Gay soldiers stripped of medals and hounded out of military ‘must have royal pardons’ – The Mirror
LGBT campaigners are demanding royal pardons for hundreds of servicemen and women thrown in military jails simply for being gay.
And Labour says up to 20,000 others quietly dismissed from the armed forces because of their sexuality must have medals returned.
They were brutally ripped off their uniforms by military police sergeants in disgusting shaming rituals and veterans were never allowed to wear them again.
Although homosexuality was legalised in Britain in 1967 it was a criminal offence in the military until 2000.
The Tories have rejected a Labour amendment to the Armed Forces Bill now going through Parliament which would speed up justice for those who have suffered for the past 21 years.
RAF medic and Gulf War veteran David Bonney, 52, of Plymouth, Devon, was the last serviceman to be court-martialed and jailed for six months in October 1993 for being gay.
(Image: APEX)
He signed up at 17 unsure of his sexual preference and his first homosexual encounter was with a Norwegian Red Cross worker he met while working at the RAF’s hospital in Bahrain during the 1991 Gulf War.
But he broke off the relationship without explanation for fear of his superiors finding out.
David says: “I struggled to explain to the sergeant I was sharing a room with why this man was crying in the corridor outside. I wish I could see him again to say sorry for what I did.”
But back in Britain David was hounded for two years by investigators who found a copy of Gay Times in a search of his room – and he eventually admitted he was homosexual.
That meant having to declare a criminal record in civilian life each time he applied for nursing jobs.
And his forces pension when he reaches 60 will be £200 a month less than it would have been had he completed the nine years service he signed up for.
David adds: “Anybody who went through what I did should get a royal pardon. And I want compensation and an apology for losing my private life.”
(Image: David Bonney)
Former Navy Lt Commander Craig Jones, who now heads up campaigning charity Fighting with Pride, added: “We want an apology from Boris Johnson on behalf of the nation for the shameful treatment of LGBT+ veterans. And there should be royal pardons for those who were convicted.”
Last week he and fellow campaigner Flt Lt Caroline Paige took their demands direct to the PM at a Pride reception at No10.
A precedent was set by Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing, who received a posthumous pardon in 2013.
He was chemically castrated in 1952 after a conviction for gross indecency with another man.
(Image: Fighting with Pride)
Ironically, Turing’s face now adorns the new £50 notes released last month – such has been the shift in people’s attitudes and understanding.
Many of those dismissed from the forces were thrown out under the catch-all “conduct prejudicial to military discipline”.
That means they are not allowed to wear medals rightfully won, have lost out on pensions and cannot wear items of uniform such as berets during ceremonial occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.
Some did not even go through a formal procedure and were told to leave the forces by their commanding officers without any fuss.
(Image: Getty)
Others were entrapped by being given far-flung postings and only 24 hours to get there. The hope was they would miss the deadline and be declared AWOL – absent without leave.
Now Labour is backing Fighting with Pride’s demand that MoD files be opened up to find out just how many gay service personnel were discriminated against in this way.
Labour’s Dan Carden said: “This is a national disgrace. The ban inflicted staggering cruelty on men and some women who stepped forward to serve their country.
“They were arrested, searched and questioned by officers trained for wartime interrogation. They were subjected to shameful and degrading medical inspections.
“Heterosexual men were falsely accused and lost careers and, in some cases, homes and families.”
Veterans were told 17 months ago they could reapply for their medals to be restored. Six have done so but have still yet to receive them.
The MoD must undertake a painstaking trawl of records going back decades to ensure they were thrown out for their sexuality and not for any other reason.
(Image: APEX)
Craig Jones added: “The UK’s armed forces are now the best in the world for LGBT inclusion.
“They are welcomed and respected at every level of command.
“But there must be restorative justice for the past. It was a shameful breach of the armed forces covenant and they were treated with unique cruelty.”
He wants similar compensation schemes set up as the ones which now operate in Canada, the US and Germany.
Former Chief of the General Staff Lord Dannatt said: “The MoD always makes things as difficult as possible when it comes to money.
“If people were dismissed on the grounds of sexuality then pension rights should be restored.”
(Image: Elaine Chambers)
Shadow armed forces minister Stephen Morgan added: “The Government must move further and faster towards justice.
“Restoration of medals is an important first step, but application numbers are low and the Government has done too little to encourage those affected to come forward.”
Veterans minister Leo Docherty said: “The historical ban on homosexuality in the armed forces was absolutely wrong and there was horrific injustice as a consequence of it.
“We will address this injustice with compassion and deep urgency.”
‘It was a witch hunt’
(Image: Elaine Chambers)
Lieutenant Elaine Chambers joined up as a student nurse aged 21 but was thrown out of the Army after six years.
Elaine, 60, of the Isle of Wight, said: “I got involved with another woman and was investigated on false accusations of indecent assault.
“While untrue, it was enough to have me dismissed under military law. It was a witch-hunt.”
She intended to serve until she was 55 and lost £423,000 pension.
Elaine got £45,000 back after a European Court of Human Rights ruling. She set up Rank Outsiders to help fellow victims.
‘I guarded Hitler’s deputy but was jailed for being gay’
(Image: Stephen Close)
Stephen Close served six months in a military jail aged 20 – tagged with a red ribbon to show the nature of his conviction.
He was jailed after being found in the arms of a male soldier in 1983. At the time, Stephen was serving in Berlin – guarding Adolf Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess in Spandau jail.
Stephen, 58, from Salford, was accused of gross indecency and faced a brutal interrogation and medical examination.
He said: “I finally broke and confessed. All my friends, work colleagues and people I had come into contact with were questioned.
“I wish for a day when we are all pardoned, all protected and valued and free and equal.”
(Image: Stephen Close)
As recent as 2013 he got a knock on his door from Manchester Police asking for a DNA sample for the national database because of his record.
A campaign led to it later being destroyed and Stephen’s record erased – but only after it had cost him his manager’s job with a window cleaning firm.