Pride project to probe hidden local LGBTQ+ history

Organisers of an annual pride festival have been awarded a £69,500 grant for a project that will explore a county's hidden LGBTQ+ history.

Swindon and Wiltshire Pride's research will result in a transportable exhibition telling the story of two centuries of community history – from the 1800s to the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

The grant was awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the project, which is titled We Were Always Here.

Kate Parsons, from SWP, said the group wanted to hear from Wiltshire locals to capture "stories and experiences before those voices are lost".

The project will focus on how ordinary members of the county's LGBTQ+ community lived and loved, and battled stigma and social attitudes.

The transportable exhibition will be available for display in schools and other organisations.

The grant money will also go towards producing an illustrated history book, which will be distributed to schools, colleges, libraries in Wiltshire.

"We hope very much to hear from people who were in, or around, the LGBTQIA+ community before homosexuality was partially decriminalised in 1969," said Parsons.

"Members of the community who were adults before the legal change will be now around 80 years old; we'd like to capture these stories and experiences before those voices are lost," she added.

James Fraser, vice-chair at SWP, said: "This is an important project which will help us uncover and preserve the hidden history of the LGBTQIA+ community in Wiltshire."

This year's festival will take place in Swindon's GWR Park on 15 August.

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