LGBT history

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  The scandalous case of John Vassall: sexuality, spying and the Civil Service

  Fifty years ago civil servant John Vassall was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for espionage. Vassall was homosexual, and whilst working at the British Embassy in Moscow, was caught in a Soviet Secret Service ‘honeytrap’, and blackmailed into passing secrets ...

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  Digging for diamonds: hidden histories at The National Archives

  From ‘parachuting’ to ‘truffle-hunting’, there are many ways to research at The National Archives. This talk focuses on the histories that are harder to find, from the voices of enslaved Africans to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in ...

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  When a woman is not a woman: how the Ministry of Pensions constructed gender in the 1950s

  During the 1950s, the Ministry of Pensions was suddenly faced with a substantial number of requests by individuals to change their gender status on their employment and pension records. Why was this? How did the (slightly) bewildered men at the ...

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  Fictional obscenities: lesbianism and censorship in the early 20th century

  Please note: this podcast features mature themes and some explicit references. How was the concept of obscenity governed in the absence of specific statutes that defined what was and was not obscene? To what extent was this governance an effect ...

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  Genius on trial: key sources relating to Oscar Wilde at The National Archives

  The arrest and subsequent imprisonment of Oscar Wilde was one of the most sensational and controversial episodes of the late Victorian era, with far-reaching social and cultural implications. This talk presents the key documents held by The National Archives on ...

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  George Ives: queer lives and the family

  Cultural historian Matt Cook delves into the diary of George Ives, the early homosexual law reformer, and considers the issue of family, a pertinent and recurrent theme within Ives’ diary.

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  Losing Orton in the archives

  The tangled history of the papers of the playwright Joe Orton is unwoven by Dr Matt Cook. Here he reveals the extraordinary sources that survive on the writer’s life, and the perhaps even more extraordinary ones that remain stubbornly missing. ...

• Latest media

  • William Wallace’s rising and execution, and Edward I’s conquest of Scotland

    24 May 2013

  • Foreign Office and Cabinet Office file release: May 2013

    22 May 2013

  • 

    Australia in War and Peace, 1914-19

    10 May 2013

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• Authors

  Select Author... Abi Hussainy Adele Chaplin Adrian Jobson Alan Bowgen Alex Ritchie Alexs Drozdov Alistair Owens Andrew Janes Ann Morton Anthony Adolph Anthony Beevor Audrey Collins Ben Macintyre Briony Paxman Bruno Derrick Bruno Pappalardo Caroline Dawson Caroline Kimbell Caroline Williams Charles Fair Charles Tattersall Charles Tripp Chistopher May Chris Barnes Chris Cooper Chris Heather Chris Pomery Christine Gifford Daniel Gilfoyle Dave Annal David Flanders David Green David Langrish David Thomas Doctor David Cox Dr Adrian Ailes Dr Alison Wiggins Dr Andrew Foster Dr Bruce Durie Dr David Clarke Dinah Eastop Dr Dominic Fontana Dr Gus Casely Hayford Dr Hester Vaizey Dr James Ross Dr Jane McDermid Dr John Law Dr John Shaw Dr Julie Anderson Dr Kathleen Chater Dr Katy Mair Dr Louise Chambers Pippa Virdee Dr Tony Wakeford Dr. Matt Cook Dr. Tracey Sowerby dwilliams Ed Hampshire Ed King Ela Kaczmarska Elizabeth Crawford Else Churchill Gary Sheffield Geoff Stewart Gerry Toop Gill Bennett Grace Ioppolo Hamish Maxwell-Stewart Helen Rappaport hhargreaves Jack Adams James Cronan James Davis James Taylor James Travers Jane Stevenson Janet Dempsey Jatinder Mann Jeff James Jenni Orme Jenny Bunn Jessamy Sykes John Guy John Reuben Davies John Sheridan John Welshman Jonathan Sumption Joy Palmer Jules Stewart Julie Halls Karim Hussain Kate Colquhoun Kate Jarman Keith Mitchell Kwaku Kwaku Lianne Smith Lord Ashdown Mahesh Gami Mandy Banton Mark Dunton Mark Pearsall Mark Stevens Michael Leclerc Michael Lucas Michael Moss Mike Pidd Neil Cobbett Nick Pope Nick Stanhope Nigel Taylor Oliver Morley Owen Stephens Past Masters Patricia Methven Patrick Chaplin Paul Carlyle Paul Carter Pauline Croft Peter Bance Peter Boyd-Smith Peter John Philippa Glanville Professor Barry Coward Professor Barry Godfrey Professor Christopher Andrew Professor David Edgerton Professor David Stephenson Professor Laurence Brockliss Professor M R D Foot Professor Maria Hayward Professor Maxine Berg Professor Peter Hennessy Ralph Thompson Richard Deswarte Richard Wallis Robert Daoust Roger Kershaw Rudi Newman Sarah Cox Sarah Hutton Sean Creighton Sean Cunningham Sharon Hintze Simon Fowler Stephen Cable Stephen Cooper Stephen Harwood Steve Hindle Sue Lumas Terry Jones The Central Office of Information The National Archives Tony Stockwell Vanessa Carr Voices of the Armistice War on Film William Spencer

• Tags

  ancestors archives Cold war family history First world war Focus on film Focus on film: Cold War Focus on film: Second World War genealogy history Public Information Films 1945‑1951 records second world war World War Two series WW1