Interesting bits and pieces, unknown people and events, BADGES!
L-R: Jamie Dunbar, Wendy Wattage (Jim Ennis) at unknown event
Jamie Dunbar and Chris Ransome were determined to defy the forces of law and order by being openly gay in public
Portrait: Malcolm Watson
Malcolm Watson took part in Brixton Faeries productions and street theatre. He was a staunch presence and a great comrade on many campaigns against anti gay injustice. Below is a marvellous obituary that perfectly captures his radiant personality.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjPk_DA2K_4AhWQi1wKHTIUAcwQFnoECAkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Flgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk%2F2020%2F05%2Fmalcolm-watson%2F&usg=AOvVaw1bxsSz26xsrMpK96CCSfe1
A big hug for Malcolm from Detlef Fischer at a gay pride event
Nettie Pollard: still an intrepid fighter for LGBT+ liberation 50 years on
Nettie Pollard in the middle who tirelessly fought for LGBT+ rights and gay liberation as a member of the NCCL (National Council for Civil Liberties, now just Liberty), the GLF and Icebreakers collective. Still active 50 years on!
Six photographs from the Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute
All boys together outside the gay squats on Railton Road
L-R: Malcolm Collier?, unknown, Chris Langan (barefoot Chris), unknown, Malcolm Watson
Cop telling gay centre users not to be so mouthy and know their place?
L-R: Passer bye, unknown, Bill Thornycroft, Colm Clifford, Dennis Odd
back row L-R: Alastair Kerr, Lloyd Vanata, unknown, Dennis Odd
front row L-R: Henry Pim, unknown
Graham Mumford with the camera?, Peter Cross
Henry again and unknown camera man
Julian Hows entertaining the crowd at a gay pride event
Is that Julian Hows camply saluting in fairy fashion?
London Queer Social Centre under surveillance by the police
David Jones pondering what to do next now that the police have arrived?
Police keeping an eye on the squatted London Queer Social Centre before the eviction. Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, South London (2010s)
The London Queer Social Centre was squatted on Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, and lasted a few hectic but brilliant weeks before being evicted. Ian Townson spoke about Queers Against the Cuts at one of the workshops
Severe repression of gay men in Huddersfield
Brixton gays joined the gay pride demonstration in Huddersfield where police raids and repression had been particularly severe (1981)
photo credit: Peter Scott Presland
Portrait: Tony Smith
Two very nice portraits of Tony Smith who lived at 146 Mayall Road
Portrait: Ian Townson
Adopting a Christ-like pose for the camera
Ian Townson relaxing in the South London Gay Community Centre wearing a Glad to be Gay and Gays Against Fascism badges (mid 1970s)
Who could this be?
Two tirelesss fighters for gay liberation
Bill Thornycroft next to a bare-chested Gary de Vere, with Eric Eagle (wearing glasses) behind him at unknown demonstration. Since publishing the site, Eric has reached out and confirmed that he also can’t remember what the demonstration was!
The Oval House Commuity Theatre space
The Oval House Community Theatre space, cafe and printshop. Gay men from South London met regularly in the cafe. Brixton Faeries staged several plays and cabarets there as did Gay Sweatshop, Hormone Imbalance and other lesbian and gay theatre groups.
L-R: Pete Freer. The rest unknown
The Oval House has moved from Kennington to Coldharbour Lane, Brixton and is now called unimaginatively The Brixton House
Portrait: Don Milligan
Don Milligan enjoying a relaxing pint. His challenging ideas are often controversial and stimulate sometimes heated debate and provoke greater precision and clarity in thinking.
Dr. Don Milligan though with a beard like that it really ought to be ‘professor’
Portrait: Colm Clifford
When feather boas were in fashion
Colm Clifford about to challenge someone or just looking enigmatic
Portrait: Gary de Vere
Gary de Vere wearing a Yes, I’m Homosexual Too badge
Relaxing in his garden at 33 Helix Gardens?
Jim Ennis fearlessly takes on the forces of repression
Wendy Wattage (Jim Ennis) single-handedly taking on the Metropolitan police force
Give us a clue
I recognise this fellow’s face but who is he?
Lesbians United!
Rebel Dykes Art & Archive Show (1980s)
Left-wing rebel journal
Ian Townson shouting and pointing a finger at someone
Street theatre from Brixton Faeries (1970s)
Brixton Faeries street theatre on Railton Road outside the gay squats.
L-R: Terry Crabtree, Bill Thornycroft, Colin Gleeson, Julian Hows, Peter Bradley
Controversial publication that sparked a backlash from Maragaret Thatcher’s Tory government
The Danish publication that sparked off a hysterical campaign by the Thatcher government against gay parenting. This led to Section 28 of the Local Government Act forbidding the teaching of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship by schools and local authorities
Radical gay liberation counselling group
….and gay women
Boosting pride and self-esteem to counter negativity
A brilliant dissection of gay self-oppression and how to end it
When Gay Pride was much more political
Julian How’s showing the way
Terry Crabtree in the background with Julian Hows looking soulful or annoyed?
photo credit: Robert Workman archive, Bishopsgate Institute
Bus conductor trying to ignore Julian Hows and get on with the job (1983)
The ban played on
Steel bands led Gay Liberation demonstrations on several occasions
Brixton gays fun in the sun
L-R: Stephen Gee, Barry Prothero, Colm clifford, Edwin Henshaw
L-R: Alan Bray, Stephen Gee
Barry Prothero
PORTRAIT: David Callow
L-R: David Callow, John Lloyd, Colm Clifford, Gary de Vere
Despite a speech impediment and partial deafness David Callow took part in many of Brixton gay’s social and political activites including this ‘Queens in Furs’ summons to Camberwell magistrate’s court for non-payment of rates (community Charge)
Relaxing at a riverside country retreat
L-R: Colm Clifford, Paul Coyle
L-R: Colm, Stephen Gee
A sister of perpetual indulgence will help you see the light
Jim MacSweeney, Manager of Gays the Word bookshop, as a sister of perpetual
indulgence. He also starred in Friends of Rio Rita's a play by Colm Clifford
The cast rehearsing for a production of Friends of Rio Ritas at the Oval House (1983?)
On our left is Jim MacSweeney and standing is Graham Norton long before his apprearance in Father Ted and fame as a celebrated talk-show host. The rest are unknown.
Gay Pride 1981 Film and video festival
Bruno de Florence, radical gay film maker, jointly organized the first ever Festival of Gay Film and Video for
Gay Pride 1981 with Thomas Mutke. Both were Brixton gay communards
L-R: Thomas and Bruno (early 1980s)
Queers against the cuts fight fascists
Queers Against the Cuts campaigned against public spending cuts affecting the jobs, services and welfare benefits for gay people. Here we are at a demonstration against the far-right English Defence League in the East End of London (early 2000's). L-R: Colin Wilson, Ian Townson
Alan Bray and early modern queers
Alan Bray's main claim to fame was his highly acclaimed book Homosexuality in Rennaisance England
GLF anniversary celebrations
40th anniversary of the Gay Liberation Front (2010)
50th anniversay of the Gay Liberation Front (2020)
L-R: Ted Brown, Andrew Lumsden, Nettie Pollard, Julian Hows
Lesbians, gay men and solidarity with working class strike action
Some of the original crew who went to South Wales in solidarity with miners who were on strike nationally from 1984-85. The highly acclaimed film Pride (2014) faithfully reflected this event and broke the myth that working class communities would be automatically hostile to lesbians and gay men even in times of intense struggle.
L-R: Jonathan Blake, Mike Jackson and………
CPGB supported gay rights from 1976
The Communist Party of Great Britain adopted a gay rights policy in 1976 backed by Mick McGahey Scottish miner and Vice President of the National Union of Mineworkers.
L-R: John Lloyd, unknown
The struggle in Northern Ireland for lesbian and gay rights
NIGRA (Norther Ireland Gay Rights Association) delegation to Stormont to demand gay rights (1973). Edwin Henshaw on our far left. He later joined the Brixton gay community
Nighthawks (1978)
L-R: Ron Peck, Paul Hallam, co-directors of the film Nighthawks (1978).
Brixton Gays took part in the initial shooting of the film but the scenes were never shown because they were judged to be too radical to fit in to the main narrative.
L-R: Ken Robertson who played a teacher in Nighthawks forced to hide his gay sexuality but he is outed and has to confront the consequences. With Ron Peck
Mr Punch who doesn’t beat up his wife
Ernst Fischer staged artistic events and performances In the gay Community houses and were a huge success
From Bloolips to Quentin Crisp and back again
Betty Bourne, sometimes known as Peter Bourne, founder and mainstay of the Bloolips theatre troupe
Portrait: Bill Thornycroft
Bill Thornycroft as Vera Lynn?
Bill Thornycroft taking a tipple on a tube train
Portrait: Terry Crabtree
Terry Crabtree played piano and took part in several Brixton Faeries’ plays as well as creating his own cabarets
Union Place Community Resource Centre
Dave McKay worked at Union Place Community Resource Centre as did Colm Clifford and Ian Townson from the Brixton gay community. The centre taught people printing and photographic skills. Colm initiated Homosexual Posters which produced a gay-themed calendar and Christmas cards, a gay men’s diary and an assortment of posters and leaflets.
Relaunching the gay liberation movement in South London
An attempt to re-establish Gay Liberation activism after the decline of the first wave
People yet to be identified
Who are these lovely people?
Any clues?
Do we know who they are?
I wonder who they are
Person unknown
Person unknown
Person unknown
Person unknown
Caring for each other
What better way for a gay man to rest than on another man
Tenderness between gay men - a very rare thing?
Trouble makers and celebrations
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ROBERT WORKMAN ARCHIVE, BISHOPSGATE INSTITUTE
L-R: Julian Hows, Detlef Fischer, Jim Ennis picketing the Old Bailey at the Jeremy Thorpe trial (1979)
L-R: Malcolm Watson, Bill Thornycroft, Julian Hows, Nettie Pollard (behind policeman), Jamie Dunbar, Detlef Fischer, Jim Ennis
Anti-Nazi League demonstration (1981). L-R: Edwin Henshaw (holding banner), Don Tyler. Rest unknown
Anti-Nazi League demonstration (1981). Person unknown
Gay Pride 1976. Scottish Tom.
Gay Pride 1976. L-R: Julian Hows, Jamie Hall
Brixton gays, along with other gay liberationists, joined the Hendon Times’ picket to protest against anti-gay slurs and a campaign of vilification by the paper (1973)
BADGES BADGES BADGES
Meaning cruise nuclear missiles not cruisng for alluring sexual liaisons
