Chris and Eddie join the struggle for equality - from meetings at the LSE, Pride marches through London and the arrival of the Civil Partnership Bill.

In this short extract, Chris, partnered to Eddie, describes their increasing involvement in gay politics. He recalls that at the time there were two distinct groups of gays, those who were confidently out and open and those who feared exposure and increased discrimination for being more visible. Chris and Eddie heard about meetings being held at the London School of Economics, LSE, and went along. The experience was a cathartic one for both men. Expecting to encounter a room full of pre-supposed caricatures of gay men and women, instead they saw that they were surrounded by a large group of ordinary people, who just happened to be gay. Flamboyant types, contrary to Chris' expectations, were few in number.

Chris describes how he and Eddie would later join the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, attending local CHE chapters and going on marches, lobbying MPs and agitating for a better representation in the media. These groups and activities, Chris recalls, were a great way to meet other gay people, being outside of a sexual context and that of clubs and parties. Excited also by events in the USA, namely Stonewall, Chris says that involvement in those meetings at the LSE and CHE made him more honest with himself and who he was. He no longer felt he had to hide or repress his feelings and desires, though acknowledges that as a designer his workplace was much more liberal. Other gays, however, weren't so lucky in their workplaces.

Chris was born in 1939 and grew up in Newcastle, where his father was a fireman. Aware of the poverty and deprivation in the North East, Chris had a difficult time at school due to the class distinctions he found there. At university he had a couple of homosexual encounters with friends, though he also had girlfriends and on one occasion bleached his hair, which was quite a radical thing to do in the 1950s.

His parents moved to Southern Rhodesia [now Zimbabwe] and Chris joined them after leaving university. He worked in an education department, also having an affair with his boss, who'd come out to him.

Returning to the UK after two years, Chris went to Art School, after which he worked as a designer and illustrator. Though he was already in a relationship with a girl, Chris met Eddie, who would become his life partner. Together they both became more and more engaged in gay politics, joining both the Gay Liberation Front and the Campaign for Homosexual. Equality as well as going on the early Pride marches.