On the 12th January 2000, the ban on LGBT+ people serving in the British Armed Forces was removed. Before this date, anyone discovered to be gay could be subjected to arrest, interrogation, examination, imprisonment, and dismissal. To commemorate that important day, the RAF Museum has been recording the experiences of those effected by the ban with help from military charity Fighting with Pride and the RAF LGBT+ Network.
Stories from across the globe
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If you’re wearing a uniform, it’s to defend everyones rights.
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I admitted I was gay. They could have sent me to prison.
Carl Austin-Behan -
They put a lot of time and effort into training them and then put an equal amount of time and money into identifying them as homosexual and kicking them out.
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Being able to march in a pride in your uniform is something that I couldn’t even have dreamed of.
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Lord Etherton actually gave the pin to me so I was able to thank him for his work.
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It prompted the need to offer mental or physical assistance to a lot of veterans who were trawling back very traumatic memories.
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My record had been exemplary, I’d just been promoted, won various award, but whom I had fallen in love with had an impact.
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I saw the Padre, which looking back was a big mistake.
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We’ve never been able to unite and discuss what we went through, ever.
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My record had been exemplary, I’d just been promoted, won various award, but whom I had fallen in love with had an impact.
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You can't be what you can't see