Felix Layton

Publicity leaflet for a lecture tour, 1958

Felix Layton was an English-American lecturer and educator who was active in the Theosophical Society in America, along with his wife Eunice.

Personal life

Felix Layton was born on September 10, 1910 in Paignton, Devon, England, and raised in a family of Theosophists. His parents were Wilfred Layton, an organist and music teacher, and his wife Ethel. The couple had two daughters before their son was born. Felix attended St. Christopher’s School, a Theosophical institution, where he first became acquainted with his mentor, Geoffrey Hodson. In the 1920s, Felix and his mother emigrated to Canada, and from there went to Michigan, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Michigan.

During World War II he served in the Royal Corps of Signals, and then the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, ending with the rank of major. He then returned to the U.S. in 1947 and taught science in high schools in San Francisco area for several years, including a position as teacher and house head at the Montezuma Boys School in Santa Clara. Layton was married to Eunice Shipp on October 21, 1950 at Alameda. They had probably met at the Pacific Lodge of the Theosophical Society, where both were members in the later 1940s. On March 17, 1952, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

On September 21, 1991, Felix Layton passed away in Ojai, California, after a brief illness. A requiem mass was held at the Church of Our Lady and All Angels in Ojai on September 24.

Theosophical Society work

Felix and Eunice Layton in Yarramundi, Australia

Felix Layton with parrots, Currumbin, Australia

Felix Layton was admitted as a member of the Theosophical Society in America on September 15, 1930, joining the Flint, Michigan lodge. Previously he and his mother Ethel Laytons had been member since about 1928 in the Canadian Section. He was president of Young Theosophists of America from 1933-1934.

"Responding to a request from International President George Arundale for workers, as a young man he sailed for India. He spent seven years in Adyar teaching and later as headmaster of the Besant School." Radha Burnier was one of his students. On April 23, 1936 he transferred his membership to India, where he lived at the Adyar headquarters. He was Joint General Secretary of the World Federation of Young Theosophists from 1936-1937. After completing his wartime service in the British Army, he returned to the United States, and on November 13, 1947 transferred his TS membership back to the American Section. Around that time, he and Eunice Shipp were both members of the Pacific Lodge in San Francisco, and they got married. Felix was elected president of the Northern California Theosophical Federation.

The Laytons served for for several years on the staff of the national headquarters in the Department of Information, in Wheaton, Illinois. From 1954 to 1959, they travelled throughout the United States, lecturing and conducting classes on Theosophy in a rigorous schedule. During their Spotlight tour of Florida in the first three months of 1957, for example, they visited eight cities, giving 35 lectures and attending 9 meetings. In 1959, the Laytons began a world tour that took them to the international headquarters of the Society where they attended the School of the Wisdom, later serving as Assistant Directors of Study at that School. Felix Layton was elected as vice president of the Theosophical Society in America in 1966, serving until 1972 in the administration of Joy Mills. Their lecture schedule took them to New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Malaya and Ceylon, India, and Pakistan, plus a six-month lecture tour in Europe. They were popular lecturers, as mentioned in Theosophy in Australia:

They were well-known to Australian audiences, having toured the Section on several occasions as guest speakers. At Convention, when the talks and workshops were over for the day, members relaxed and enjoyed the Square and Scottish Dancing, Eunice led so efficiently in the evening.

In 1972 the couple took a break from their travels, returning to San Francisco, with a big farewell party from the staff of the Wheaton, Illinois headquarters, and when they arrived at the West coast, over 50 members of California lodges united to hold a welcome party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Bartholemew. In 1977, they moved to Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California, and it became their base in Theosophical work. They were co-directors of the Krotona School of Theosophy from 1977-1979. From 1986 until his death in 1991, Felix was vice-president and resident head of the Institute, and Eunice supported him in this work.

Liberal Catholic Church

Felix Layton was a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church.

Freemasonry

According to his obituary, Mr. Layton was a 32nd degree Co-Mason, American Federation of Human Rights.

Book cover

Writings

• Some Basic Concepts of Theosophy. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1960. Coauthor Eunice Layton, with foreword by Geoffrey Hodson. Based on a series of lectures. Available at hpb.narod.ru. Translated into Dutch.
• Theosophy: Key to Understanding. Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1967. 170 pages. Coauthor Eunice Layton. Reissued in 1988 as Life, Your Great Adventure: a Theosophical View. Translated into Finnish and Italian. Available for borrowing online at Internet Archive. It is a compilation of the Laytons' public lectures.
• Einstein's Theories: In the Light of Theosophy. Wheaton, Illinois : Theosophical Press, 1955. 21 pages. Pamphlet.

Additional resources

Audio

• Light on the Path. Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Society in America, 1970. "Felix Layton explains that the aphorisms or rules contained in the cryptic and paradoxical book Light on the Path date back to ancient Alexandria and Egypt. Layton also gives practical suggestions for studying the work."
• Light on the Path. 1970. "The book discussed as a guidebook for use during the student's entire life."
• The Second Object of the Theosophical Society. Wheaton, Illinois: The Theosophical Society in America, 1970. 85 minutes.