All language subtitles for A Veryal

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.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

♪♪♪♪.

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.