Hertage Days in Nottinghamshire

The United Kingdom is renowned for its long history and heritage. In fact, the largest of those United Kingdom’s England, celebrates its 1100th anniversary next year.

Until 20th September the whole UK is celebrating its heritage with the latest annual Heritage Open Days. This is a short period when museums, galleries, stately homes, castles, parks, private gardens and places of historical interest open free to the public. Many of these, especially churches, are open every day, but there are hundreds of places that are private and not accessible to the public that have been encouraged to open their doors for a few days to showcase their heritage.

Where I live in Nottinghamshire I am lucky to be surrounded by many places of historical interest, whether it’s Nottingham Castle and Sherwood Forest, or the birth place of the founder of the Salvation Army and the first road in the world that was covered in tarmac.

Today I want to present a few sites of lgbt heritage. Some of them you may know, but some you may not. I won’t dwell too much on the city of Nottingham itself because I covered quite a bit of its heritage in this City Pride article.

Above is a map of the UK, and in green is the county of Nottinghamshire. Below is a map of Nottinghamshire with a selection of places relevant to lgbt history.

1) All Saint’s parish church, Misterton: This church is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and is very familiar to me because Misterton is where I call “home” (I’ve lived in Nottingham since 1998 but don’t call it home). LGBT Link: (Apart from myself!) In 1910 the vicar of Misterton, Rev. Thomas Philips, was convicted of homosexual acts against choirboys and was jailed. Speaking as the village historian for over 45 years I don’t know of another clergyman in Misterton of any denomination who have been identified who was gay.

2) Windmill at North Leverton with Habblesthorpe: This village with the longest name in England (and the second longest village name in Europe) has a working windmill that was built in 1813. It is usually open every Saturday and you buy flour that was milled there. LGBT Link: This is one of hundreds of windmills around the country that was painted or drawn by Karl Wood. He began a project he called Mühlendämmerung (Twilight of the Mills) in the 1920s in which he endeavoured to paint very surviving windmill in the UK at the time. North Leverton mill was one of them. I included Karl’s military career here in 2014, and a brief account of his imprisonment for homosexuality.

3) Retford Town Hall: Built in 1868. This market town is another place I know well, and an ancestor of mine was Bailiff of Retford in the 1600s. LGBT Link: Ian Campbell was elected Mayor of Retford 2010-11. At 23 he was the youngest mayor in the UK at the time (despite claims on the internet, he was not the first openly gay UK mayor). Being Mayor of Retford is quite unusual, because there is no Retford town council. In 1974, local government in the UK was reorganised, and Retford borough was abolished and its councillors transferred to the larger district council. However, district councillors elected to former Retford borough wards, including those currently elected, become Charter Trustees of the borough. The Charter, granted in 1246, allows the Trustees to elect a ceremonial mayor from their number. Ian Campbell was a Charter Trustee 2010-14. He later became Chair of the district council 2012-14.

4) Worksop Priory Church and Gatehouse: The only surviving remains of the former Augustinian priory founded in 1103 by William de Lovetot (another ancestor). Like all monastic establishments it fell victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a campaign begun in 1536 by King Henry VIII after he declared himself Head of the Church of England. LGBT Link: Before the Dissolution all monastic establishments were visited by Henry VIII’s agents to ascertain their wealth, and to paint the reputation of all the monks, friars, nuns and canons in as bad a light as possible to justify their dissolution. The canons of Worksop Priory were among hundreds who were accused of sodomy, incontinence, adultery, and unnatural sin. While the first three terms could be applied to sex with either a man or woman, the fourth was usually reserved for homosexual activity. Four of the 13 canons at Worksop were accused of unnatural sin. Their names were not recorded.

5) Clumber Park: Only the park, stables and church remains of this once magnificent estate of the Dukes of Newcastle. The stately home was demolished by the Duke in 1938. The park is now owned by the National Trust. LGBT Link: Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton was the son of the Duke of Newcastle and was elected MP for Newark 1865-8. He has a relationship with a famous Victorian cross-dresser and drag act Ernest Boulton, who billed himself as Lady Stella Clinton. Sadly, Lord Edward was dragged into the trial of Boulton and his fellow cross-dressing act Frederick Park who were arrested for appearing in female clothes in public in 1870. Rather than testify against them, Lord Edward mysteriously disappeared. It is said he either fled abroad or committed suicide (covered up by his family).

6) Thoresby Hall: A grand 17th century mansion and park, the former estate of the Pierrepont family. It is now a hotel. LGBT Link: This is the birthplace of Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu (née Pierrepont). She has featured several times on this blog, especially in this Extraordinary Lives entry.

7) Holocaust Memorial Centre, Laxton: The only national centre dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust and other ethnic conflicts since World War II. LGBT Link: Thousands of lgbt victims of the Nazi regime are commemorated here. A memorial plaque to the lgbt victims was installed in 2005. The Holocaust is, of course, where the pink triangle was first used to signify gay men. The award-winning play “Bent” about the suffering of gay men under the Nazis, premiere in London in 1979 and starred Ian McKellen. The play was inspired by one written and produced by Nottingham’s Gay Sweatshop, as explained here.

8) Clipstone Castle, also called King John’s Palace: Once a fortified hunting lodge of the medieval kings of England, now reduced to a few crumbling walls. LGBT Link: The queer King Edward II was a frequent visitor to Nottinghamshire. When he wasn’t staying at Nottingham Castle he was here as Clipstone Castle, most often for a few weeks during the autumn and winter months.

9) Newstead Abbey: A former Augustinian priory that surrendered its property to King Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Unlike other monastic establishments in Nottinghamshire, no sexual activities were recorded by the Dissolution agents. It was bought by the Byron family. LGBT Link: It is therefore somewhat ironic that Newstead was the home of one of the UK’s most famous “sexual celebrities”, the poet Lord Byron. He inherited the estate at the age of 10 but spent little time there. His celebrity status was indicated by the thousands of local people who lined the route of his funeral cortege from Nottingham to the nearby parish church of Hucknall.

10) Flintham Hall: A mansion has been on this site since the 1600s. It has been the home of the Hildyard family since 1789. The present hall was remodelled in the 1850s. LGBT Link: Until his death in 2005 the Hall was owned by Myles Hildyard, a Captain in the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. He served in Crete, Palestine and North Africa in World War II. He was taken a Prisoner of War in 1941 but managed to escape. He was even involved in the planning of the D-Day Landings. Throughout his army career he was not afraid to take his male partners to official military dinners and events. After the war he returned to Flintham where he became a champion of conservation and local history. At Flintham, Myles lived with two male companions.

11) Eastwood: a typical small Nottinghamshire town that went from being largely agricultural to a hub of coal mining and industry in the 19th century. LGBT Link: Eastwood is the birthplace of the novelist D. H. Lawrence. His home is now a museum dedicated to him. While some may question Lawrence’s place in the lgbt community, I gave my reasons for including him in this article about the connection between his famous (and infamous) novel “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and Nottingham’s lgbt community. He once told a friends “I believe the nearest I’ve come to perfect love was with a coal-miner when I was about 16”.

12) Nottingham Castle: The castle made famous in the legends of Robin Hood, and about which I have written many times, having had the privilege of working there. While most of the original stone castle has gone, parts of the gatehouse, walls, tunnels and dry moat still survive. LGBT Link: Nottingham Castle has had three gay Constables (a sort of site manager appointed personally by the king). They are 1) Sir Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall; 2) Sir William Neville; and 3) Sir George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. All have been covered many times, so if you want to know more about one of them just type his name in the search box.

13) Granby: A small village that has expanded little since it was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.LGBT Link: It is the Domesday Book which links Granby to lgbt heritage. The lord of the manor in 1086 was Sir Robert d’Oilly, who is what we now call a Norman Baron. He may have fought with King William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In many grants and documents of the time his name is partnered with Sir Roger d’Ivry, another Norman Baron and Constable of Leicester Castle as few miles away. Historians have recently begun to interpret them as being a same-sex couple.

14) Thrumpton Hall: A 17th Jacobean building. It was owned by the Byron family (but not by the famous poet, he had died beforehand) between 1832 and 1948. It was then inherited by the Seymour family. LGBT Link: Until his death in 1994 Thrumpton Hall was owned by George Seymour. He was a bit of a snob, always eager to point out that he was a descendant of King Charles II. Later in life he acquired a passion for motorbikes…. and young male bikers who were invited to live at Thrumpton, despite him being married with children.  For 14 years Seymour was in a relationship with one biker in particular who sadly committed suicide. Seymour died of a broken heart soon afterwards.

15) Bunny Hall: Yes, there really is a place called Bunny. The Hall was originally Elizabethan and rebuilt in 1720. LGBT Link: Bunny Hall was owned by the Parykns family who held the title of Baron Rancliffe. The estate descended through the male line, so the 1st Baron’s daughter was passed over for her brother. However, her brother died without legitimate children so she became a coheir to her late father, but not to Bunny Hall. She married a French prince and was the mother of Prince Edmond de Polignac, a flamboyant and openly gay social climber and mediocre composer. His marriage to lesbian sewing machine heiress Winnaretta Singer fooled nobody. Everyone knew it was only to provide Winnaretta with a title and Prince Edmond with money.

And there you have it. Just a few of the sites of lgbt heritage in Nottinghamshire. The UK is smothered with such history and it is no surprise that there is too much for anyone to know about.

Cosplay Comes Out

When I was doing the final editing and fact-checking for this article I read about the sad passing this month of Rich Thigpen, one of the co-founders of Prism Comics (see below) and a pioneer of lgbt comic conventions. This article is dedicated to his memory in appreciation for his contribution to lgbt visibility at comic conventions.

Like everyone else I was looking forward to so many events this year. One event I was particularly looking forward to was EM-Con in Nottingham.

EM-Con is one of several annual comic, gaming and fantasy genre conventions (called comic cons) in the East Midlands of England. Last year my youngest brother and I decided to cosplay. My brother has been doing it for several years but 2019 was my first time, not that I’m a stranger to dressing up. For most of the 1990s I was a medieval re-enactor, but that’s not quite the same as cosplay – the wearing of costume to portray a fictional character, usually at a convention.

There wasn’t a specific character I wanted to cosplay as. There are no role-models or superheroes that I can identify with but I’ve always loved the Time Lord costumes from “Doctor Who”, especially the big ceremonial collar, so I decided to make my own. You can see the finished full costume in all its purple fabulousness below. I was very pleased with the final result and the reception it received.

Over the past few decades lgbt appearance and inclusion in the comic, gaming and fantasy genres in general has been increasing. There have been many lgbt characters introduced since I wrote my article on lgbt superheroes in 2017.

Mainstream comic cons welcome lgbt attendees and cosplayers and many have non-discriminatory and anti-harassment regulations. There has also been an increase in openly lgbt cosplayers launching their own social media sites. Another trend in cosplay is crossplay, the portraying of a character of a different gender or ethnicity. Gender crossplay is particularly prevalent among lgbt cosplayers, with its long tradition of drag in the community and the blossoming of androgynous identities. At the present time, however, there is some debate among ethnic cosplayers over white crossplayers portraying a character of a different race, while ethnic crossplay of white characters appears to be acceptable. You’ll see examples of both types of crossplay in the video below.

One quite well-known cosplayer is Jonathan Stryker. He rose to fame some years ago by cosplaying various Disney princes. In 2006 he attended Florida Supercon where he caught the cosplay bug. Inspired by Supercon and the desire to see more open lgbt attendance at such events Jonathan founded OUT Con, Florida’s first lgbt comic con. As an openly gay man Jonathan Stryker realised “There are people who need to feel safe who might not feel comfortable going to other places”, as he told South Florida Gay News. “I wanted to create one.” As well as the multi-genre OUT Con Jonathan also created Okama Con, an lgbt convention specifically for anime, Jonathan’s main passion. I can only find record of one Okama Con being held, on 14th January 2017.

There were three OUT Cons, all held at the Miami Airport Convention Center. The first was on 14th May 2015 and attracted 500 attendees. The second was on 6th-7th May 2016, and the last was on 4th August 2017.

OUT Con was not the first lgbt comic con. Bent-Con was created in 2010 by gay comic artist Sean Holman and gay tattoo and comic artist Dave Davenport. Like Jonathan Stryker they had felt a need for a convention where lgbt comic and fantasy fans could feel welcome. Sean’s words were “Bent-Con started out of a desire of a bunch of queer geeks who were tired of going to cons and being the niche within the niche within the niche”.

The first Bent-Con was held on 5th December 2010 in a vacant store in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Over the next few years it moved to the Marriott Convention Center in Burbank. The last was held on 6th-8th November 2015.

But do not despair. Even if OUT Con and Bent-Con have gone there’s still Flame Con.

Flame Con has become the biggest lgbt comic con. It was created by Geeks Out, a charity (non-profit) founded in 2010 that supports and promotes lgbt inclusion in the genres of comic, video games and science fiction-fantasy and horror fandom. They have attended many mainstream comic cons. In 2015 they created Flame Con, the first of which was held on 13th June at the Grand Prospect Hotel, Brooklyn. It has been held ever year since then until the pandemic forced the cancellation of its 2020 event.

Geeks Out is just one of many lgbt organisations to attend mainstream comic cons. Prism Comics is a charity that supports and promotes lgbt comic artist and writers and since its formation in 2003 has been present at the biggest comic con of them all, San Diego Comic Con.

Very early on Prism Comics realised that there was no list of lgbt comics and comic artists, so they published one and called it “The Gay Agenda”. The person who led the way in its production was Andy Mangels, one of my “80 Gays” from 2018. Prism now also host many lgbt guest panels and events within San Diego’s and other big comic cons.

Finally, back to cosplay. Below is a YouTube video of Flame Con 2019. Maybe it’ll inspire you to take up cosplay, you’re never too old – I started when I was almost 59! Here’s some advice – you don’t need to have the body of a superhero to cosplay as one, that’s not the point of cosplay, and don’t worry or be disillusioned about people not knowing who you’re dressed as because some people may not be familiar with the character (there were several people at EM-Con who didn’t know I was dressed as a Time Lord, only true Doctor Who fans recognised it). Look around YouTube for other cosplay videos for inspiration. Be imaginative. Be yourself. It’s fun.

Extraordinary Life : Holocaust Survivor

To commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day we look at a Holocaust survivor whose life straddled both sides of the conflict. His name is Pierre Seel (1923-2005). I must give Chris Furneaux of the Australian lgbt radio and online channel Joy 49.9 the credit for suggesting I write about him today.

As his name suggests Pierre Seel was French. He was born in Alsace, a part of France that borders Germany. For centuries the region has been a political ping-pong ball bouncing between the two countries. During Pierre’s lifetime he found his home town, and indeed his own nationality, changing twice. From 1871 Alsace was a French province but at the end of the Franco-Prussian War it became part of the German Empire. Then, after the defeat of the German in the First World War possession of Alsace was returned to France.

In France at the time of Pierre’s birth there was no law prohibiting homosexuality though the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church led many to hide their sexuality in public, and even from their own families, as was the case with Pierre.

In 1939 he was in a well-known gay “cruising” site when his watch, a precious gift from his godmother, was stolen. He reported it to the police, but the officer he reported it to was not sympathetic. He shouted abuse at Pierre because of his admission to being in a notorious cruising site and placed his name on a list of homosexuals. This list had no official or legal purpose but it was to prove disastrous to many in a very short time.

The Second World War began with Britain, followed by France, declaring war on Nazi Germany later in 1939. In response Germany invaded and annexed Alsace. Now Pierre and his fellow Alsace natives found themselves being treated as German citizens subject to the laws of Nazi Germany. Pierre joined many others in working secretly for the French Resistance.

That list of homosexuals to which Pierre’s name was added was handed to the German authorities and soon Pierre was arrested by the Gestapo and subjected to painful physical and emotional torture, including being forcibly sodomised with a wooden stick.

In May 1941 Pierre was transferred to the Schirmeck labour and “rehabilitation” camp in the south of Alsace. More than 15,000 Alsatian citizens were imprisoned there over the next 4 years, all being forced to work with little rest or food. There were none of the infamous Pink Triangles on the uniforms of the gay prisoners, this camp did not use them. Instead Pierre wore a blue bar which was used to indicate someone who was anti-social. This also implied homosexuality and was virtually just as bad. Life for a gay man in the labour camp was still hazardous. Gay men could not find comfort in their own subgroup because fellow prisoners and SS guards alike regarded them as the lowest class of society.

When Pierre was arrested he became separated from his boyfriend Jo but he saw his beloved again in the labour camp. He could not acknowledge Jo, but watched in horror as the guards stripped Jo naked and set the guard dogs on him. The bloody death of his boyfriend marked Pierre for the rest of his life and gave him a fear of dogs.

To his surprise and relief Pierre was released, the camp’s commander having been satisfied that he had been “re-educated”, though Pierre would have to report daily to the Gestapo. Pierre returned home to his family but nothing was ever said of his experiences or sexuality.

Now a “free German” citizen Pierre was conscripted into the Nazi army. He was placed in the Wehrmacht which contained other Alsace natives forced to fight against the Allies. Then, in 1943, he was surprised again, this time to find himself being sent to the Nazi’s Aryan-breeding programme. He was only there for a few days.

By summer 1944 Pierre found himself on the Russian front, one of the most hostile combat zones of World War II. As the Allies pushed from the west and the Soviets from the east the Nazi regime began to crumble. Pierre found himself the only survivor of his post and surrendered to the Soviets.

He made his way to Poland where he joined a refugee convoy of concentration camp survivors. The Red Cross arranged for them to travel to Odessa on the Black Sea and Pierre was placed in charge of order and discipline at the refugee camp there. Eventually he managed to catch a train back to Paris and from there back to Alsace. He never revealed the full truth of his experiences, they were too traumatic, and for nearly 40 years his story was hidden in his memory.

Alsace once more changed hands after the defeat of the Nazis and the French laws were restored – except one. In 1942 the Vichy government of Nazi occupied France outlaws sex between adults and minors. This law was retained after liberation. Pierre received abuse from his own family because of his sexuality and eventually he sank into what he called “years of shame” when he tried to come to terms with his sexuality.

The memorial illustration dedicated to Pierre Seel, one of several produced by the Italian lgbt rights group Arcigay in 2015.

In 1950 he decided to marry, not telling his bride about being gay. They had 3 surviving children. Family life was very unsettled as work took them all around France. He also felt uncomfortable relating to his children, He became stressed and depressed and haunted by nightmares, He turned to drink and tranquilisers. The stress grew as the decade progressed and in 1978 Pierre and his wife separated.

In 1981 Pierre attended a book launch for “The Men With The Pink Triangle” by Heinz Heger, one of the inspirations for the play “Bent”. It was then that Pierre decided to speak out, anonymously in writing at first, about the truths behind the persecution of gay men by the Nazis. He was particularly keen to highlight the French victims, as most of the prevailing stories of persecution were about German gay men.

Pierre became a well-known activist and campaigner for the recognition of lgbt Holocaust victims at memorial commemorations. In 1994 he published his life story with the help of a journalist and fellow activist Jean Le Bitoux. Because of his high profile appearances in the media and elsewhere Pierre received more homophobic abuse, some of it physical. Through it all Pierre’s dignity and resolve remained steadfast.

By 2003 Pierre Seel was receiving official recognition for his activism. In 2005 France’s President Jacques Chirac spoke about the plight of French Holocaust victims, a tribute to Pierre Seel’s campaigning.

Pierre Seel died 7 months after President Chirac’s speech. By the end of his life he had gone to live with his partner Eric in Toulouse and had received the acceptance of his lifestyle from his family. A street near where he lived in Toulouse was named after him in 2008.

Pierre’s persecution during the Holocaust was not unique, except perhaps for his forced non-combative career in the Nazi army, but his testimony as one of the very few French gay Holocaust survivors and his personal experiences helped to change French attitudes to Nazi persecution of their countrymen on occupies France who were all too often forgotten during remembrances.

The Seven Deadly Gay Sins : Going Blue with Lust

If there’s one sin which people admit to enjoying more than any other then surely it must be sex! But for sex to be included on a list of sins there has to be some concept of which kind of sex is considered acceptable and which kind isn’t. Every religion and secular philosophy have laws and regulations on sex, and quite often they contradict the others. In pre-Victorian times there was no problem in the UK with having sex with girls as young as 12 because that was the age of consent. Times, attitudes and morals have changed and today this would be classed as child abuse and paedophilia.

And then there’s pornography. Porn and sexual material has been referred to as being “blue” for many decades. Historians have often debated why. Some claim it originates in places like the Windmill Theatre where nude female models were bathed in blue light. Others claim it originates in the English censorship of theatre administered by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office where material deemed not suitable for performance was crossed out of the script with a blue pencil.

None of the historians bother looking further back. They know that red means anger and green means envy, not realising that blue for sex originates in the same Medieval cultural belief in western Europe. So, LUST, the excess of sex, is entered on my Seven Deadly Gay Sins flag.

So, what can we talk about today concerning the Deadly Sin of Lust in the lgbt community? Don’t get too excited because I’m not going into gay porn!

We should never assume that all lgbt heritage is about “good” people. One of the most constant downsides of the lgbt community is the presence of those who practice the form of lust currently considered the worst of them all – paedophilia.

There was a time when the general public thought all gay men were paedophiles (some still do). This opinion was brought into the open in my home city of Nottingham in August 1977.

The Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) held their annual conference in Nottingham. This was the same conference at which the inspiration for the play “Bent” was premiered.

One of the guest speakers at one of the workshops was a Dutch MP called Dr. Edward Brongersma (1911-1998). As a member of the Dutch Senate he was instrumental in bringing the homosexual age of consent down to 16 in line with heterosexual sex (he had been imprisoned in 1950 after being convicted of having sex with a 17-year-old). What he is best known for, however, is his research into gay paedophilia. He was considered a world authority on the subject. So when it was revealed he would be attending the CHE conference in Nottingham there was a public outcry.

Protests were held outside the hotel where the workshop he was scheduled to attend was to be held. The hotel, fearful of losing business and of threats to the property, cancelled the booking. The workshop was moved to another venue (just across the road from my flat) and went ahead with Dr. Brongersma as the main guest. At the end of the workshop he was given a standing ovation.

Attitudes in the UK towards paedophilia at the time were, more often than not, not discussed openly. Today there is more discussion about paedophilia and its moral place in society. Child abuse in particular is a highly visible and almost constant topic in the media.

The lgbt community must be able to distinguish between paedophilia/child abuse and acceptable sexual practices in modern society. There have been several articles in the lgbt media this year about one man who has been hailed as a hero against Christian homophobia, when in fact he was a serial child rapist and abuser. Is he the sort of “hero” we want?

The man was brought to the fore last year when plans were announced of Pope Francis’s visit to Uganda to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the canonisation of the Ugandan Martyrs. The visit never actually went ahead but the lgbt media voiced their opposition all the same. The reason was because the Ugandan Martyrs were all young Christian men and boys who were executed by their king, Mwanga II, after they rejected his sexual advances. The visit was distorted into the Pope appearing to honour Christians who rejected homosexuality. Which was the greater sin – rejection of rape, or murder?

I gave a brief history of their martyrdom several years ago. The whole point about the killings is not that the Christian boys were being homophobic but that they were killed purely because they rejected the forced sexual abuse of a paedophile and child rapist who thought he had the right to rape who he pleased.

There was nothing good about King Mwanga’s sexual activities. The Ugandan Martyrs weren’t even gay. He used his power to abuse anyone he wished – gay, straight, male, female. This was part of his culture and the Christian missionaries realised (even if modern lgbt journalists don’t) that the human rights of Ugandans were being violated. Forget the religion. Would an atheist organisation have supported this violation? The fact that the boys were converted Christians is irrelevant. For the first time in their lives someone had arrived and said they had the right to say “No” to abuse.

For too many decades gay men have been portrayed as predatory paedophiles like King Mwanga. It’s the reason who so many people still oppose the idea of two gay men having children. I weep when members of the lgbt community start using their own religious prejudices to condone the rape of innocent boys. If I was murdered by a serial rapist because I said “No” I hope I’d be remembered as a hero not the villain.

Around the World in 80 Gays - the First Catch-Up

Regular readers will may have been following this continuing series. We’re half way through it, now, so for those of you who have jumped into the middle of it and don’t know what it’s all about, or for regular readers who want to remind themselves of how far we've got, here’s a quick catch-up on the first 20 names that I connected together in my quest to go “Around the World in 80 Gays”.

1) Alan Turing (1912-1954), the “Father of the Computer”, without whose mathematical theories this and other blogs would not exist, was the subject of a 2014 film called “The Imitation Game”. It was based on a biography by the film’s consultant …

2) Andrew Hodges (b.1949), another mathematician who brought Turing to the attention of the wider public in his biography of Turing, which was instrumental in revealing his code-breaking work at Bletchley Park during World War II. Other gay code-breakers at Bletchley included …

3) Noel Currer-Briggs (1919-2004) who, after the war, turned to genealogy and the quest to find the origin of the Holy Grail. In his quest he also traced the ownership of the Shroud of Turin back to the 1200s. His Grail research was heavily influenced by that of a previous Grail historian called …

4) Otto Rahn (1909-1939) whose own Grail Quest was of particular interest to the Nazis and he got a huge boost to fund his research whey they employed him to find it. However, when they received intelligence that he was gay they sent Rahn to work as a guard at Dachau concentration camp. Rahn’s Grail research became the inspiration for a book called “Holy Blood, Holy Grail” which, in turn, was the inspiration for “The Da Vinci Code” novel, which claimed that …

5) Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) belonged to a secret organisation that protected the Holy Grail from discovery. The film version of “The Da Vinci Code” starred …

6) Sir Ian McKellen (b.1939), whose first major stage success was in a play called “Bent”. This was set in Dachau concentration camp, where 4) Otto Rahn had once been forced to work as a guard. “Bent” was about the persecution of gay men by the Nazis, many thousands of whom were imprisoned, including former national German heroes like …

7) Otto Peltzer (1900-1970), one of Germany’s top athletes. Like 4) Otto Rahn, Peltzer joined the SS hoping it would help further his career. When his homosexuality was discovered in 1936 Peltzer was sent to a concentration camp, denying him the opportunity to compete in the Berlin Olympics. He was already an Olympic hero, having first competed in Amsterdam in 1928, becoming the first known male lgbt Olympian. The honour of being the first lgbt medal winner and first known female lgbt Olympian, also at the 1928 Amsterdam games, was …

8) Renée Sintenis (1888-1965). However, Renée wasn’t an athlete but a sculptor. The Olympics had contests for various arts a century ago, and Renée’s sculpture in 1928 won her a bronze medal. She also sculpted the famous Berlin bear statue which was used as the basis for the “Oscar” of the International Berlin Film Festival. 6) Sir Ian McKellen won one of these Golden Bear statuettes for his lifetime achievement in film. Back on the Olympic track in 1928 was a South African who wasn’t gay but who was a great influence on his grandson who is, …

9) Jacques Snyman Wiechiech (b.1973). Jacques was encouraged by his Olympian grandfather to take up sport. He excelled at several sports in his childhood, particularly gymnastics. In 2006 Jacques won 3 gold medals at the Gay Games in Chicago, including one in decathlon, the sport in which the founder of the Gay Games competed at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, …

10) Tom Waddell (1937-1987). Tom founded the Gay Games in 1982 and it became the biggest international multi-sport event in the world. It has encouraged many thousands of amateurs and professionals to compete as openly gay athletes (also permitting athletes to compete anonymously if so desired). One is the above-mentioned 9) Jacques Snyman Wiechiech who, while he was living in the UK, was also a member of the King’s Cross Steelers, a gay rugby club whose Chair was also a Gay Games competitor called …

11) Tim Sullivan (b.1961). Tim’s own contribution to lgbt sport, as Chair of the King’s Cross Steelers, was recognised by the London 2012 Olympic Committee when he was selected as one of the Olympic torch relay runners. There have been a small group of other relay runners chosen specifically for their contributions to lgbt causes. An earlier relay runner, and yet another Gay Games competitor, was …

12) Shaun Mellors (b.1965) who was chosen to carry the Olympic torch through Cape Town, South Africa, because of his work with HIV+ gay men and AIDS education. Shaun was not alone that year, because also on the Cape Town leg of the Athens 2004 Olympic torch relay was …

13) Prudence Mabele (1971), the first woman to publicly reveal her HIV+ status in South Africa. In 1999 the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission awarded Prudence a prize which, like her place on the 2004 Olympic torch relay, was in recognition of her work in AIDS education. The award was named after …

14) Felipa de Souza (1556-c.1600), a Portuguese colonist living in Brazil. Felipa was reported to the Brazilian Inquisition of 1591 for lesbian behaviour. Even though she was found guilty Felipa escaped the death penalty and was exiled. Another member of the lgbt community arrested and convicted during the same Inquisition was …

15) Francisco “Xica” Manicongo. Xica is the earliest recorded transsexual in South America. She was an African slave who behaved and dressed as a woman though she was biologically male. In modern-day Brazil the trans community commemorate her with Xica Manicongo Day in May. Despite having a large trans community Brazil is the country which regularly comes at the top of the table for transgender murders, a fact brought to light every year on the Transgender Day of Remembrance. This day of remembrance was created following the 1998 murder of …

16) Rita Hester (1963-1998) in Boston, Massachusetts. Her murder galvanised Boston’s lgbt community into action which had been alerted to dangers of transphobia several years earlier with the murder of …

17) Channelle Pickett (1972-1995), whose death was commemorated with a candlelit vigil. This and the similar vigil following 16) Rita Hester’s murder were organised by transgender activist …

18) Nancy Nangeroni, whose actions inspired San Francisco activists to create the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Nancy helped to organise Boston’s first Pride march which commemorated the murder of 16) Rita Hester, as it did with the USA’s first same-sex marriage which took place in Boston’s city hall in 2004. Leading the fight for marriage recognition was a Boston couple called …

19) Hillary Goodridge (b.1956) and 20) Julie Goodridge (b.1958). The couple had attempted to get married in Boston in 2001 following the world’s first same-sex marriages which took place in the Netherlands earlier that year.

Tomorrow I’ll resume this run-down of the first 40 people in my journey “Around the World in 80 Gays”.

Happy Tenth Birthday, Pink Jack!

On Saturday 2^nd July 2005 London celebrated its annual Pride. Something appeared that day which caught the collective imagination of all lgbt Brits. The Union Jack is already a unique design classic, and ten years ago today a new version appeared – the Pink Jack.

I’m delighted that the creator of the Pink Jack, David Guinnutt, has agreed to write something for me today on how this new design came into the world.

The first I realised ten years had passed since Pink Jack was created was when a letter from The Patent Office arrived asking me to renew the Trademark. Ten years, Wow. I’m very proud of this, it was an idea I hoped would last and be relevant for longer than my lifetime….I didn’t do it to make a lot of money (just as well as I haven’t!) I think it’s more important to make things that will always be around… and I have the same philosophy with my photographs, I want portraits to be interesting a hundred years hence, not just today. It’s early days but so far, so good!

The first flag I made was from company in East London, a proper old school flag maker. I still have it, it’s made of a very heavy cotton and has toggles on it where it would be tied to a mast. The pink is vibrant blancmange pink. It felt it was quite punk in a Westwood kinda way as I imagined it flying on a (gay) galleon –pirate or otherwise and the pink was quite shocking and it seemed a bit anti-establishment….in a good way.

The first day I ‘flew’ the flag it was at the Pride London march, 2004. I remember carrying it on the tube on a bamboo cane, wrapped around the cane so no one could see it , felt a really self-conscious, it’s not in my nature to seek out attention on me but I’m compelled to push myself forward for things I believe in.

Getting off the tube at Hyde Park Corner I remember it was absolutely rammed with people arriving for the march, whistles blowing, people shouting, chatting, waving banners, I shuffled along in a sea of revellers, questioning when I’d have the bottle to start waving the flag- I’m not sure what I thought would happen- maybe everyone stop and stare and laugh at me.

I found my way to where the march was to start, everyone was milling around, lying in small groups on the grass, some already lined up at the head of the march. I was envious of other people who’d already got their banners or flag up. They didn’t look bothered or scared at all. I waited, trying to decide the right moment.

As time came for the march to start, the atmosphere was electric, everyone starts shouting, blowing whatever and making crazy noise, its the most incredible feeling the first time. Fuck it I couldn’t wait any longer and plucked up my nerve to unfurl the flag, up she went, heart in my mouth, it felt as if life would change forever ….but no one batted an eyelid.

It’s amazing the power carrying a flag gives you, people make way and I got to the front easily and marched behind Paul O’Grady, Stephen Fry, Wayne Sleep and I think Simon Callow and some other notable figures. I wanted the flag to get noticed and waved it for my life above Paul & Stephen’s heads!

Looking back there have been so many moments when the Pink Jack has appeared, being carried by people who I don’t know but who are celebrating what it stands for, it makes me so proud. It has to have a life of its own, nothing to do with me and it feels as if it does. Just today a friend texted to say it’s showing on a billboard in Canary Wharf re ‘What does Pride’ mean to you?’ 

My top ten moments are in no particular order :

Europride launch in 2005, my friend calling me from Oxford St screaming down the phone, ‘Your flags are everywhere! 

British Ambassador in Budapest flying the flag in the embassy to support the gay pride march there. 

Two guys waving the flag in Red Square, risking arrest 

Three large flags waving at the front of Last Night of the Proms – every year! 

A large flag being waved behind Jessica Ennis in the long jump at the London Olympics 

Being on the cover of QX for their ‘Faces of Soho’ edition 

Being at World Pride one year with all the other countries National flags 

Seeing two gay dads and their kids carrying them at Brighton Pride 

Being voted 16th in the Independents top 100 Pink List in 2013 

Alan Cumming always hanging one in his dressing room at Trafalgar Studios during Bent in Canada and London


For more information on the Pink Jack go to its website here.

Marching Out

All around the UK today there’ll by military bands and soldiers parading through towns and cities for our annual Armed Forces Day. Each year one city hosts the main national celebration, and I remember well the parade in Nottingham when it was hosted here 2 years ago.

Today it seems impossible to have a military parade without a marching band. But that’s how they were until about 350 years ago when a courtier adapted an idea from the Turks and applied it to the French army.

There are two types of military music. First is the music played on the battlefield. This can be imagined in the bugle charges of the cavalry, or the solitary bagpipe. The Turks had a particular type of band who would gather around their military standard during battle and play loud music to reassure the soldiers that their standard was still flying. This military band was a small group of perhaps ten musicians.

The Turks had an elite fighting force called the Janissaries and they seem to have been the first to form these small military bands in the 1330s. As well as performing on the battlefield the Janissary bands also played at ceremonial events and parades, and it is this second type which influenced the creation of the modern military parade. The ceremonial use of military music has survived and flourished more than the music of the battlefield.

The first European power to use recognisably Turkish military music was Poland, in a fusion with European music which quickly spread westwards. What made these military bands sound Turkish was the introduction of instruments not used in European music – big bass drums and cymbals. Imagine a modern marching band without them! And there was one new instrument developed by the Europeans especially to make military bands sound more Turkish – the triangle. Yes, that small bit of bent metal rod in a shape that has its own resonance in lgbt heritage was invented to create a feel of the Ottoman Empire.

With these new instruments and the traditional European forefathers of the oboe and trombone the modern military band was formed. This combination was pioneered by that French courtier I mentioned back at the top of this article. But what is most significant about his contribution to military bands is that he decided to put the band among the ranks of the marching soldiers instead of have them stand to one side – he invented the marching band. His name was Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687).

An Italian by birth Lully was appointed Superintendent of the Royal Music by the French King Louis XIV. Several important changes were being made in the military during King Louis’s reign. First was the establishing of Europe’s first full-time standing army. Next was the introduction of the flintlock musket and bayonet. Then there was the close formation marching. It was only natural that Lully would be dragged in to write the first military marches.

Lully was already experienced in writing music for people to move by. He was an enthusiastic dancer (he first met the king at a dance) and working with the royal dance master Lully created the first modern ballets. King Louis’ enthusiasm for the ballet and opera faded in the 1680s, and he became tired of Lully’s open gay relationships. Louis apparently knew of several courtiers who had homosexual affairs, and one of Lully’s with a young “music page” called Brunet attracted too much notice.

Here’s one final connection between the modern military marching band and Lully. During Lully’s lifetime the method of conducting a band or orchestra was with the use of a large staff which the conductor tapped onto the floor to help keep time. Lully used one of these staffs to conduct the royal orchestra in a celebration of the king’s recovery from surgery.

During the performance Lully jabbed himself in the foot. Rather vainly he refused to have the foot amputated because it would mean he wouldn’t be able to dance. Gangrene set in, which spread to his brain and he died.

And the connection to modern marching bands? Who do you see marching at the front of the band? A man with a big staff, just like the one that killed Lully.

Around the World in 80 Gays : Part 3 - An Olympiade

Last time : (4) Otto Rahn’s search for the Holy Grail influenced the book “The Da Vinci Code”, featuring (5) Leonardo da Vinci’s alleged link to the Grail. The film version featured (6) Sir Ian McKellen, who also starred in the premiere of “Bent” a play which dealt with persecution of gay men in Nazi concentration camps, where Otto Rahn once served, and where (7) Otto Peltzer was imprisoned.

(7) Otto Peltzer (1900-1970) was a national hero between the two World Wars. I’ve featured Otto several times in previous articles, and I refer you to them here and here. Like (4) Otto Rahn he joined the SS, though this should not be seen as any indication that either of them supported the subsequent Nazi political ideals. Peltzer probably joined because he thought it would be beneficial to his athletic career, and Rahn because he wouldn’t have got funding for his Grail research. Both Ottos were seen with some suspicion by Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and he himself questioned the Ottos. Whereas Himmler found no proof of Rahn’s homosexuality he chose to send him to Dachau camp as a guard to see first-hand what punishment gay men would receive. Peltzer, on the other hand, was suspended from the SS and in 1941 was imprisoned in Mathausen camp.

Otto Peltzer is the first identified lgbt athlete to compete in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928. He wasn’t the only lgbt Olympian there, however, as in the art competitions there was a fellow German taking part. Her name was (8) Renée Sintenis.

In a previous article I only wrote briefly about Renée. Here I write a bit more. Renée and Otto Peltzer competed in the same two Olympics – Amsterdam in 1928, and Los Angeles in 1932.

In 1926 Renée produced a bronze sculpture of the great Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi. Paavo was as big in middle-distance running back then as Usian Bolt is in short distance today. However, it just so happens that 1926 was also the year Otto Peltzer beat Paavo in a specially arranged 1500 meters race.

Renée was one of the most successful female sculptors of Weimar Germany and the inter-war period. It was her greatest period. As my previous article on her states, Renee won an Olympic bronze medal. She also became one of the very few women appointed to the Prussian Academy of Arts.

Renée fell out of favour when the Nazis rose to power. Her life as a lesbian had not been a problem during the inter-war period in Berlin. But now she found herself on the wrong side of social acceptance. She resigned from the Academy. Sadly, much of her work, and her home, was destroyed by Allied bombing. After the war Renée rose back to prominence. She was awarded membership of the Order “Pour le Mérite” For Science and The Arts, an order restricted to 30 living members who have made significant contributions in science and art. Membership is by election of existing members after the death of one of their number.

In 1957 Renée sculpted a life-size bronze statue of the bear that is the emblem of the city of Berlin. It became an iconic symbol of post-war Berlin and makes it even more appropriate to write about Renée today, because this week the Berlin International Film Festival takes place. The main prize, the German equivalent of an Oscar, is a small statuette copy of Renée’s bear. Its one of the most prized awards in the film industry, and in 2006 it was given as an Honorary Life Achievement award to (6) Sir Ian McKellen.

Back to the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. There was one particular athlete representing South Africa who links to our next individual. The athlete wasn’t gay, but his sporting influence was to have a great effect on his grandson, who is gay – (9) Jacques Snyman Wieciech (b.1973).

One look at Jacques and you can see he was built for sport. His grandfather showed him the basics of athletics while he was young and Jacques pursued as many sporting chances as he was able. He was a gymnastics champion for 6 years before he was even a teenager, then he turned to track and field, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. Again he was successful, especially in European competitions.

It was while Jacques was living in the UK that he joined the oldest gay rugby club in the world, the Kings Cross Steelers. He had played rugby since childhood, encouraged again by his grandfather who was once a member of South Africa’s national rugby squad. From then on Jacques became a typical big, butch rugger player. His physique has caught the attention of many gay men in recent years (not least his husband), and its no surprise that he modelled for Colt Studios and entered the 2009 Mr Gay South Africa contest. Which is all very incongruous when you hear that his other great talent is as an operatic countertenor.

Going back to his track and field achievements, Jacques is also a Gay Games champion. In Chicago in 2006 he won gold medals in long jump and javelin. But it his gold medal in the decathlon which provides an extra direct link to the founder of the Gay Games, (10) Tom Waddell (1937-1987). And that's who with start with next time.