The obituary reproduced below was written by George Broadhead, and originally appeared in a 1997 issue of The Gay Humanist – the magazine of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (now LGBT Humanists).
Rodger Alder, a well-known and popular member of GALHA, has died aged 49. He died in a hospice in Northampton on 5 March after a battle with cancer.
Rodger joined GALHA in 1990 and was a regular attender at the group’s events, including the monthly meetings and socials in London and the residential weekend gatherings. Only weeks before his death, he had become a trustee of GALHA’s associated charity, the Pink Triangle Trust.
Rodger was a well-known figure in Northampton where he lectured in Industrial Archaeology at Nene College. A Labour supporter, he was involved in local politics. He became deputy leader of Northampton Borough Council and chairman of its planning committee. When land used as a golf course was acquired by the council, it became a public park, and Rodger was largely responsible for getting it named Bradlaugh Fields, after the nineteenth-century atheist MP for Northampton, Charles Bradlaugh, who founded the National Secular Society.
His pet hate, he said, was ‘people who are insensitive to the feelings and needs of others’.
Interviewed by a local newspaper just days before he died, Rodger revealed that he was ‘old enough to remember sweets coming off ration’ and that one of his heroes was the famous Humanist actor and raconteur Peter Ustinov. His pet hate, he said, was ‘people who are insensitive to the feelings and needs of others’.
Rodger was a man of great intelligence, wit, and good humour, and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him in GALHA.
A Humanist funeral ceremony was conducted on behalf of GALHA by Nigel Collins in the ornate Great Hall of Northampton’s Guildhall. Among the hundreds of people present were the town’s mayor, councillors, academic colleagues, and friends.
The many tributes included one from Paul Hill of Northampton’s Gay Line who said:
Thank you Rodger for your wit which made us laugh, your wisdom which made us think, your contribution to our committee meetings and your company at our social gatherings. The lesbian and gay community of Northampton celebrate your life.
George Broadhead
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