Little is known about gay men and lesbians in British history.  In order to
bring to light the government information available to everyone on the
subject The National Archives is holding a special event called 'Out of The
Past: Stories from the Archives'.

The listing below gives the details.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes,

Siobhan Wakely
Press and Publicity Officer
The National Archives
020 8392 5277


Event Listing
05 May 2004

Out of The Past: Stories from the Archives

'Out of The Past: Stories from the Archives', uncovers stories about gay
and lesbian history and challenges the myth that our past has been 'hidden
from history'.  The free event is being held by The National Archives in
west London on Tuesday 29 June.

Best-selling historical novelist Sarah Waters, author of 'Tipping the
Velvet', 'Affinity' and 'Fingersmith', will be speaking about how she
created Victorian lesbian and gay characters in her work.  Sarah will sign
copies of her books.

A panel of historians will reveal lost stories about gay and lesbian
history in Britain they have uncovered while researching in the archives.

Speakers include:

* Matt Houlbrook, University of Liverpool, will share a cautionary tale
about the pleasures and perils of immersing yourself in the queer past at
The National Archives.  Matt's obsession with police constables in rouge
and 1930s dresses landed him in a tattoo parlour in Kentish Town.

* Harry Cocks, University of London, will be talking about how the gay
community used code words such as "genuine and sincere" in lonely hearts
columns and personal ads in "The Link" paper to find a "broadminded" pal of
the same sex between 1915 and 1921.

* Laura Doan, University of Manchester, will describe her work to get
access to the Home Office files, originally closed until 2040, about the
banning of Radclyffe Hall's groundbreaking lesbian novel "The Well of
Loneliness".

* Rebecca Jennings, also from University of Manchester, will discuss how
the women's services and police force have, for much of the 20th century,
been associated with sexual immorality and deviance and explain how the
National Archives can be used to trace perceptions of, and the potential
for, lesbianism in the ranks in the mid-20th century.

The National Archives has also launched a new information leaflet
http://catalogue.pro.gov.uk/ExternalRequest.asp?RequestReference=ri2260 to
help make gay and lesbian history more accessible to people interested in
the subject.  Topics covered in the leaflet include: marriage and divorce,
fraud, defamation and slander and censorship.

'Out of the Past: Stories from the Archives' is on Tuesday 29 June at
6:30pm at The National Archives, Kew, West London.
The event is free, but booking is essential on 020 8392 5202 or
[log in to unmask]
Rail/Tube Station: Kew Gardens (District line and Silverlink)

Notes to Editors:

* For press enquiries please contact The National Archives Press Office on
020 8392 5277 or e-mail [log in to unmask]

* The National Archives, Kew, www.nationalarchives.gov.uk has one of the
largest archival collections in the world, spanning 1000 years of British
history, from Domesday Book to newly released government papers.   The free
museum and research rooms in Kew, west London, are open to the public 6
days a week.