
, and for promoting Fairtrade fortnight
and the Jubilee 2000
human chain around the G8
leaders. He was the first lay person to come out
as gay
in the General Synod of the Church of England
and thereby the most public gay magistrate in England and Wales.
He is head of the Miln family which originates in Barry
, a village near Carnoustie
in Angus
in Scotland
and whose genealogy back to 1614 is recorded in Burke's Landed Gentry
. His coat of arms was granted and matriculated at the Court of the Lord Lyon
King of Arms on 8 August 1967, and re-matriculated shortly after his father’s death, on 12 October 1998.
on the Wirral Peninsula
in Cheshire
where his end of term reports show that he was happy, an all-rounder and clever. This was followed by Loretto School
, Musselburgh
, close to Edinburgh
, the smallest of the great public schools with 240 boys with a reputation for being spartan, sporty and very strict. After a year as farm student with Tommy Dale, of Scoughall in East Lothian
, he was the third generation of his family to be a graduate of the Edinburgh
School of Agriculture. He was elected a member of the Edinburgh University Students' Representative Council
and was present and on duty when Malcolm Muggeridge
, rector of Edinburgh University, used a sermon at St. Giles' Cathedral
in January 1968, to resign the post in protest against the Student Representative Council's liberal views on "pot and pills."
and seed company
in the United Kingdom, Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
plc. Barnaby Miln was the elder son of the fourth generation and went on to professional seed and plant breeding training firstly with the family firm, then in Minneapolis, USA, with Northrup-King
& Co, then the world’s largest seed company and at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany
, Cambridge. Just as he was fully qualified the family business was taken over.
Whilst with Gartons plc he was a co-breeder and responsible for the final selection of the first wheat
variety to apply, in 1965, for Plant breeders' rights
in the United Kingdom, Gartons Apex Wheat.
Whilst with Northrup-King
& Co he originated their sugar beet
breeding programme, managed their turf grass trials ground and studied seed vigour at their Minneapolis and Eden Prairie seed agronomy research centres.
He set up his own agricultural seed company in Herefordshire
, UK, later adding two garden centres and a turf grass research facility where he invented the patented process of seed lamination in 1980. Years later, working near Edinburgh
, he developed the process and won the Scotland on Sunday
/KPMG
Award for Innovation in October 1995. In January 2006 he was the Scotland on Sunday/KPMG Scotland
’s Innovator of Promise.
’s horticultural consultant he devised their show garden in 1997 which won a Royal Horticultural Society
’s Silver Gilt Medal (Flora range), the highest medal awarded at that show. The planting theme was Robert Fortune
, the plant hunter, who had introduced the tea plant from China
to India
. Fairtrade and especially Clipper Fairtrade tea from Beaminster
was featured. A number of television programmes highlighted the show garden including a BBC
Songs of Praise
with HRH The Princess Royal
being shown the plants by Barnaby Miln.
consultant Barnaby Miln set up the first Fairtrade fortnight
, in Scotland. It was launched in Edinburgh
by Lady Marion Fraser LT on 12 February 1997 and held from 1 to 14 March 1997 throughout Scotland where supporters of development charities like Christian Aid
and Oxfam
demanded their local supermarket stock fairtrade products. Later that year he spearheaded the fairtrade exhibition at the Commonwealth Conference in Edinburgh.
, and as a plant variety historian, he has researched the more than two hundred garden plants he introduced to the United Kingdom
from China
. He has also researched the almost two hundred varieties of new crop plants bred and introduced to United Kingdom agriculture by his family’s business, Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
plc.
’s first residential care home for the elderly, initially for four people but rising to twenty four men and women.
For a year he was then Bursar
of the City of Westminster
’s residential care homes for the elderly.
his name was submitted to be a Justice of the Peace
. For thirteen years he sat on the City of Hereford
magistrates' bench and then for three years the City of London
bench.
Chairing a court in 1985 he had dealt with a case involving a burglar he sent to prison who responded by saying that as he had AIDS
, an illness then almost unknown in rural Hereford
, he was being given a death sentence "I know I could be dead within 18 months to two years and that is the worst punishment I could ever have."
In 1992 he became a Freeman of the City of London but not long afterwards Miln stepped down from the bench.
on 9 December 1981 and its consecration on 16 July 1982 by the Bishop of Hereford in the presence of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
.
He was a governor of the Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School
, Hereford
, between 1983 and 1989 and was present in Hereford Cathedral
when it joined the List of Woodard Schools.
In 1985 he was elected for five years to the General Synod of the Church of England
after several years as chairman of the Diocese of Hereford
’s revenue committee and honorary treasurer of the diocese, founded in 676 AD.
he was in London
attending his first group of sessions of the General Synod. He introduced himself to Robert Runcie
, Archbishop of Canterbury
, and asked what the church was doing about AIDS. The Archbishop had just returned from San Francisco and seen for himself the devastation caused to the gay community
there. They agreed to work together with the Archbishop hoping that “AIDS would not be like cancer
- a word only whispered, for by the church talking opening and honestly about AIDS we can take a lead in pastoral care and education”.
Conferences were held in the spring of 1986 in California
and London
when the rainbow AIDS Awareness ribbon
was first distributed and became the international symbol of support for people with AIDS for the next five years. A charity
Christian Action on AIDS was set up on 14 July 1986 supported by church leaders and with Canon John Bowker
, Dean of Trinity College, Cambridge
, as its president and Barnaby Miln as its chairman.
Christian Action on AIDS was responsible for the working papers on AIDS
for the 1988 Lambeth Conference. Once the three week long Conference was under way the Archbishop of Canterbury asked Mr Miln to gather support for a last minute resolution on homosexuality 'to hold the position reached in 1978' in the name of the Bishop of New York, Paul Moore. Resolution 64 called on all bishops of the Anglican Communion
to undertake in the next decade a 'deep and dispassionate study of the question of homosexuality'. This was cited in his Preface by the next Archbishop, Dr George Carey, as a reason for the publication in December 1991 of a Statement by the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England, Issues in Human Sexuality. Whilst continuing to forbid gay sex for the clergy it gave a permission for laity.
For five years Barnaby Miln travelled extensively speaking to church leaders at the British Council of Churches, throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion
, Pope John Paul II
in Rome
and at the World Council of Churches
in Geneva
and Canberra
.
in the General Synod of the Church of England
on 10 November 1987 he proposed a day each year to remember people with AIDS. In response the Bishop of Gloucester, Rt Rev. John Yates, who was chair of the Synod's Board for Social Responsibility, doubted if anywhere but the United States was yet ready for a special day. But Dr Jonathan Mann
at the World Health Organisation was a member of the archiepiscopal working party on AIDS for the Lambeth Conference and was aware of Barnaby Miln's proposal. This set the seed for he and his colleagues to set up what became World AIDS Day
, held on 1 December each year since 1988. The Bishop of Gloucester and Barnaby Miln were invited to its original in Geneva.
in August 1971. Rosalie was born in March 1974 and Graham in September 1978. The marriage ended in divorce.
Throughout his five years on General Synod he worked with the Reverend Richard Kirker, an openly gay clergyman who had been refused priesthood by Dr Robert Runcie and who had, with others, set up the Gay Christian Movement. later the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
, and became its general secretary.
In 1986 he met Derek Pattinson
, secretary-general of the General Synod of the Church of England, who was to become his partner. Derek Pattinson
was knighted in 2000 and ordained in 2001, becoming the Reverend Sir Derek Pattinson. Pattinson died in 2006 when The Times newspaper reported in its obituary that he was survived by Barnaby Miln. Miln was the chief mourner at the Westminster Abbey
burial.
in November 1987 also debated homosexuality
in a separate debate. At a meeting the night before, in Church House Westminster, Barnaby Miln declared that he was gay to much applause from the Open Synod Group he was addressing.
He led the opposition and bitterly opposed the motion in a debate on Biblical discipline in matters of sexual morality in the House of Laity at Church House (Church of England) Westminster, on 8 February 1988. In his speech he again declared that he was gay. Peter Tatchell
, the gay activist, sitting in Barnaby Miln’s support in the public gallery then shouted abuse at those opposing the motion and was escorted out of the building.
In February 1990 Barnaby Miln demanded an emergency debate of the General Synod following the leaking of the Osborne report which claimed homosexuals were treated poorly by the church. But the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, joint presidents, said they were not prepared to admit the motion to the agenda.
Despite this, members of the General Synod voted Barnaby Miln one of the Church of England’s representatives on Churches Together in England
, and on Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
, successor to the British Council of Churches. He was a consultant at the World Council of Churches
.
Magistrate
colleagues sought Barnaby’s removal from the bench but he refused and reluctantly agreed to re-swear the oath of allegiance
.
He was not re-elected to the General Synod in October 1990.
, the developing countries' debt
campaign, with the specific responsibility of bringing into its network the British churches and for a campaign at the forthcoming meeting in Birmingham
, England, of the G8
world leaders. This was to be the human chain
of at least 60,000 supporters of Jubilee 2000
. Larry Elliott, writing in The Guardian
on Monday 27 November 2000 states 'Not only has Jubilee 2000 been comfortably the most successful mass movement of the past 25 years, but it has also shown how the process known as globalisation is nurturing its own opponents.'
Once it was known that he was gay, men from all walks of life confided in him about their own closeted
sexuality.
After a visit to leading cities in the United States looking at their gay quarters, in co-operation with Edinburgh and Lothian Tourist Board he proposed that Edinburgh boost its appeal to gay tourists.
When in 2002 his partner went to live in a nursing home and for the next four years, in Westminster
, he set up a fee paying service for anyone wanting to explore their homosexuality
and often with fetishes they would find difficult to explain to most people. He was the feature of a BBC
One television documentary 'Men for Hire' broadcast on Tuesday 5 April 2005. Magazine articles and photographs about his work included Zero in March 2005 and QX in September 2005.
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
. He is best known as the originator of the AIDS Awareness ribbon
Awareness ribbon
Awareness ribbons, due to their ubiquitous nature, have come to symbolize various concerns depending on the colours or the patterns used. For example, black ribbons may be used for mourning....
, World AIDS day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
, and for promoting Fairtrade fortnight
Fairtrade fortnight
The Fairtrade fortnight is an annual event in which fair and ethical trading values are celebrated. The concept was pioneered by the Fairtrade Foundation in the United Kingdom, and held firstly in 1997 in Scotland directed by Barnaby Miln. This turned out to be a highly successful campaign to get...
and the Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
human chain around the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
leaders. He was the first lay person to come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
in the General Synod of the Church of England
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
and thereby the most public gay magistrate in England and Wales.
He is head of the Miln family which originates in Barry
Barry, Angus
Barry is a small village in Angus, Scotland at the mouth of the River Tay. The recent completion of a bypass for the village on the A930 road from Dundee to Carnoustie is something that was originally planned before the Second World War. There is a water mill operated by the National Trust for...
, a village near Carnoustie
Carnoustie
Carnoustie is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast...
in Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and whose genealogy back to 1614 is recorded in Burke's Landed Gentry
Burke's Landed Gentry
Burke's Landed Gentry is the result of nearly two centuries of intense work by the Burke family, and others since, in building a collection of books of genealogical and heraldic interest,...
. His coat of arms was granted and matriculated at the Court of the Lord Lyon
Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
King of Arms on 8 August 1967, and re-matriculated shortly after his father’s death, on 12 October 1998.
Early life and education
He was educated at Mostyn House School, a prestigious preparatory boarding school for 160 boys from 8 to 13 years, in ParkgateParkgate
Parkgate may refer to:Places*Parkgate, Cheshire, England*Parkgate, County Antrim, Northern Ireland*Parkgate, Cumbria, England*Parkgate, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland*Parkgate, South Yorkshire, England*Parkgate, Verulam, Durban, South Africa...
on the Wirral Peninsula
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
where his end of term reports show that he was happy, an all-rounder and clever. This was followed by Loretto School
Loretto School
Loretto School is an independent school in Scotland, founded in 1827. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.-History:Loretto was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. Langhorne came from Crosby Ravensworth, near Kirkby Stephen. The school was later taken over by his son,...
, Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
, close to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the smallest of the great public schools with 240 boys with a reputation for being spartan, sporty and very strict. After a year as farm student with Tommy Dale, of Scoughall in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, he was the third generation of his family to be a graduate of the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
School of Agriculture. He was elected a member of the Edinburgh University Students' Representative Council
Students' Representative Council
A Students' Representative Council represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms part of a broader Students' Association which may include other functions such as societies, entertainments and sports Universities...
and was present and on duty when Malcolm Muggeridge
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
, rector of Edinburgh University, used a sermon at St. Giles' Cathedral
St. Giles' Cathedral
St Giles' Cathedral, more properly termed the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. Its distinctive crown steeple is a prominent feature of the city skyline, at about a third of the way down the Royal Mile which runs from the Castle to...
in January 1968, to resign the post in protest against the Student Representative Council's liberal views on "pot and pills."
Seedsman and Plant Breeder
His father, grandfather and great grandfather were each in their time managing director of the largest agricultural plant breedingPlant breeding
Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the genetics of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. Plant breeding can be accomplished through many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular...
and seed company
Seed company
Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruit and vegetables to theamateur gardener. The production of seed is a multi billion dollar business, which usesgrowing facilities and growing locations world wide. While most seed is produced by large...
in the United Kingdom, Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
This is a short history of the United Kingdom's first agricultural plant breeding business.Dr John Garton, of the firm of Garton Brothers of Newton-le-Willows in the United Kingdom was the Originator of Scientific Farm Plant Breeding. He is credited as the first scientist to show that the common...
plc. Barnaby Miln was the elder son of the fourth generation and went on to professional seed and plant breeding training firstly with the family firm, then in Minneapolis, USA, with Northrup-King
Northrup-King
Northrup-King Seed Company was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1896, and was based in Minneapolis until it was acquired and moved to Golden Valley, Minnesota in 1986. It is now a division of Syngenta....
& Co, then the world’s largest seed company and at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany
National Institute of Agricultural Botany
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany is a plant science research company based in Cambridge, UK....
, Cambridge. Just as he was fully qualified the family business was taken over.
Whilst with Gartons plc he was a co-breeder and responsible for the final selection of the first wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
variety to apply, in 1965, for Plant breeders' rights
Plant breeders' rights
Plant breeders' rights , also known as plant variety rights , are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give him exclusive control over the propagating material and harvested material of a new variety for a number of years.With these rights, the breeder can choose...
in the United Kingdom, Gartons Apex Wheat.
Whilst with Northrup-King
Northrup-King
Northrup-King Seed Company was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1896, and was based in Minneapolis until it was acquired and moved to Golden Valley, Minnesota in 1986. It is now a division of Syngenta....
& Co he originated their sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
breeding programme, managed their turf grass trials ground and studied seed vigour at their Minneapolis and Eden Prairie seed agronomy research centres.
He set up his own agricultural seed company in Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, UK, later adding two garden centres and a turf grass research facility where he invented the patented process of seed lamination in 1980. Years later, working near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, he developed the process and won the Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...
/KPMG
KPMG
KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....
Award for Innovation in October 1995. In January 2006 he was the Scotland on Sunday/KPMG Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
’s Innovator of Promise.
Christian Aid
Working as Christian AidChristian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
’s horticultural consultant he devised their show garden in 1997 which won a Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
’s Silver Gilt Medal (Flora range), the highest medal awarded at that show. The planting theme was Robert Fortune
Robert Fortune
Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist and traveller best known for introducing tea plants from China to India.-Travels and botanical introductions to Europe:Fortune was born in Kelloe, Berwickshire...
, the plant hunter, who had introduced the tea plant from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Fairtrade and especially Clipper Fairtrade tea from Beaminster
Beaminster
Beaminster is a small town and civil parish in the West Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, at the head of the valley of the River Brit. Beaminster is south of Bristol, west of Bournemouth, east of Exeter and northwest of the county town of Dorchester...
was featured. A number of television programmes highlighted the show garden including a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional Christian hymns. It is a widely watched and long-running religious television programme, one of the few peak-time free-to-air religious programmes in Europe Songs of Praise is a BBC Television programme based around traditional...
with HRH The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
being shown the plants by Barnaby Miln.
Fairtrade Fortnight
As a Christian AidChristian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
consultant Barnaby Miln set up the first Fairtrade fortnight
Fairtrade fortnight
The Fairtrade fortnight is an annual event in which fair and ethical trading values are celebrated. The concept was pioneered by the Fairtrade Foundation in the United Kingdom, and held firstly in 1997 in Scotland directed by Barnaby Miln. This turned out to be a highly successful campaign to get...
, in Scotland. It was launched in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
by Lady Marion Fraser LT on 12 February 1997 and held from 1 to 14 March 1997 throughout Scotland where supporters of development charities like Christian Aid
Christian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
and Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
demanded their local supermarket stock fairtrade products. Later that year he spearheaded the fairtrade exhibition at the Commonwealth Conference in Edinburgh.
Plant Varieties and Family Historian
Miln is a descendant of Robert FortuneRobert Fortune
Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist and traveller best known for introducing tea plants from China to India.-Travels and botanical introductions to Europe:Fortune was born in Kelloe, Berwickshire...
, and as a plant variety historian, he has researched the more than two hundred garden plants he introduced to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. He has also researched the almost two hundred varieties of new crop plants bred and introduced to United Kingdom agriculture by his family’s business, Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders
This is a short history of the United Kingdom's first agricultural plant breeding business.Dr John Garton, of the firm of Garton Brothers of Newton-le-Willows in the United Kingdom was the Originator of Scientific Farm Plant Breeding. He is credited as the first scientist to show that the common...
plc.
Elderly Care
In 1981 he and his partner for ten years created and built up HerefordHereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
’s first residential care home for the elderly, initially for four people but rising to twenty four men and women.
For a year he was then Bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
of the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
’s residential care homes for the elderly.
Career as a Magistrate
Whilst still in his late twenties but already a local councillor and churchwardenChurchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish church or congregation of the Anglican Communion, usually working as a part-time volunteer. Holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parish council, parochial church council, or in the case of a...
his name was submitted to be a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
. For thirteen years he sat on the City of Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
magistrates' bench and then for three years the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
bench.
Chairing a court in 1985 he had dealt with a case involving a burglar he sent to prison who responded by saying that as he had AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, an illness then almost unknown in rural Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, he was being given a death sentence "I know I could be dead within 18 months to two years and that is the worst punishment I could ever have."
In 1992 he became a Freeman of the City of London but not long afterwards Miln stepped down from the bench.
Church of England
Barnaby Miln chaired the steering group during the building of a new church, St Barnabas, Hereford, and chaired its committee from its dedication by the Bishop of HerefordBishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
on 9 December 1981 and its consecration on 16 July 1982 by the Bishop of Hereford in the presence of HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
.
He was a governor of the Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School
Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School
The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School is a mixed comprehensive secondary school in the Tupsley district of Hereford, England. It is a voluntary aided school, which takes children from the age of 11 through to the age of 16. It is a Church of England school and is administered by the Hereford...
, Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, between 1983 and 1989 and was present in Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
when it joined the List of Woodard Schools.
In 1985 he was elected for five years to the General Synod of the Church of England
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
after several years as chairman of the Diocese of Hereford
Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England; and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales....
’s revenue committee and honorary treasurer of the diocese, founded in 676 AD.
Christian Action on AIDS
Shortly after the court case of the man with AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
he was in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
attending his first group of sessions of the General Synod. He introduced himself to Robert Runcie
Robert Runcie
Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and asked what the church was doing about AIDS. The Archbishop had just returned from San Francisco and seen for himself the devastation caused to the gay community
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
there. They agreed to work together with the Archbishop hoping that “AIDS would not be like cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
- a word only whispered, for by the church talking opening and honestly about AIDS we can take a lead in pastoral care and education”.
Conferences were held in the spring of 1986 in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
when the rainbow AIDS Awareness ribbon
Awareness ribbon
Awareness ribbons, due to their ubiquitous nature, have come to symbolize various concerns depending on the colours or the patterns used. For example, black ribbons may be used for mourning....
was first distributed and became the international symbol of support for people with AIDS for the next five years. A charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
Christian Action on AIDS was set up on 14 July 1986 supported by church leaders and with Canon John Bowker
John Bowker
John Westerdale Bowker is a professor of religious studies who has taught at the universities of Cambridge, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and North Carolina State University...
, Dean of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, as its president and Barnaby Miln as its chairman.
Christian Action on AIDS was responsible for the working papers on AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
for the 1988 Lambeth Conference. Once the three week long Conference was under way the Archbishop of Canterbury asked Mr Miln to gather support for a last minute resolution on homosexuality 'to hold the position reached in 1978' in the name of the Bishop of New York, Paul Moore. Resolution 64 called on all bishops of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
to undertake in the next decade a 'deep and dispassionate study of the question of homosexuality'. This was cited in his Preface by the next Archbishop, Dr George Carey, as a reason for the publication in December 1991 of a Statement by the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England, Issues in Human Sexuality. Whilst continuing to forbid gay sex for the clergy it gave a permission for laity.
For five years Barnaby Miln travelled extensively speaking to church leaders at the British Council of Churches, throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and at the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
World AIDS Day
In his powerful speech in a major debate on AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in the General Synod of the Church of England
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
on 10 November 1987 he proposed a day each year to remember people with AIDS. In response the Bishop of Gloucester, Rt Rev. John Yates, who was chair of the Synod's Board for Social Responsibility, doubted if anywhere but the United States was yet ready for a special day. But Dr Jonathan Mann
Jonathan Mann
Jonathan Mann was a former head of the World Health Organization's global AIDS program.Mann was medically qualified, receiving his B.A. from Harvard College, his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis , and the degree of M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1980.Mann was a key...
at the World Health Organisation was a member of the archiepiscopal working party on AIDS for the Lambeth Conference and was aware of Barnaby Miln's proposal. This set the seed for he and his colleagues to set up what became World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an...
, held on 1 December each year since 1988. The Bishop of Gloucester and Barnaby Miln were invited to its original in Geneva.
Family
He married Elizabeth née Barber at St Matthew's Church, StrettonSt Matthew's Church, Stretton
St Matthew's Church, Stretton is in the village of Stretton, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth...
in August 1971. Rosalie was born in March 1974 and Graham in September 1978. The marriage ended in divorce.
Gay relationships
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement describes itself as "a UK-based international Charity who are praying for an inclusive church".The Gay Christian Movement was founded in 1976 with the Revd Richard Kirker as its first General Secretary...
, and became its general secretary.
In 1986 he met Derek Pattinson
Derek Pattinson
Sir William Derek Pattinson was Secretary-General of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1972 until 1990.-Early years:...
, secretary-general of the General Synod of the Church of England, who was to become his partner. Derek Pattinson
Derek Pattinson
Sir William Derek Pattinson was Secretary-General of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1972 until 1990.-Early years:...
was knighted in 2000 and ordained in 2001, becoming the Reverend Sir Derek Pattinson. Pattinson died in 2006 when The Times newspaper reported in its obituary that he was survived by Barnaby Miln. Miln was the chief mourner at the Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
burial.
Coming out as gay
The General Synod of the Church of EnglandGeneral Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
in November 1987 also debated homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in a separate debate. At a meeting the night before, in Church House Westminster, Barnaby Miln declared that he was gay to much applause from the Open Synod Group he was addressing.
He led the opposition and bitterly opposed the motion in a debate on Biblical discipline in matters of sexual morality in the House of Laity at Church House (Church of England) Westminster, on 8 February 1988. In his speech he again declared that he was gay. Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
, the gay activist, sitting in Barnaby Miln’s support in the public gallery then shouted abuse at those opposing the motion and was escorted out of the building.
In February 1990 Barnaby Miln demanded an emergency debate of the General Synod following the leaking of the Osborne report which claimed homosexuals were treated poorly by the church. But the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, joint presidents, said they were not prepared to admit the motion to the agenda.
Despite this, members of the General Synod voted Barnaby Miln one of the Church of England’s representatives on Churches Together in England
Churches Together in England
Churches Together in England is an ecumenical organisation and the national instrument for the Christian church in England. It helps the different Churches to work together instead of separately so that they can be more effective and credible...
, and on Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It was formerly known as the Council of Churches of Britain and Ireland...
, successor to the British Council of Churches. He was a consultant at the World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
.
Magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
colleagues sought Barnaby’s removal from the bench but he refused and reluctantly agreed to re-swear the oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
.
He was not re-elected to the General Synod in October 1990.
Other charities
Whilst on the General Synod Barnaby Miln was a trustee and later chairman of the Langley House Trust for ex-offenders and treasurer of the (British) Churches Council on Alcohol and Drugs. He brought to the latter his experience as a licensing justice in Hereford.Jubilee 2000
After his fairtrade work in 1997 he was asked to be Campaigns Director of Jubilee 2000Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
, the developing countries' debt
Developing countries' debt
The debt of developing countries is external debt incurred by governments of developing countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay...
campaign, with the specific responsibility of bringing into its network the British churches and for a campaign at the forthcoming meeting in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England, of the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
world leaders. This was to be the human chain
Human chain
A human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link their arms as a show of political solidarity.The number of demonstrators involved in a human chain is often disputed; the organizers of the human chain often report higher numbers than governmental authorities.Notable human chains, in...
of at least 60,000 supporters of Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
. Larry Elliott, writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on Monday 27 November 2000 states 'Not only has Jubilee 2000 been comfortably the most successful mass movement of the past 25 years, but it has also shown how the process known as globalisation is nurturing its own opponents.'
Gay Counseling
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
sexuality.
After a visit to leading cities in the United States looking at their gay quarters, in co-operation with Edinburgh and Lothian Tourist Board he proposed that Edinburgh boost its appeal to gay tourists.
When in 2002 his partner went to live in a nursing home and for the next four years, in Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, he set up a fee paying service for anyone wanting to explore their homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and often with fetishes they would find difficult to explain to most people. He was the feature of a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
One television documentary 'Men for Hire' broadcast on Tuesday 5 April 2005. Magazine articles and photographs about his work included Zero in March 2005 and QX in September 2005.