Happy 100th Birthday, Aunty Beeb

Following the centenary of the Women’s World Games which I wrote about last time, we celebrate another this coming week. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was founded on 18th October 1922. The BBC, affectionately known as “Auntie Beeb”, is perhaps the world’s most famous broadcaster, though it was by no means the first (and despite what you read on certain websites, “Auntie Beeb” is not, and never has been, used derogatively, at least not by people whose opinions matter).

The BBC was founded by royal charter, meaning it is an independent organisation overseen by the British government on behalf of the Crown. Since it’s very beginning the BBC has had many lgbt broadcasters, producers, creative artists and governors.

The BBC has produced a special website to promote their centenary. They have created a page dedicated to their lgbt broadcasting history. You can see it here, though I suspect the website will be taken down after the celebrations have ended. If this is the case I will reproduce the lgbt history page in a future article.

It would be impossible to write about the history of the BBC without mentioning Sir John Reith, Baron Reith (1889-1971), successively its first manager, first managing director, and first director general. Even today his name and reputation are known to many.

Rumours and speculation about Reith’s sexuality have been going around for decades. There is a lot of disagreement on the subject, but I think the definitive answer comes from his daughter who acknowledged her father’s bisexuality in 2006. This has been accepted by most people and is included in the BBC 100 website referred to above.

The evidence suggests that Reith had a gay relationship before his career with the BBC. His affections were directed towards Charlie Bowser (b.1894). They met in May 1929. Their close friendship didn’t please Reith’s father, a Scottish Presbyterian minister, and Reith’s brother was particularly vocal in his opposition to it. Two years later, however, the Bowser family moved to London and Reith decided to follow them.

Over the next few months and years John Reith and Charlie Bowser spent much time together, living in the same apartment, and going on holidays together. They shared a bed, but that meant nothing in those days (modern sex-obsessed society is conditioned into not understanding any innocence in it, and touching someone on the shoulder can lead to accusations of sexual abuse – talking from experience). In this case, however, we can assume it was significant in their relationship.

Reith was commissioned into the 5th Scottish Rifles, Territorial Battalion, in 1911, and following the outbreak of World War I, was transferred to the Royal Engineers. When he was posted to France Charlie Bowser was there to see him off. Throughout the war Reith carried a photo of Charlie in his wallet. In 1915 Reith was hit in the face by a rifle bullet. The scar was visible for the rest of his life.

Reith’s broadcasting career and the establishment of the BBC is well covered elsewhere on the internet. His bisexuality, however, was largely ignored or denied until more recent decades. The definitive word on the subject should go to his daughter, Marista, who confirmed Reith’s bisexuality in 2006.

On Reith’s appointment as the first manager of the BBC there was no television broadcasting. It was solely radio. Fellow Scotsman John Logie Baird developed the first broadcastable television system. An experimental broadcast produced jointly by the BBC and Baird’s company, a play, was broadcast in 1930, but the fist full BBC television broadcast was made on 22nd August 1932. It consisted of a brief message of Logie Baird himself, followed by a variety programme featuring dancers, songs from popular singers of the time, a ju-jitsu demonstration, and Sammy the performing sea-lion.

The producer of this programme was an ex-army officer called Eustace Robb (1897-1983). He had joined the BBC in its gramophone department before being appointed producer of that first light entertainment television programme 90 years ago this year.

It was around this time that Robb’s wife decided to divorce him on account of his many affairs with young men, which he never his from her.

By 1934 Robb had become the BBC’s first Director of Television Programming, responsible for deciding what programmes should be made and broadcast. He left the BBC in 1935 after the company switched television production to its new Alexandra Palace studios and changed from Baird’s system to the higher-definition Marconi-EMI system which it continued to use until 1985.

Eustace Robb was redeployed during World War II, working with the British Expeditionary Force and in the War Office.

On retirement from the army Robb became a landowner, inheriting and living at Great Tew House in Oxfordshire from the 1950s. This was once owned by his great-great-grandfather Matthew Boulton, the industrial pioneer. Boulton appeared on the UK’s £50 note with his business partner, the more famous steam engine pioneer James Watt. They was replaced in 2020 by the gay code-breaker and computer pioneer Alan Turing. Ironically, part of Eustace Robb’s duties at the War Office included receiving and distributing decoded messages from Turing and the other code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

Robb lived at Great Tew for the rest of his life. Great Tew entered the headlines in 2018 when the newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex rented a converted barn on the estate for two years.

From its very beginning the BBC has been influenced by members of the lgbt community.

A Women's Sporting Centenary

The year 2022 has seen great summer of sport of lgbt athletes. Sadly, it has also been not so great for others who were not allowed to compete. However, the EuroGames in the Netherlands just before the Commonwealth Games began provided a multi-sport festival that excluded no-one. This year would have been ever better if the Gay Games in Hong Kong has not been postponed until next year.

Sporting anniversaries abound. The Gay Games celebrates 40 years this year. The EuroGames, the mini version of the Gay Games, celebrated its 30th anniversary, and another sporting festival which I mentioned in passing last month was founded 100 years ago. That festival was the Women’s World Games.

Rather than give a history of the Women’s World Games I’d like to write about the few competitors who were lesbian, bisexual or transgender in its twelve year run. There’s an excellent history of the game here on the Inside the Games website, the perfect sport website because it includes all sports except football, thank God.

Briefly, here are the official editions of the Women’s World Games

1922 – Paris, France

1926 – Gothenburg, Sweden

1930 – Prague, Czechoslovakia

1934 – London, UK.

Not all names of participating athletes are readily available, so there may be others. Here is the list of known athletes at the games. They are list in order of participation.

Mark Weston (1905-1978)

(competed as Mary Weston)

Representing England

Shot put

1926 Gothenburg

Mark Weston was the British women’s shot put champion for several years. He was born in 1905 with a genital abnormality, probably some form of intersex condition, and was assigned and raised as a girl. In 1936 he underwent surgery to realign as male and took the name Mark Weston.

In our own time, when Caitlyn Jenner transitioned in 2015, there were calls for her to return her Olympic decathlon gold medal. Mark Weston actually offered to return all of his medals that had won during his female career because he considered he had not won them fairly, but the sporting authorities refused to accept them.

Weston married in 1936 and had three children. He died in 1978. Interestingly, his sibling Harry Weston (a non-athlete) also transitioned in the 1930s. Even when competing in 1928 Mark felt he was different and, in his own words, “had no right to compete as a woman”.

Stanislawa Walasiewicz (1911-1980)

(also known as Stella Walsh)

Representing Poland

Track athletics

1930 Prague – 2 gold medals

1934 London – 1 gold medal, 2 silvers

Stella was one of the more famous female Olympic athletes in the early 20th century. I’ll direct you to this part of my 2018 “Around the World in Another 80 Gays” series in which I wrote about Stella Walsh’s career and controversy surrounding her gender. At the Women’s World Games Stella won 2 golds medals in 1930 in the 100m and 200m. In 1934 she won silver in both of these distances, but she won the gold medal in the 60m.

Zdeněk Koubek (1913-1986)

(competed as Zdena Koubková)

Representing Czechoslovakia

Track athletics and long jump

1934 London – 1 gold medal and 1 bronze

Koubek was one of Czechoslovakia’s most successful female athletes. Before his appearance at the Women’s World Games he held the Czech national titles in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 800 metres, high jump and long jump. It wasn’t unusual for female athletes of that time to compete in multiple disciplines, more so than male athletes. Koubek also held several world records before the 1934 games. He broke another while winning the 800 metres gold medal. He also won a bronze medal in the javelin throw.

Those 1934 games seem to have been Koubek’s last competitive appearance. He retired from athletics in 1935 and shortly afterwards began the process of transitioning. After its completion he courted publicity and interviews during 1936 before retiring to family life in Czechoslovakia with his new wife.

The last Women’s World Games in London were held from 9th to 11th August 1934 at the White City Stadium in London. Just six miles away on exactly the same dates the 2nd Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire Games) were being held in Wembley Park.

Another athlete was almost certain to have competed at the 1934 Women’s World Games had the Commonwealth Games not taken place at the same time. I mentioned this athlete briefly in my piece about the Birmingham 2022 games last month. His name was Edwin Halstead (1907-1962). He was the UK’s top female javelin thrower, competing under the name of Edith Halstead, and at the 1934 games he won the silver medal.

As I said in that earlier article, very little is known about Edwin, so I used my genealogical skills to find out more. First, I needed to establish that Edwin and Edith Halstead were the same person. This is confirmed on the 1939 Register of England and Wales. As the war progressed the information was amended. Amendments were still being made in the 1980s when it was consigned to the National Archives. Below is the entry which proves Edith and Edwin Halstead are the same person. Edwin is living in Radcliffe, Lancashire, with his half-sister Eva Dawson.

The amendment code means – IC (identity card – a new one being issued in this case) /NWT (the enumeration district of Radcliffe). I haven’t deciphered CS36337 yet. The handwritten date, 22nd August 1944, is when the amendment was made, not when Edwin transitioned. So, we can be sure that Edwin transitioned during the war. He probably chose the name Edwin after his mother’s first husband, Edwin Dawson (an unfortunate man who died at the age of 38 after being run over by a train).

Other records tell us that Edwin married Ellen Rothwell in 1946. In 1948 he was working as a telephonist at the Post Office phone exchange in Blackpool (just like you see in old movies). He died in Blackpool on 5th May 1962. He and Ellen had no children.

There’s yet another possible addition to this list. At the 1934 Women’s World Games was the German sprinter and discus thrower Käthe Krauss (1906-1970). At the games she won 3 gold sprint medals and 1 bronze discus medal. Her gender was questioned during her career, though mostly through hearsay and rumour rather than definitive evidence. Athletes competing against her often expressed the opinion that Kathe was not completely female. I can only be surmised that they thought she was intersex. Perhaps we’ll never know for sure.

I’ve managed to find a short vide of the 1934 Women’s World Games. It shows Stella Walsh winning the 60m, and possibly Zdeněk Koubek competing in the long jump. Käthe Krauss is in the athlete's parade.

Heralding a New Reign

I didn’t think the death of Queen Elizabeth II would be an occasion to write something for this blog. Watching the proclamations of King Charles III, which are purely historical and ceremonial and not a legal requirement, reminded me of something I had planned to write next year.

At all of the great ceremonial state occasions, such as the proclamation or the State Opening of Parliament, you’ll see a group of people dressed in brightly coloured tabards and feathered hats. These are the heralds. They are members of the Royal Household.

You may know how much I love heraldry by the many articles I’ve written on the subject. Today I’d like to concentrate on two heralds, or more correctly, two officers of arms. The first is very openly gay, and the second is reported to be gay.

Maj.-Gen. Alastair Bruce (b.1960) holds the office of Fitzalan Pursuivant Extraordinary. A pursuivant (pronounced “percy-vant”) is the lowest rank of officer of arms at the College of Arms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The word pursuivant come from the same root at “pursue”. Originally, a pursuivant was a person who follows or offers support. So, a heraldic pursuivant is someone who supports a herald in the performance of the latter’s duties. Fitzalan is the name of one of the junior titles of the Duke of Norfolk, the person at the very top of the English heraldic hierarchy. “Extraordinary” means Alastair is a part-time officer of arms and called upon for special occasions and ceremonies. However, last weeks’ proclamation was reserved for the senior heralds and Kings of Arms.

Being a part-time pursuivant Alastair Bruce doesn’t earn a living from it. Thankfully, he has a military pension and still holds several military appointments. He is also a familiar sight on UK television as a regular royal commentator and adviser. He was almost constantly on screen on various channels, UK and world-wide, during this summer’s Platinum Jubilee. Alastair is also the historical adviser to several well-known films and television series – e.g. “Downton Abbey” and “The King’s Speech”.

Although he is an English officer of arms Alastair Bruce is, as his name suggests, Scottish. In fact he holds a Scottish feudal title, the Bruce of Crionaich. He is also the current Governor of Edinburgh Castle. I didn’t notice him at the castle when the proclamation of King Charles was televised from there. No doubt he was in a television studio commentating on the event. His royal connection is evident in several ways. He was equerry to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and interviewed the Queen in a BBC documentary about her coronation.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t said anything about his sexuality yet it’s because I thought the video below in which he speaks on UK television about it himself and his wedding would be better.

Given time, I’d like to do a full “Queer Achievement” article on Alastair Bruce, because he possesses several variations of his own coat of arms – personal, marital and official.

The second officer of arms I wish to mention is a man whose sexuality I haven’t been able to verify. His names is Rev. Canon Joseph Morrow (b.1955). He is the most senior officer of arms in Scotland with the title of Lord Lyon King of Arms. If you saw the proclamations of King Charles made around Edinburgh you’ll have seen him. He’s the person making the proclamation.

I am reluctant to claim that Rev. Morrow is gay because there’s only one source which states that he is, which is the “Mail of Sunday”. This is a publication that is not known for its accuracy or impartiality. It is a very right-wing newspaper.

In an article which the Main on Sunday on 4th September 2005 they reported on Rev. Morrow’s appointment the previous year as Grand master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. The article mentions him as being openly gay twice, giving no source or supporting statement from Rev. Morrow himself.

Ten days later there was a report in The Scotsman, a very reliable publication, about Rev. Morrow’s resignation as Grant Master Mason due to “a change in personal circumstances and for health reasons”. The article refers to the Mail on Sunday article and Rev. Morrow’s reported sexuality, again giving no source. When The Scotsman contacted the Grand Lodge of Scotland they declined to comment on the story.

So, who is Rev. Canon Joseph Morrow? Unlike Alastair Bruce, he wasn’t born into and old landed Scottish gentry. One of his first jobs was as a bus conductor. He studied law, became a barrister, was ordained into the Scottish Episcopal Church, and was elected a Labour councillor in Dundee. Among his many honours is a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth in 2018 for services to mental health (he is president of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland). Rev. Morrow was appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms by the Queen in 2014 and has many other royal connections through various appointments.

Whatever his sexuality may be, he has one of the most pleasing and distinctive coat of arms I’ve seen (as shown on the official Lord Lyon website). Like Alastair Bruce, there are several variations and ideal for one of my “Queer Achievements”.

Throughout European history since the Middle Ages heralds have played an important and visible part of ceremonial and pageantry. Their official duties are to regulate the adoption and use of coats of arms, a task that has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the 20th century. More people, many without titles or rank, have a coat of arms, either by grant of inheritance. In the UK these heralds and offices of arms are more visible than anywhere else, and continue to play important roles in royal and state ceremonial. The presence of one, perhaps two, openly gay officers of arms during this changeover of reigns only goes to show that the lgbt community are at the very heart of such occasions.

September Birthdays

 

Better Late Than Never

After a little delay, HERE is the updated Commonwealth Games lgbt athlete list. Sorry for the delay. I hope you find the list useful and informative. Please note – this list will be deleted when a new updated version is published.

Birmingham Breaks Records

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games ended a few days ago and they broke all previous records for lgbt inclusion. But first, I’d like to reveal that lgbt participation goes way back to 1934 and the first known lgbt athlete at the Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire Games) was Edwin Halstead (1907-1962). He competed under the name of Edith Halstead and won the silver medal in the women’s javelin competition. Not much is known about his personal life and I have very little to tell you, except that he transitioned before 1944. I’m digging around for more information and will tell you what I’ve found next month when I write about a special sporting centenary.

I had hoped to publish the updated list of Commonwealth Games athletes today. Unfortunately, some errors in the list were noticed at the last minute and I’ll publish it later this week after I’ve been through it again. Thanks to Jon Holmes of Sports Media LGBT+ and Pride House Birmingham for helping to compile this list and for spotting the errors. Errors like this have been dogging me all year and is affecting my ability to produce accurate information. I hope it is just “old age”! The information below has been double-checked and is correct at the date of publication.

The prelude to the Birmingham 2022 games, as mentioned in my previous article, was the Queen’s baton relay. I mentioned Lauren Price being among the first baton bearers as it left Buckingham Palace in 2021. Here are a handful of the other lgbt baton bearers with date and locations.

Rachael Grinham, Commonwealth squash champion: 17th March 2022, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.

Ian Thorpe, Olympic and Commonwealth swimming multi-champion: 17th March 2022, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia.

Dame Kelly Holmes, Olympic and Commonwealth track champion: 7th July 2022, Tonbridge, Kent, England.

Colin Jackson, Olympic hurdler and Commonwealth champion: 8th July 2022, Basildon Sports Village, Essex, England.

Jason Watson, a.k.a. Jsky, BBC Radio Manchester and Gaydio presenter: 18 July 2022, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. (Jsky claims to be the first baton bearer to do so wearing high heels. This is unverified.)

Tom Bosworth, Olympic and Commonwealth race walker: 18th July 2022, Liverpool, Merseyside, England.

Piero Zizzi, Co-founder, Proud Baggies and Pride House Birmingham: 26 July 2022, Birmingham, West Midlands, England.

On several occasions the Queen’s baton relay ventured into the heart of the lgbt community. It was welcomed onto the stage at Cambridge Pride on 10th July, and went into Birmingham’s Gay village on 27th July. The last time anything like this happened was when the baton visited Toronto Pride House during the 2014 relay. 

On the last day of the relay the relay encountered a protest by veteran activist Peter Tatchell. With a small group of supporters he was protesting against the criminalisation of homosexuality in many Commonwealth nations. 

The relay culminated with the entry into the stadium during the opening ceremony on 28th July, carried by Olympic and Commonwealth diving champion Tom Daley. Accompanying him were six lgbt activists, each carrying a Pride Progress flag. This official statement made by the Birmingham 2022 organising committee also highlighted the homophobia around the Commonwealth. 

Birmingham 2022 can be called the Rainbow Games. The official presence of any lgbt flag during the opening ceremony is ground-breaking in itself, but the Commonwealth Games Federation made it very clear in December 2021 that there would be no objection to athletes carrying a rainbow flag onto the medal podium. This is in stark contrast to the Olympics. But, as we have seen at recent Commonwealth Games and Olympics, there’s nothing to stop spectators waving a flag.

The Pink Jack, the gay version of the UK’s national flag designed by David Gwinnutt, was seen several times at the aquatics centre. There was also a less well-know flag there on other days. The image below shows the Scottish version of the Rainbow flag depicting the Scottish lion.

Rainbows didn’t always appear on flags. The captains of the UK home nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) wore rainbow armbands in their matches. Similarly, Australia’s women’s rugby sevens captain, Sharni Williams, who wore rainbow headgear. More rainbows were spotted at other competitions. But the most rainbows in one place occurred during the opening ceremony. Every member of Team England wore badges of the Pride Progress flag. 

However, one important flag was absent. With hype surrounding homophobia in the Commonwealth there was no visible attention made to the exclusion of transgender athletes. In all my recordings of the events and review of other media I could see no transgender flag or statement from athletes about transgender inclusion, which has been a prominent debate this year. Double standards? After all, the Commonwealth Games is primarily about sport. 

Earlier this year US swimming debated the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s competition, sparked by the successes of Lea Thomas. There was a similar debate in British cycling over Emily Bridges which led to her being excluded from elite competition. As long as sport is divided into two gender categories the debates will continue into the foreseeable future. 

Here are some statistics from Birmingham 2022, which will obviously change as new information comes to light. There were 46 confirmed out lgb+ athletes (no transgender athletes), more than three times the number listed at the time of the previous games in 2018, 13 (a further 24 came out or have been identified since then). Only 5 athletes in Birmingham competed in male categories (compared to 6 out of the 37 athletes in 2018). Twelve out of the 72 competing nations had lgb+ athletes, ranging from the most populous Commonwealth nation, India, to one of the least, the Falkland Islands. 

A total of 16 members of Team LGB+ won medals in 8 events – 7 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze. All were won by female athletes. For the purposes of the official medal table they count as 5 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze, because team sports count as one medal even when all team members receive one each. This made Team LGB+ finish 14th on the final medal table (duplicating team medals with their national medals to take into account non-lgbt team members, and transferring individually-won medals from national scores into Team LGB+). Only one athlete, English squash player Sarah-Jane Perry, won more than one medal (1 silver, 1 bronze). All but 2 athletes finished in the top 8 in their event. No male athlete finished higher than 6th place, the first time since the 1970 games in Edinburgh, Scotland, that no men won medals. At the moment, even though more athletes competed in 2020, their overall results are lower than in 2018. 

What does the overall lgbt medal table look like? Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe remains at the top with 10 gold medals and 1 silver. Five of the athletes making their Commonwealth debut in Birmingham (Ashleigh Brazill, Rachael Haynes, Jess Jonassen, Tara Llanes and Megan Schutt) went straight into the top 30 with their gold medal wins. 

The highest climber from the pre-2022 table was boxer Michaela Walsh (Northern Ireland’s flag carrier at the opening ceremony) who moved up from 38th place to 17th with her gold medal adding to her previous 2 silvers. 

The most successful nation was Australia (no surprise there) with 5 athletes winning gold medals in 3 events (cricket, netball and rugby sevens). Their netball win was Australia’s 1,000th Commonwealth gold medal. 

England’s cricket captain, Katherine Brunt, earned her 100th cap at the first match England played in the tournament. 

Canadian 3x3 wheelchair basketball player Tara Llanes became the oldest ever Commonwealth Games medallist by winning gold at the age of 43. The youngest medallist in Birmingham was Australian cricketer Jess Jonassen, aged 29. 

I could be here for days rolling out information and statistics, but I think this is enough for now. If there are any specific statistics you’d like to know please ask in the comments below. 

If there’s one thing to take away from all this, to balance the negative issues surrounding lgbt inclusion in sport and the Commonwealth, is that we should realise we have seen a huge increase in lgbt visibility and participation in both the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics over the past four years. Long may it continue.

August Birthdays