| Allan and Ray are two real old ancients of time – veterans going back to the 1950’s – in what can loosely be called gay politics.And to an extent we want Gay Monitor to be an “I remember when….” site.Allan Horsfall was C.H.E.And C.H.E. Campaign for Homosexual Equality was the biggest, broadest, most democratic, most nationally spread gay mass people’s organisation Britain has ever had – by a long, long chalk. Allan invented it – was its founder, chairman for its glory years, leading mover and Life President. |
| Allan HorsfallCHE declined because many of its campaigns succeeded – laws have been changed.Gay life diversified. CHE’s social function eclipsed permanently, probably by a raging commercial out gay metropolitan scene. Allan had and has other interests anyway – jazz, theatre, photography, public transport and keeping public conveniences open. However, during the 1990’s in his home town of Bolton Allan, as a known aged homosexual, found himself approached by men in trouble – with blackmailers, having false allegations laid against them often of a frightening historic nature. That’s where an accuser would claim that X years ago, when under age, he was messed about with to this degree (i.e. abused) by THIS MAN. And Allan found himself advising, befriending, watching court trials, and some on conviction have been sentenced to long periods in prison.We also found – although the police deny this – an aggressive police policy on cottaging – particularly modern car-cruising out on the moors. And of course everything was sparked off by the Bolton Seven prosecution.Ray Gosling is a sort of journalist – writer – maker of scores and scores of radio documentaries and t.v. films over the years – but was involved in CHE in its early days, particularly in the Esquire Clubs effort. And latterly come in to help Allan run a Gay Men’s Court Watch service in Lancashire by which we define or really mean just Bolton and Burnley with some occasional monitoring in Preston and Manchester. It’s distressing that we find on the one hand there’s an amazingly put proud gay outrageous metropolitan scene – there are shy, vulnerable not so open, only maybe – or part-time gays who are being threatened, set-up, imprisoned wrongly and treated harshly even if all allegations were true treated much more harshly than they would have been 30 or 40 years ago when all male homosexuality was agin the law.It’s very distressing to read in national newspapers from time to time tiny snippets that echo our Lancashire experience and we can’t get round to them – hence this website – to encourage others to tell what’s happening. So we can help one another – share and gain from mutual experience. |