Original subtitles

The 1950s and a contented post-war Britain was in the grip of a brutal moral backlash.

It was against homosexuals when they were labelled pansies and queers.

I regard homosexuality as a cancer eating into

the roots of ordinary decent human relations.

I'm sentencing you to seven years.

Every year a thousand men were sent to jail for homosexual offences.

The maximum sentence for buggery was life imprisonment.

A great many people that I know of committed suicide when they were caught.

It was such a stigma, such a terrible thing to be gay.

Then a sensational trial involving a leading

Fleet Street journalist and Lord Montagu of Bewley electrified the nation.

Its outcome so shook the establishment that

life and the law for homosexuals would never be the same again.

In the wake of a scandal, Churchill's government

set about thinking the unthinkable, reforming

the law on homosexuality and prostitution.

The forum would become celebrated as the Walfordon

Committee, after its chairman, John Walfordon.

And indeed this is the point at which the... I'm dreadfully sorry Mr Walfordon.

Mrs Cohen, I was just saying that the aim of this committee is to determine whether

the law should be changed for homosexuals and

prostitutes and to find out why there's been an increase.

The increase has been down to police arrests.

We carry on at this rate, we'll have an overcrowding crisis in the prisons.

Thank you Mr Rees.

Perhaps we should examine the facts and the evidence before we draw any conclusions.

It's a fascinating subject, albeit a rather distasteful one.

Bearing in mind the presence of the ladies,

can I suggest we call the homosexuals Huntleys and the prostitutes Palmers?

Would you be so kind as to tell me what a Huntley does, or rather, what is the crime?

It was announced from Sandringham at 10.45 today that the

King passed peacefully away in his sleep earlier this morning.

In 1952, Peter Wildblood, a 28-year-old high-flying

journalist for the Daily Mail, was waiting by a London Underground station.

What followed would change the life of every gay man in Britain.

Have you got a light?

Sure.

Thanks.

You want to leave?

Am I that obvious?

Where are you stationed?

At Ely Hospital.

Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?

Well I was thinking of trying the Union Jack Club.

I have a flat.

It's not too far from here.

Sounds perfect.

♪♪♪♪.

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♪♪♪♪.

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♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

I'm Eddie.

Eddie McNally.

Yes, of course, Mr. Schofield.

The editor requests the pleasure of your company in his office.

Did he say why?

Been a naughty boy, have you?

In 1952, the Daily Mail was a serious establishment newspaper.

Its opinions were highly respectable.

Its leading journalists, too, were public figures,

expected to have impeccable private lives.

Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses

to Peter Wildblood, our new royal correspondent.

Well done, Pete.

Fantastic.

When I got up, it's 3 o'clock in the morning.

The wife's still up. She's waiting for me.

I'm thinking this is it, Stan. Your number's up.

Good night, love.

-Good night, love. -Good night.

Thank you.

So she came over. She said, "You reek of perfume.

You're having an affair, aren't you?"

I said, "No," I told her.

"I'm doing this secret undercover job, and I have to pretend to be a pansy,

and I have to put perfume on so I smell like one of them."

She only bloody believed it.

No, not for me. No, I've got to go.

-One more for the road, Pete. -No, really, I can't.

You've got a date, haven't you?

Maybe.

It's that Scottish nurse, isn't it?

No.

Someone else.

With nowhere else to go,

many men went for the risk of cottaging for anonymous sex.

The cottage, of course, is a public toilet used for pick-ups

and sometimes for having sex on the premises, and they were everywhere in the '50s.

It is very simple, this lying in state of a dead king.

and of incomparable beauty.

The slow flicker of the candles.

touches gently the gems of the imperial crown,

even that Ruby that King Henry wore at Agincourt.

It touches the deep purple of the velvet cushion

and the cool white flowers of the overgrown vine.

I'm romantic. I don't really like sleaze,

but the situation forced me into sleazy things.

for fear of-- well, for personal safety.

-Cup of tea, Mother? -Yes, please.

-Father? -Yes, please, Peter.

-My first front page. -Oh, thank you, Peter.

Oh, can I keep this?

Yes, it's for you.

Oh, Elizabeth's only 25.

All that responsibility and so young.

She's always got Philip to turn to for support.

You could do with someone supporting you.

Behind every successful man there's a supportive wife.

There are many successful men who are not married.

Besides, I don't really see the point.

I'd only be deceiving myself if I lived with a woman.

The trouble with you, Peter, is you've spent too long living on your own.

It's not natural.

My parents never knew.

I didn't come out at all to anyone until my mother had died, and then I did.

And that was 1982.

The thing was unspeakable.

It didn't get talked about at all.

No one was in the closet except Quentin Crisp, as far as I know.

You just... You just live...

a lie.

That's what you're living, a lie.

You act.

You have to learn to act and not give yourself away.

May I first of all say, Lord Hailsham,

how very grateful we are to you for finding time to come here

and help us in this extremely complex and difficult matter.

May I ask members of the committee if they have any points to raise on the paper?

I have one or two points I'd like to ask.

The first one of which is how you reach the conclusion

on page one that all homosexuals are made and not born.

Well, from 1938 to 1954,

there has been an increase of the order of a multiple of four,

which is actually a conservative estimate.

This increase must be down to something more than congenital factors.

Lord Hailsham, do you think that the increase in court

appearances corresponds to an increase in behaviour?

Undoubtedly so.

Quite obviously, the war created a situation

in which many people who had not been homosexual

before, in peacetime, found it happening.

They were away from their family and their homes for a long time.

I'm sorry, Lord Hailsham, I'm not sure I follow you.

Well, in the Middle East, for instance, of which I have

had personal experience, there were a number of cases.

You see, troops catch it, then spread it on when they return home.

Do you think that it's like a disease?

Indeed it is, an incurable disease.

Contagious, incurable and self-perpetuating.

Interesting, very, very interesting.

As well as politicians, many doctors thought that homosexuality was contagious.

The BMA saw it as an illness

and that it should be treated like a public health problem.

Philip Bean was 18 when he was sent to the doctor by his mother.

We talked about me and my sex life

and he prescribed some pills which made my tits sore.

That was all they did for me as well.

I never did find out what they were.

Their ideas of curing you, it's closely bear thinking about.

They used drugs, they used electric shock treatment.

Many of the sort of things that you'd use on the insane, indeed.

Well, in the one case I do know is this guy

who went to a psychiatrist and given aversion therapy.

He was shown photographs, or a photograph of a nude male

and then given an electric shock.

Wildblood.

Hello Pete, it's Eddie.

Pete, can you hear me?

Yes, sorry, it's not a very good line.

I've got leave this weekend. I was going to come to London.

Well that's marvellous. Should I meet you in the usual place?

Okay, I'll be there at 7 o'clock.

I look forward to seeing you.

Me too.

When Edward McNally met up again with Peter Wildblood,

it was the start of an affair that would change their lives and change history.

Here's a very good play.

Hell, stranger.

Yes, be careful.

You normally go for men like me.

Am I your type?

I'm not sure if I have a type.

What about you?

What type?

Someone like you.

And what type am I then?

Clever.

Well educated.

Ambitious.

I thought you only wanted me for my looks.

Dear Pete, arrive back okay, safe and sound.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend.

I've got it bad, sweetheart.

In fact, haven't felt so happy for a long time.

This is being written in bed.

Wish you were here, but the RAF have definite views on that.

I'm enclosing a photo.

My dearest darling Eddie, I was so relieved to hear from you at last.

I can't tell you how worried I was about you.

Alan Horsfall would become a gay rights campaigner,

but in the early 1950s, he was scrupulous about keeping his affairs secret.

He never wrote affectionate letters to anybody,

he never kept diaries, he never kept address books,

he never told anybody where he worked or gave them your telephone number,

he never took anybody home unless he knew

them very well, and a whole string of things.

Do you fancy going on holiday together?

Yeah.

A friend has offered me the use of his beach hut in August.

I'm really sorry Pete.

I'd have promised my friend Johnny I'd go on holiday with him.

Who's Johnny?

He's a good friend from work.

There's nothing going on between us.

He's my confidant.

You haven't told him about us, have you?

Yeah.

But I trust him.

Honestly.

He won't tell us all.

No.

Why don't you bring him along?

Really?

I don't see why not. A hut sleeps four people.

Is it Monty?

Lord Montague.

You know a lord?

Yes, but he's not quite how you'd imagine him to be.

I found Peter Wildblood a rather amusing person.

He had a good sense of humour.

He'd been all over the place,

and been sent by his editor to have some very interesting stories to cover.

And I found him entertaining and very worthwhile to be with.

At 25, Lord Montague, the third baron of Bewley,

was a socialite and one of the youngest peers in the House of Lords.

At his stately home in Hampshire, he was setting up Britain's first motor museum.

They run as well now as 50 years ago.

However, he was about to become a household name

for the weekend he spent at Bewley on August 21st, 1952.

Lord Montague had invited Wildblood McNally and his RAF friend Johnny Reynolds

to stay in his beach hut, a safe haven on the edge of his estate.

Shall I try, Lord Montague? I seem to have a knack with locks.

Thank you, Johnny, but please call me Edward.

There you go.

Well done. It's all a bit primitive, I'm afraid.

It's luxury compared to the RAF.

Oh, God. For that matter.

Come on! Come on, Johnny!

Yeah!

A little bit more.

Yep. No, Johnny.

Yeah. That's it.

And... yes.

There you go.

There's plenty of food inside, so you shouldn't go hungry.

Thanks, Edward. You going to stay and have a drink with us?

I'd love to, but I've left my cousin Michael and some friends up at the house.

Why don't you bring them over later? We can have a party.

I might just do that.

Cheers.

MUSIC PLAYS Being a Wildblood was a bit shy, in a way.

In other words, you wouldn't be dashing in the

middle of a conversation with other people.

You'd be more likely leaning against the wall.

There you are.

That night, Wildblood McNally and Reynolds slept in the beach hut.

Lord Montague and his cousin, Pitt Rivers, returned to Palace House.

What exactly happened that evening would become the talk of the nation.

I knew Michael Pitt Rivers, who was very much top bracket.

He and I were great friends.

But it didn't bother him at all that my father was a country butcher

and he was an aristocrat. We were just friends.

I think that was a great example of it all.

He said, "I'll take you to all the places that no decent young man should go to."

1950s Britain was a class-ridden society,

but homosexuality transcended class boundaries.

Aristocrats happily mixed and had sex with East End dockers.

It was a threat to the social order and time for a clampdown.

"My dear Eddie, I'm so sorry.

"I've been trying to write to you for weeks but never seem to make it.

"I'm up to my eyes in work.

"There seems to be so much coronation stuff happening.

"I'm getting a lot into the paper and the editor is very pleased.

"So I'm stinging them heavily for expenses.

"The editor has mentioned that the diplomatic correspondence job

"might be coming up, which will mean far more money.

"The last man who had the job got £4,500 a year.

"I'll be able to buy a house and even get my own country retreat.".

Edward is back from his tour of New York.

He brought back a lot of records,

including a very sexy one of Marlene Dietrich singing in German.

By the way, Edward sends love to you and Johnny.

Take care of yourself and come down here soon.

All my love, P.

What's up? You been fired?

No.

I've just got the diplomatic job.

You chummy bugger.

You've hit the jackpot.

Big responsibility, that job.

They'll be watching your every move.

Wildblood's promotion propelled him into a world of

intelligence briefings and Foreign Office secrets.

- Well done, mate. - Cheers.

It would also launch him into the heart of the Cold War.

Yes, indeed, May Day in Moscow is a most important occasion.

Its aim being to emphasise the power and solidarity of the Soviet Union.

Cold War paranoia was at its peak.

Two senior Foreign Office diplomats, Guy Burgess

and Donald Maclean, had just defected to Moscow.

They were traitors and they were gay.

Maclean was bisexual, Burgess homosexual.

Not content with hunting for reds under the bed,

Churchill's government began a hunt for reds in the bed,

in a crusade to flush out homosexuals from the government,

the armed forces and every influential sphere of society.

If I may speak frankly, Mr Wolfenden...

Please do.

I am worried about what is happening to this nation.

The number of homosexual cases is terrifying.

If this evil is allowed to continue, it will corrupt the nation.

My apologies to the ladies present.

Don't worry, Chief Constable.

I think we've moved on from Huntleys and Palmers.

I'm extremely pleased that this committee has

been set up to warn the public of this danger.

Yes.

Well, our main focus is to determine the relevance of existing laws.

Should the law be changed?

I see there was an increase in arrests related to homosexual

offences in 1953, after you became Chief Constable.

There was an increase in homosexual activity.

And the Home Secretary was keen to stem the tide.

I see.

You were quoted in the newspaper as saying that you planned

to rip the covers off all England's filth spots.

Can you explain exactly what you meant by that?

Move your arse, you queer!

Come on!

# Our faith in England # Our faith in England

# Faith in England # Our faith in England.

Right, I'm arresting you on gross indecency.

# Our faith in England # Faith in England # Faith in England Get up, you queers!

# Our faith in England # Our faith in England With full hearts, we salute...

Perverts.

..this young, gracious lady upon whom the royal obligation rests.

In 1953, the purge against homosexuals intensified.

One tactic was the use of undercover police as agent provocateurs.

Jimmy Jacks was one of many trapped by this method.

There was a toilet at the beginning of the cemetery.

and an agent provocateur, which I found out

later it was, came next to me in the toilet.

He'd be standing there and, what they used to say, exposing himself.

Sometimes he'd be wanking. Not supposed to, I believe.

He said, "I'm arresting you for importuning.".

But he was an agent provocateur and I told the magistrate

this when I was arrested and he just didn't believe me.

At the very moment the policeman looked over the top of the wall,

he put his penis through the hole and I was charged with gross indecency.

I never touched him, I wasn't interested in the slightest.

But, ironically, I was charged and convicted of gross indecency,

which I had done dozens and dozens of times.

But on that particular occasion, I was innocent.

It didn't make any difference.

Get off me! Get off me!

Leave him alone or I'll call the police! We are the police!

The Home Secretary said he was going to rid England

of the plague of homosexuality and he meant it too.

So we were scared.

Open up! Police!

It's not funny.

What if the landlord heard you?

He's not in. I saw him go out.

Did he see you? No.

Calm down, will you?

Here. A little something to celebrate your promotion.

That's very kind of you, but you didn't have to.

Let me put it on.

Come and have a drink.

I can't. I have to prepare for this NATO conference.

Always working. Getting so boring.

I'm thinking about what you said in your letter.

What letter? The one before last.

You said you were going to buy a house. And?

I could come live with you. I could be your manservant.

Are you mad? If someone saw us out together, that would be it.

My life would be over.

Have you been keeping my letters?

Yes, of course.

Don't you keep mine?

No.

When you get back to Ely, make sure you burn them.

All of them.

BEEPING In 1953, the government were making every attempt to stem the tide of filth.

But while the police could hardly arrest every gay man in Britain,

a high-profile trial would stand as a salutary example to the nation.

There's no room. Get off.

Don't be like that.

Move over. I'll sit on your lap.

Get your boot off me joystick, do you mind?

So it's a lovely, sunny day.

And these two Nancy boys have gone for a walk in the park.

One turns to the other, he says, "It's nice out.".

"Yeah," says the other. "I think I'll get mine out."

"Dearest Eddie, "I would hate to hurt you and really never meant to.

"Please believe me when I say that nothing has changed.

"I love you as much now as I did when we spent that wonderful holiday together,

"which I honestly think was the happiest time I ever had.

"This is the kind of letter I never write.

"Dearest, you mean such a terrible lot to me "that I can't put it into words.

"To find out how very, very much I love you, please come back to me,

"and we'll have the most wonderful time we've ever spent together.

"All the love I've ever known.

Who's P?

My girlfriend, Sergeant.

Clear the hut, you fucking queer!

The military police's next arrest was McNally's friend, Johnny Reynolds.

Who is Edward?

It's Lord Monsonke.

Liar!

It is.

It's Lord Monsonke.

The police now had their perfect, high-profile name.

In the turbulence of this anxious and active world,

many people are leading uneventful, lonely lives.

The upward course of the nation's history is due, in the long run,

to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.

And so it is that this Christmas Day,

I want to send a special message of encouragement and good cheer

to those of you whose lot is cast in dull and unenvied surroundings,

to those whose names will never be household words,

but to whose work and loyalty we owe so much.

How long have you got off for Christmas?

I'm back on the 2nd of January.

And then I fly out to Berlin on the 9th for the Four Powers Conference.

Berlin?

It'll be dangerous, will it?

Mother, the war's over. It's probably safer there than it is in London.

Fish and rubber, then!

Oh, no, no, no, no. Please, sit down.

Thank you, Sergeant MacReady.

OK, sir, I'll be outside if you need me.

My name's Superintendent Jones. I'm with the Hampshire Constabulary.

Do I understand?

Well, the matter's been passed over to us.

Now, I want you to tell me about the times you spent with Wildblood.

I already told them everything I know.

You know, in a civilian court,

the maximum term for buggery is life imprisonment.

If a judge takes pity on you, you'll get seven years.

In prison, your cell door will be marked with the term "pervert",

and every day for seven years, you'll face abuse from the other prisoners.

You have no evidence.

We have your letters.

And we have evidence from two of your previous boyfriends.

You remember George and Gerry?

Well, they're prepared to testify against you in court.

Did you know Wildblood's going to move house soon?

His new boyfriend's moving in with him.

I don't believe you.

Oh, his name is Charles.

Wildblood calls him his Manson.

I can help you, McNamee.

You just need to turn in Queen's evidence.

You make a brief statement in court.

that you and Wildblood had a relationship, and you'll be immune from prosecution.

What'll happen to Wildblood?

Well, he'll get off with a fine.

He can afford a good lawyer.

You should be aware that your friend Reynolds

has already agreed to turn in Queen's evidence.

How old are you, Reynolds?

21.

You'll be nearly 30 by the time you get over, Joe.

Your friend McNamee won't be going to prison.

He's agreed to testify in court against Montague and Wildblood.

You can do the same.

If you testify against Montague, you'll be free.

All the charges will be dropped.

Don't spend any time worrying about old Montague.

You don't think they'd put a peer of the realm in jail, do you?

Making gay men name names, leading to chain

prosecutions, was a favourite police tactic.

Antony was working in Manchester.

when he was caught by it.

When I said to the policemen, "I can't give you that name,".

they said to me, "But you're not leaving here till you do."

The police would bully a young, vulnerable guy

and get the names from him and threaten him.

If he didn't give them the names of everyone he knew that was gay,

they would take him home to his parents and tell his parents and his friends.

He took my shoelaces off, my tie,

I was in the cell for about nine to ten hours.

And there was no depth that they wouldn't trawl in the effort to get a conviction.

I tore the addresses up

and I went to put them down the loo that they had in this cell,

but I saw there was no chain.

So I ate the pieces of paper.

I imagine that, because I was a young man,

I imagine that because I was so scared that they would find them.

Wildblood, unaware that McNally was in a cell,

was preparing to travel to the Four Powers conference in Berlin.

Peter Wildblood? Yes.

I'm Superintendent Jones from the Hampshire Constabulary.

This is Superintendent Smith from New Scotland Yard.

We have a warrant for your arrest, charging you with conspiracy and buggery

arising from your association with Lord Montague and Till Edmund.

We need to search your flat. Where's your search warrant?

It's back at the station.

Look, I have to fly to Berlin today.

Is this your handwriting?

I need to phone my solicitor. He won't be in his office yet.

So, Mr Wildblood, where do you hide all your love letters?

I don't keep letters.

Well?

Where is this from, then?

Someone in the Navy?

No, it's from my mother.

I suppose these are not queer, are they?

That's ridiculous.

I suppose these are not queer, are they?

That's ridiculous.

"Dear Peter, I have a week to go before night duty, "then into seclusion.

"Will you miss me?

"I hope so, because I am missing you something awful.".

Are these from Edward McNally?

Yes.

Simultaneously, there were dawn raids

at two of England's most distinguished addresses -

Pitt Rivers Estate in Dorset and Palace House in Bewley.

Of course, one would never forget being woken up at seven

o'clock in the morning with the police banging on the door,

and I was in bed alone, as they said.

Police pushed their way past the Butler,

burst into the bedroom and arrested Lord Montague.

Then I was carted off to the local town

where I was charged in a mandatory escort.

The press had been tipped off and were waiting to turn

Lord Montague's arrival at the police station into banner headlines.

Of course, my arrest did have quite a dramatic effect

on a whole lot of people.

It said that the skies were charged with black with smoke, people were really lovely.

Can you still travel to Berlin?

No. They've taken my passport.

Can't be too serious if they've released you.

I'm on bail until the trial.

Here.

Drink this.

He's going to be in the papers tomorrow.

You should know that I'm being charged over offences arising out of my friendship.

with another man.

It doesn't matter what they say you've done. You're still my son.

And I shall always stand by you.

Thank you.

I'm going to need a lawyer.

A good one.

Your father and I have some savings.

We were keeping them until you got married.

Perhaps this is more important.

There are 17 charges.

The prosecution's case is built on the evidence from McNally and Reynolds.

However, there's a good chance we can prove they're an unreliable source.

Sorry, what is the evidence from McNally and Reynolds?

They've turned Queen's evidence against you, Montague and

Pitt Rivers, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

We need to point out that McNally and Reynolds are two men

who would be facing criminal charges themselves.

The scene was set for the most sensational court case of its kind since Oscar Wilde.

Homosexuality was suddenly centre stage in British life.

Police!

Montague!

Call defendants Montague Wildeblood, Pitt Rivers.

Wildeblood and Pitt Rivers were charged with

gross indecency and, most seriously, buggery.

Montague with gross indecency and attempted buggery.

All three with conspiring to enable homosexual offences to take place.

Despite Wildeblood's request for women to be present,

an all-male jury would decide their fate.

The case against Peter Wildeblood and Lord Montague

was entirely dependent on the credibility of the evidence from McNally and Reynolds.

Call John Reynolds.

The cross-examination would centre around the Bewley Beach Hut Party of August 1952.

The prosecuting counsel was Cocky Roberts, who was a well-known barrister,

who was a rather returned figure, a rather bullying sort of person.

What did you do at the beach hut?

There was drinking.

And music from a portable radio.

Now, in this beach hut, there are two rooms, are there not?

Yes.

And did you stay all the time in one room or not?

No.

But Montague and I went into the bedroom.

And what happened in the bedroom?

We laid in bed.

And then?

Mutual masturbation.

And on this occasion, did anything occur prior to masturbation?

I... I think he wanted me to commit buggery.

But you told him you did not want to?

Yes.

Certainly, as far as bullying witnesses are concerned,

Reynolds certainly got the feel of that.

He encouraged him, but rather looked like frightened rabbits.

Lord Montague, you heard Reynolds say that on three occasions

various intimate acts took place between you.

I did.

Are you telling the jury there's no truth in that whatever?

I am.

A complete invention.

It is.

Yes.

Would you take letter number 16, please?

Yes, I have it.

Hmm.

"Dear Johnny."

Well, I understand that Christian names aren't anybody's currency,

but you did get to know him rather quickly, didn't you?

When I first met him, I was introduced to him

as Johnny Reynolds, so I called him Johnny.

He did call me Lord Montague once or twice, and I told him to call me Edward.

How many people did you have staying with you on the weekend of 23 August 1952?

Five guests staying with me, I think, and my sister.

Yes, certainly five men and your sister at the house.

Yes, that's correct.

Hmm. And did the five men go down to the beach hut on the Sunday night?

Yes.

Had you arranged for a party to take place there that night?

I had not.

Peter Wildblood had asked us to come down there for a drink.

Hmm. Reynolds has told us that dancing occurred... between men.

Do you deny this?

I do.

Was anyone the worse for the drink?

I noticed that McNally and Reynolds were a little merry towards the end of the party.

Hmm. A little out of the usual atmosphere, were they?

I'm not sure I know what their usual atmosphere is.

Oh, Lord Montague, you are all their social superiors.

I should imagine that's a matter of opinion, Mr Roberts.

Reynolds has said that at some time in the proceedings,

you led him through to an inner room in the hut.

There you went on to the bed and you behaved indecently together.

Is that untrue?

It is quite untrue.

And that after you tried to commit buggery with him, is that also untrue?

Yes.

Not a word of truth in it at all?

None whatsoever.

The trial was front-page news,

a scandal that sparked a public debate

and unprecedented public interest in homosexuality.

It was the first big case of its kind, and being who it was.

Yeah, it was a big story. It was not only in the British press,

it was in the American press and a lot of European press as well.

And it was one of the things, only one of the things,

that made people more fearful of an oncoming clampdown.

You read every word several times.

You buy all the paper, you don't only buy one

paper, you buy several, and read every bit.

Do you know the accused Wildblood?

Yes.

When did you first meet him?

February, 1952.

How did you come to meet Wildblood?

Well, I was just standing outside,

near Piccadilly Tube station,

and I noticed this gentleman.

And I spoke to him and he spoke to me.

What did he say?

Would I go back with him to where he lived.

And did you?

Yes.

And did you stay the night?

Yes.

Where did you sleep?

In the bedroom in his flat.

And did anything occur between you?

We committed buggery with each other.

Please speak up, Mr MacDowdy.

We committed buggery with each other.

Now look, let's be quite clear of your meaning.

When you say we committed buggery with each other, what exactly did you do to him?

I put my penis up his anus,

and he put his up mine.

Oh, my goodness.

Would you look at exhibit number 14, please?

Did you write this letter to Wildblood?

Yes.

In it you write, "Thanks again for a wonderful weekend.

"I've really got it bad, sweetheart.

"In fact, haven't felt so happy for a long time.

"This is written in bed.

"Wish you were here,

"but the RAF have definite views on these matters.

"You're right, I've really got it bad, sweetheart.".

What did you mean?

I was in love with Peter Wildblood.

Ah, Mr McNally.

During 1952 and 1953,

were you what you would describe as in love with Peter Wildblood?

Yes, sir.

And when you wrote him these letters, of which we've heard,

did you mean those expressions of sentiment?

Yes, sir.

These...acts, you say, were committed by you and by him.

Would you have permitted these acts if you had not been in love with him?

No, sir.

You knew, of course, that Reynolds was a homosexual.

A pervert.

Did you know?

Yes, sir.

Did you ever commit any acts of indecency or buggery with him?

No, sir.

Was the reason that you did not commit acts of buggery with him.

because you were not in love with him?

Yes, sir.

So it comes to this,

that it is only if you are in love that you permit these acts.

Yes, sir.

Hm.

When Sergeant found letters from Wildblood in your kit bag, how were they signed?

By the letter P.

Well, then did they know that the letters were indeed from Peter Wildblood?

I told them.

You...told them.

There were other letters in your kit that were found, were there not?

Yes, sir.

Were they from people with whom you'd committed acts of gross indecency or buggery?

There was one other person that I committed an act of gross indecency.

Not buggery.

And his name was George?

Yes, sir.

Had you been in love with that man?

No, sir.

Ah. But you permitted an act of gross indecency, even though you were not...in love.

Yes.

You were examined by Dr Mant on the 14th of January, 1954.

Yes.

He reported that the findings were consistent with anal intercourse

having taken place on many occasions.

Did you know about this report?

No.

You are, are you not?

An habitual bugger.

No.

With how many men have you committed, let's

say, first of all, acts of gross indecency?

I do not remember.

As many as that.

No, I...

I just do not remember.

During 1952 and 1953, you worked as male nurse at RAF Ely.

Yes.

Did you bugger any of the patients?

No.

You didn't think it would be good for their health?

No.

I was there to look after the patients.

Perhaps you can enlighten the jury as to how many men have buggered you.

Four.

And did you give their names to the police?

I do not know the names of the men that buggered me.

So you do not know their names?

Just the one.

Peter Wildblood.

Yes.

And, of course, Peter Wildblood was the name, I suppose,

that the police and the RAF were most interested in, was it not?

Yes, sir.

Mr McNally, I want you to understand quite clearly what I'm putting to you.

I suggest to you that you never had any kind of

indecent relationship whatsoever with Peter Wildblood.

I did, sir.

I suggest to you that you're making up this story in order to avoid punishment

for other offences that you committed with other men.

No, sir.

I suggest you are, by your own statement in this court, a sodomite and a pervert,

and I further suggest that you are a pervert and a pervert.

And I further suggest that you've been telling lies to save your own skin.

No, sir.

No further, Your Honour.

It was now Wildblood's turn to take the stand.

All that stood between prison and freedom was his ability to lie on oath

in front of the judge and jury.

Between the end of the holiday on August 31st and Christmas of 1952,

did you correspond with McNally?

Yes, I wrote to him once or twice.

In what kind of terms did you write to him?

In affectionate terms, but nothing more at that point.

What kind of letters was he writing to you?

Um...

They were extremely sentimental.

Emotional, I should say.

And they contained endearments of an unusual kind for two men to exchange.

He has told us that for many years he's been a homosexual.

Did you know that in 1952?

No, I didn't know that.

What were your feelings for him at the end of January 1953?

I was fond of him.

I was grateful...

to him for his affection.

It helped me with my loneliness.

I was...

extremely lonely at the time.

Was there any buggery or gross indecency

that took place between you and McNally when he stayed with you?

No, none at all.

No further questions.

McNally was infinitely your social inferior, was he not?

That is absolute nonsense.

Now, with regard to intellect,

would you agree that McNally and you didn't even meet on the same plane at all?

I think he was quite an intelligent person.

He was not educated, but he was intelligent.

Yes, what I'm after is what was the common link.

that bound together you, a highly intelligent journalist,

with Corporal McNally, who started in the pits up in Glasgow.

As a journalist, I meet with all kinds of people.

Yes, you don't invite them all to stay for the weekend.

I don't see why not.

Nor write them letters, dearest darling Eddie.

I know it is foolish to write letters couched in those terms,

but it is no better or worse if they are my social inferiors or superiors.

In one of your letters, you write of having the most wonderful holiday at Bewley.

What made it wonderful?

The weather was beautiful.

We were spending it in very pleasant surroundings.

For the first few days, we had the sea to bathe in on our doorstep.

It was a wonderful change from the life I had been living in London.

The weather. Would you look at Exhibit 23, please?

Would I be wrong in describing this, if I may use the term, as a sexy photograph?

Not particularly.

Am I wrong in thinking that the male organ is in a state of erection?

Yes, I think you are quite wrong.

It's simply the way the organ is arranged inside the trunks.

The prosecution's case hung in the balance.

But Wildblood's most critical test of truth still lay ahead.

As the trial entered its second week,

there were hints of a shift in press and public opinion.

The press are laying orders of 11 to 2 on all three of us being acquitted.

But the biggest sensation was yet to come.

Mr Wildblood, when you entered this box,

you did so under solemn oath to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

You realise that?

Yes.

You are aware that in this court we have McNally, your friend of some 21 months,

describing what took place between him and you?

We know some of the letters that passed between you.

And you still persist in saying that you've told the whole truth?

Yes, I say I have told the whole truth.

Have you any suggestion to put forward

to explain why McNally would tell such wicked lies against you?

Yes, I should have thought it was perfectly obvious.

He's either doing it to save his own skin or doing it to save somebody else's.

But how can he save his own skin?

He can save his own skin by telling what happened between you.

Your Honour, these questions are supposition.

I do not think, Mr Roberts, that it would do the jury any good

to speculate on the motives of another man.

You say that you did not know that McNally was a practising pervert.

Is that correct?

I think we need to agree on some sort of vocabulary.

Is that not an exhaustive definition of the term "homosexual"?

A practising pervert?

Only in the sense in which the word has been used in this court.

But a pervert is a man who, from wickedness,

gets desire from an unnatural function.

I think so.

Whereas a homosexual is a man who, from accident

of birth, has unnatural desires. Is that correct?

Yes.

Mr Wildblood, nothing during this trial has been brought against your character.

You can hold your head up high.

But are you a homosexual?

Mr Wildblood, please answer the question.

Yes.

Yes.

I am a homosexual.

I admire Peter Wildblood very much because

he was completely honest and spoke the truth.

I admire Peter Wildblood's bravery in confessing his homosexuality at that stage.

But I think it was a tactical error.

Well, I thought it was great.

And I thought he was extremely brave and I wasn't brave enough.

I think that any chance he had of being found not guilty

disappeared at that time.

The jury was out for four and a half hours.

You have all three been found guilty of serious offences.

You, Montague, of less serious offences than the other two.

I have paid greatest attention to everything that has been said on your behalf.

But, of course, it is quite impossible for these offences to be passed over.

I'm dealing with you in the most lenient way that I possibly can.

You, Montague, will go to prison for 12 months.

You, Pitt Rivers, for 18 months.

And you, Wildblood, for 18 months.

Wildblood's daring declaration of his homosexuality had sealed the convictions.

But the severity of the sentences shocked an increasingly sympathetic public.

Of course, at that time, we had no idea what people were thinking outside.

Nor did we know what the attitude was going to be with other people.

But nobody foresaw the reaction as the defendants left for prison.

Just keep your head down. They can't hurt us now.

Lord Montague, keep your head up.

Mr Wildblood.

Lord Montague over here. Mr Wildblood.

Wildblood.

Peter Wildblood.

Sir Pete. Pete, it is I.

The trial created the first groundswell of press

and public opinion that the law was too harsh.

The crusade against homosexuals had backfired.

In the wake of the trial, a Home Office committee was set up to look at the law.

It would become famous as the Walfordon Committee.

Chief Constable, do you think that homosexuality

between consenting males in private should be decriminalised?

I would expect a tremendous increase if this were to happen.

Punishment keeps it down.

Why is it that other countries have adopted a more tolerant view?

I have visited and consulted policemen in France, Italy, Scandinavia and America.

And I feel you never hear of any country with higher morals than this country.

Except probably Canada and Fiji.

I'm worried that these sessions are not yielding enough facts.

In all my view, this committee is in grave danger of becoming a farce.

Really? How so?

By having me determine whether the laws on homosexuality should be changed

without hearing evidence from homosexuals.

I've been wondering whether we should be hearing from our Huntleys.

But how can we have criminals giving evidence before a Home Office inquiry?

If we do it behind closed doors. Off the record sort of thing.

We could put an advertisement in a newspaper.

With respect, Mr Walfordon, we'll have every Huntley coming out of the woodwork.

We'll be made to look like fools.

I think you're quite wrong, Mrs Cohen.

I can't see anyone being brave enough to come forward.

Three of our Huntleys have volunteered to come forward.

Only three?

I take it all three want to be anonymous?

No. There's one who's prepared to give his name.

Peter Wildblood was released from prison in March 1955.

He was now committed to campaigning for homosexual rights.

The Walfordon Committee would give him the

perfect opportunity to make his views known.

My name is Peter Wildblood.

And what evidence and expertise do you bring to us, Mr Wildblood?

I am a homosexual.

Peter Wildblood really did very well.

He turned himself into a crusader to have the law changed.

And he wrote a very successful book.

And we'd like to.

Two years later, the Committee published their long-awaited report.

It put forward Peter Wildblood's main recommendation that homosexual

acts between consenting adults in private should be decriminalised.

It was such a wonderful turning point because

we were also relieved that, in fact, you know,

without doing anything outrageous too outrageous in

public, you could do it in private, do things in private.

And I thought, I think most gay people thought

that, that it, you know, was excellent.

It took another ten years for Parliament to make it law.

When we felt we knew we were safe, we could get rid

of the two single beds and we could get a double bed.

And we could live together as a couple.

It was a hell of a, looking back on it, it was a hell of a statement to make.

We were very pleased to meet some very old men who

proudly told us they'd been together for 47 years.

And so it gave us much pleasure to top that and say 54 years.

We've got more programmes that note homosexuality's decriminalisation.

Tomorrow night from 10, gay men whose lives interconnect

over 36 hours in London, the one-off drama Clapham Junction.

And Tuesday night from 5 past 11, how gay sex changed

the world, how the sex life of Britain changed for good,

and how gay lifestyles became socially acceptable.

Up next though, Firuza Balk, Nev Campbell

and Rachel True, aka the bitches of Eastwick.

Horror fantasy my friends, in the craft.