David | 44 | London, England | Retired from Nursing
Outing and Prison by Court Martial
Interested? Well let me give you some background history. I joined the Royal Air Force in 1987 age 17 and although I had experimented, like so many others when younger, I still wasn’t defining, or accepting myself as the big scary and always used negative word GAY. I did my bit for Queen and country and fought in the first gulf war, which is where I learnt and accepted I was gay and had my first romance with a Norwegian Red Cross worker (who I would like to meet again and say sorry). We met around the pool of the Diplomat hotel, I was scared and broke it off and struggled to explain to the sergeant I was sharing a room with why this man was crying in the corridor outside our room.
"I then set about leading my double life in the armed forces; I had too, as it remained illegal in the forces to be gay. This continued until, during a search of my room, a copy of Gay Times was found." I now set about leading my double life in the armed forces; I had too, as it remained illegal in the forces to be gay. This continued until, during a search of my room, a copy of Gay Times was found. This lead to a two year investigation which involved bugging my communications, having people follow me, placing officers outside the local gay bars to spy on my going in, using the local police stations to interview my friends. Together all of these methods of investigating me created terror and fear amongst friends and associates. Most of my responses to the multitude of interviews they gave me had consisted of, “well am I not permitted to have gay friends?” As you can imagine frustration must have grown on their part and so began an increasing amount of dirty tricks such as giving me short term postings to far flung parts of the UK without giving me a means to get there. This meant that if I failed to turn up I would be (AWOL) Absent without Leave. |
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However, they hadn’t bargained on my very resourceful family. I endured threats of violence from my fellow service men after they had been interviewed, and a general feeling from others that they wished I would leave. And so after a couple of years I had had enough and finally confessed my 'sins'. A Court Martial took place in Cornwall at RAF St Mawgan in October 1993. I would finally achieve my 15 minutes of fame!!!!!
I was sentenced to six months in prison, of which I served four. I had one month in solitary confinement and two months off for good behaviour. As you can imagine, my time inside wasn’t a barrel of laughs, with threats and an attempt to be set up by those in charge with further offences. I had lost my privacy and before it came out in the press I had to tell my very Catholic parents (RAF officer father) and my brother who had apparently always known. My mother and brother accepted me with no problem, however my father took some time to accept the truth, and from then I was able to begin to have a more positive open relationship with my family.
I was sentenced to six months in prison, of which I served four. I had one month in solitary confinement and two months off for good behaviour. As you can imagine, my time inside wasn’t a barrel of laughs, with threats and an attempt to be set up by those in charge with further offences. I had lost my privacy and before it came out in the press I had to tell my very Catholic parents (RAF officer father) and my brother who had apparently always known. My mother and brother accepted me with no problem, however my father took some time to accept the truth, and from then I was able to begin to have a more positive open relationship with my family.
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We had to enter into a battle with the RAF but thanks to my lawyer’s hard work and my MP asking questions in the House of Commons, we got our honourable discharge and our decorations back. It became a key moment in the armed forces deciding to stop the court martial procedure and sending people to prison for being gay. "Do I regret my military service? No. I went to war, learnt to scuba dive and became a diving instructor and the skills I were taught have saved lives. I also now have something in common with Oscar Wilde (a criminal record for gross indecency!)" |
My lasting claim to fame is that I believe I was the last UK serviceman to be sent to prison for being gay. I have tried to ask the Ministry of Defence if this is accurate but even with a freedom of information request I got this response:
“The M.O.D. is permitted to withhold information where an exemption is considered justifiable.” |
My experiences in the RAF continue to affect my life. What most people do not realise is that within military law, when someone is discharged their offences are listed according to the RAF’s decision. It is up to them of they choose to list them with the civil authorities and I therefore still have a criminal record. This resulted in me not obtaining a position when working as a nurse. Other than this I have had a very good
career, rising to managerial positions and enjoying the life I now lead without
fear of having my secret found out.
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