Out of the closet and into the light

Homosexuality was outlawed before 1967 with men jailed and subjected to inhumane treatment simply for having a same-sex relationship.

Dark days indeed for these men – many of who are still alive today – whose lives were tarnished by bigotry and prejudice.

The Sexual Offences Act 1967 set out to decriminalise homosexuality in England and Wales, changing the lives of millions of people who were finally able to come out into the light.

Receiving royal assent the bill stated that “a homosexual act in private shall not be an offence provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of 21 years.”

Today gay people are able to marry or pursue civil partnerships and have been accepted as part of society. But how has life for them changed?

Ben Vollans, who came out as gay in his teens, admits he wouldn’t feel comfortable walking down the street in Carlisle holding his boyfriend’s hand and says he has been abused in public.

His belief is that life is very different for gays in Cumbria than many other parts of the UK and is now planning to move away for a new start in the south of England.

“There have been big strides since 1967. There is no doubt that life has changed dramatically, particularly since 2003 when Clause 28 was repealed,” he explains.

“This clause was introduced in the Local Government Act of 1988 and banned the so-called promotion of homosexuality in schools as normal family relationships.

“The repeal was a huge step forward and everyone has been playing catch-up since. Section 28 had set us back massively.”

Ben, 30, runs OutREACH Cumbria which supports gay, lesbian and transgender men and women.

He came out when he was 16 to close friends telling his family when he was 19.

“For me being gay as a teenager was pretty horrendous even though it was so many years after the change in the law,” he says.

“I left Cumbria at 19 when I went to university in Leeds. I was away six years and during this time my perception changed as to what life could be like as a gay man.

“When I returned to the county things had changed but Cumbria was still behind some other parts of the country. I got involved in OutREACH to help people come out and deal with their sexuality.”

Ben, who lives near Penrith and has his OutREACH office in Carlisle, says that while attitudes have improved immensely, the rurality of the county and its “traditional mindsets” pose issues.

“There is no doubt that people up here can be set in their ways which is why here at OutREACH we do a lot of training and education with businesses, schools and local authorities.

“The days before the repeal of the law in 1967 were horrendous – people were forced to hide away if they were gay,” he says.

“Much has changed but I know of private groups here in Cumbria where people meet in secret because they are terrified of being found out because of prejudice and bigotry.

“We have clients who aren’t out because they are so scared. Our oldest is 86 and has just come out.”

Ben admits to facing abuse in Carlisle, on one occasion being shouted out by a passer-by for “being queer”.

“Every gay person has those days when they wake up and think, “What’s going to happen to me today? Will I get abused or punched?”. That is still the reality. I have never felt at home as a gay man here in Cumbria. I suppose I don’t feel comfortable in my own skin but being gay is who I am.

“This is one of the reasons why I am planning to move to Southampton later in the year,” he reveals.

Ben’s mission through his work with OutREACH is to try and change attitudes will still exist in Cumbrian communities.

He hopes this will be helped by that the fact that many prominent people have now come out citing as an example rugby referee Nigel Owens who declared it was “like being born again”.

Martin Reeves Martin Reeves is vice-chairman of the Cumbria Pride annual LGBT festival who lives in Carlisle and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award this year by Diverse Cumbria.

Now aged 66, Martin was a teenager in 1967 when the law was changed.

He recalls: “I was young at the time and can’t remember a lot but thinking back I felt that as a gay man it was an immense achievement.

“There were a few gays bars in Carlisle in the 1960s in Carlisle but they were not advertised as such – it was very much word of mouth.

“There were gay papers and magazines around but they were largely only available in the bigger cities.

“Things have progressed so much over the past 50 years but we still need things like Pride and LGBT centres because there are issues out there.

“I haven’t really experienced hate crime myself but I am aware that there are incidents still happening.”

This week to mark the anniversary of the landmark law change the BBC screened the factual drama Against The Law, as part of the its Gay Britannia season.

The moving and true story is based on Peter Wildeblood, a journalist who in 1954 was one of five men charged with homosexual acts.

It was directed by Fergus O’Brien, who in 2013 made a documentary with Stephen Fry exploring what it is like to be openly gay and how public attitudes differ from place to place.

O’Brien feels we need to keep a check on bigotry.

“I just think what’s going on in Chechnya is a horrific example, putting gay people in concentration camps,” he says.

Daniel Mays played Peter Wildeblood in Against the Law “Now, that’s happening. And there are things a little closer to home that make me feel uncomfortable.”

The Montagu Trial, as it came to be known, involved the trial of Conservative politician Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, prominent landowner Michael Pitt-Rivers, and Wildeblood himself.

The three men were all found guilty of a string of offences, following testimonies of two RAF servicemen.

When Wildeblood was freed from prison, he wrote the book Against The Law, which was influential in effecting huge change, both legally and socially; as was his testimony as part of the Wolfenden report – a committee which decided that homosexual behaviour between consenting adults should no longer be deemed a criminal offence.