Memories by Nick Stanley
Protesing against the Festival of Light 1971
“Cliff Richard and somebody else were having a Festival of Light event at Lancaster University at the same time. Mary Whitehouse was the main director and driver of it, they also had a meeting in Handsworth Park, and a friend took pictures of me and ...
Transformation from CHE to GLF 1971
Nick talks about the political and physical transition from CHE into the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in the early 70s. "Before we moved to the Peace Centre, our first place in Birmingham was the Quakers Meeting House, we met there for nearly two...
Gay Liberation Front Discos early 1973+
Gay Liberation Front held its own discos including big events such as a disco at Digbeth Civic Hall to which people came from around the country. “We had our own discos, they were very important to us. Some of the big events like at Digbeth Civic Hal...
Club on Victoria Square
Nick talks about using the commercial gay scene: “I ventured out both before I had met Karl and with Karl. The first place we went to was on the corner of Victoria Square, which must have been knocked down now, I’ve forgotten the name of the club”. ...
The origins of the GLF manifesto
Nick talks about the origin of the GLF manifesto.“It was patriated from New York into London Gay Liberation Front by Aubrey (Walter) and then we looked at it here in Birmingham and discussed and contributed.”“It was all the classic stuff about equal ...
GLF in Schools
GLF did make some presentations in local schools, which brought the group to the attention of the local press and the national press. “I think we advertised in the local press, we were quite keen to advertise our presence and we would advertise in pa...
The Melchett Road Collective
Nick lived in various places such as Richmond Hill Road, Selly Park and Handsworth Woods. Nick and Karl moved into the ‘Collective’ at Melchett Road in Edgbaston. Other people who lived there were Graham Allen and Frank Langham (older man of an Irish...
Gay Pride London and Birmingham marches
The GLF group went to the Gay Pride marches in London and even held a few small marches in Birmingham in the early 1970s. “These were not very big and they were not police chaperoned at all, we took banners and marched down New Street, about 30 of us...
Non-Monogamy Could Cause Tensions
Nick remembers one of the best things of the GLF manifesto was an attack on patriarchy. The GLF position on monogamy was that it was oppressive. Nobody owns another person’s body. They believed in open relationships and this was embraced in the Melch...
Setting up CHE in the Midlands
“Karl and I were involved with the North West Committee for Homosexual Law Reform that was run by Allan Horsefall from Nelson in Lancashire, the immediate precursor of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. We used to go out once a month on a Sunday e...