Chris Bryant must have carried out forensic examination of existing material, given how badly these brave men would have been treated if their sexual persuasion were made public. Ridicule, persecution and brutality, scance reward for heroism in the face of the monstrous. The details of what these men endured should be widely known, their courage and sacrifice noted for ages to come. Yet most of the information in this book was new to me, secrets wrapped up in mystery boxes, closed to all but who knew and cared for them. The story of Alan Turing is gaining traction in the mainstream, even taught at school level. And rightly so, its tale worth repeating.
As are the tales within Chris Bryant's book. Tales of ordinary, and occasionally extraordinary, individuals who's lives were blighted by ignorance on a national level. Sadly, such were the times, when even the most awful prejudices were seen as examples of a healthy society, attempting to protect itself from the percieved depravity of these beautiful men. For that is what they were, all too human and beautiful, born into an era where monsters were coming to power. They knew that to avert a terrible future they would put their lives on the line, often for a country that shunned and devalued them. It is heart breaking but heart warming by turns. All too often the good guys lost but they never stopped fighting. The alternative was a world of misrule. I think there is a terrifying casuality in the minds of many people who think of the excesses of the past as "back then" or "its all over now". History has taught us so much more than that. It is never really over, the monsters just come back with another name, another face. Having been born and brought up in the Catholic faith I sometimes squint at the world, viewing it through the prism of a stain glass window with demonic relief. Sometimes, when the light hits in in a certain way, its lovely to look at, but mostly it just gets between me and the thing of beauty I want to look at, guilt free.
A fantastic book.
