It was the trial that had everythg: aristocrats, airmen, entrapment and immuny. But one gay man the dock refed to go quietly. Adam Mars-Jon on how the urage of Peter Wilblood paved the way to a more tolerant Bra
Contents:
THE WILBLOOD SNDAL: THE TRIAL THAT ROCKED 1950S BRA – AND CHANGED GAY RIGHTS
) The tentn may have been to unrle that social privilege offered no protectn, or to rerce the myth that homosexualy is herently an aristocratic perversn or bars … Daniel Mays as Wilblood Agast the Law, the BBC’s adaptatn of the mpaigner’s memoir. Photograph: Dean Rogers/BBCWilblood his book propos that the prosecutn of proment homosexuals was part of an agenda, strongly urged by the Uned Stat, to weed such people out om important ernment jobs. In Ameri, McCarthy’s red sre had been acpanied by a “lavenr” one, wh mass firgs of gay employe om the state partment.
Lurkg somewhere the background are the figur of the spi Burgs and Maclean, whose betrayals ma social privilege, homosexualy and treason seem a mutually rercg try. It was put to Wilblood durg his trial that was a “feature” of gay men to seek “love associat” different walks of life om their own, and that McNally was fely his social ferr.
Dishont police alg wh gay men was a matter of urse on the streets of London, and entrapment a nstant risk for the unwary. The small group of people, maly women, who surround the r (an old Rolls-Royce) takg the new nvicts away were nveyg msag of support not nmnatn – sayg “keep sg”, givg the thumbs-up and existence of public support for gay people was a new element of the Wilblood se, and featur his book even before the text begs, wh the ditn ( pals to make sure no one missed ) “TO MY MOTHER AND FATHER”.