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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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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We’ve never been able to unite and discuss what we went through, ever.
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You can't be what you can't see