No idea how to find anyone like me
1962
Gill: "I’m Gill. I’m 63. I was born in Ilford, then in Essex, now East London. I came to Birmingham in 1962 to go to university and I’ve been here for most of the years since. I had identified myself as lesbian when I was 18 but was completely unable to cope with this in what was a very different world, where homosexuality for men was still illegal (in 1962). I had no idea how I would ever find anybody else like me. And I subsequently moved away, got married and had children (Joseph and William). When I had left my husband (around 1974) and gone to Aberystwyth I was there for about 6 months with the children, staying with friends. And there was no gay scene in Aberystwyth other than the University Gay Society which turned out to have 3 members - 2 chaps and a woman. Another woman was there occasionally, but it turned out she was there because she really fancied one of the chaps, so this was pretty useless (laughter). But I did manage to get hold of my first issues of what would have been Gay News at that point. So I was beginning to find the world that I hadn’t been able to find when I was 18. Then I came back to Birmingham with the children, aged 33, in early 1975”.
Contributed by: Gill Coffin, 63