He was convicted for being gay
Now, 42 years later and at age 93, George Montague wants an apology
George Montague has been many things during his long and colorful life: World War II veteran, entrepreneur, father, grandfather, Scout leader — and criminal. In 1974, he was convicted of gross indecency under a British law that targeted gay men.
Last week, the government announced it would issue a blanket posthumous pardon to thousands of these men, but that those still living — as many as 65,000 — would have to apply. Montague, who lives in Brighton, England, says he wants an apology, not a pardon. I’m the happiest old gay guy there is, and every day I tell at least one person this, but I can’t get this gross indecency thing out of my head. For some reason, I just woke up one day at 93 and said I have to do something about it.
If you accept the pardon, then you accept that you were guilty. How can I be guilty for being born the way I was? My mother made me a homosexual!
The wheels of politics grind very slowly. It will take a year or two, but we’ll get our apology. I look forward to my 100th birthday. And when that day arrives, this old queen will get a letter from the real queen.
I was born a poor working-class boy. My father was a gardener for the local squire, and my mother was the laundress.
I didn’t do very well in school. I was virtually illiterate, but I was very good with my hands and became a patternmaker.
When I was 15 or 16, I thought there was something wrong with me, that I
“If you accept the pardon, then you accept that you were guilty. How can I be guilty for being born the way I was?” GEORGE MONTAGUE
was different from the others. But at that age you sublimate — you just don’t let it take control. You work hard, forget about it and find yourself a girlfriend.
The word homosexual was not used at all. It was such an aberration, such aterrible thing. People automatically thought that you were a pedophile and that was very hurtful. So you did everything to hide it.
The war was on, everywhere was getting bombed, and I wanted to join up. I was accepted by the Royal Air Force and at first I worked in a facto- ry repairing airplanes. I wanted to be an aircrew member, but I was rejected. I became a physical training instructor, training the Battle of Britain pilots, and later joined one of the first convoys that sailed through the Suez Canal, while the fighting was going on.
My character was formed in the Boy Scouts Association. I learned, “Never tell a lie,” always to be totally honest. But the pressure to marry, especially from my mother, became intense, and when I was 35, I decided to marry Vera, who accepted that I was gay.
I did anything I could to make her happy and loved her, but I was still in love with the boyfriends I had on and off, and she put up with all of that. We had three children, and once we had them, well, the sex part wasn’t that important anymore.
We had a little family meeting, and I told my children, “Sorry, guys, your mummy and I are going to live apart because your daddy’s gay.” And my daughter said, “Oh, Daddy, we’ve known for years.”
If you were gay and lived in a small, country village, the only way to meet other men was to go to the public gents’ toilet. People would write poems or their phone numbers on the wall. They wouldn’t do anything naughty; just use their eyes, and talk and meet people.
The police used to get up into the loft and watch people below.
The police would also pick up a young, vulnerable guy who had done something wrong and take him to the police station and bully and threaten them. He’d give all the names. That was called the queer list.
My name was on the list, so I was always very careful.
But one day in1974, I was in the stall when the police came pounding on the door. I was alone and doing nothing wrong but it didn’t matter.
I was convicted of gross indecency by a local magistrate and forced to resign from the Scouts after 40 years of working with severely disabled boys. In those days, if you were gay, they assumed you were a pedophile, which of course wasn’t true. It was very unjust.
About three years before my wife died, I met Somchai at a bar in London. I was in love with him the morning after I woke up next to him. My wife liked him, too, and one day she said to him, “I’ve had him all this time. You can have him now.” Somchai and I have been together for 21 years in complete harmony, and we shall be together until the day we die.