Fighting With Pride, the LGBT Military Charity, on behalf of HM Armed Forces and funded through a government grant, are looking to appoint an artist to deliver a public memorial to be installed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. This is to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the LGBT Armed Forces community and to recognise the hidden history of LGBT Service in HM Armed Forces.
The sum allocated is £230,000, and the timeline is:
(1) Application form by 19 November 2024
(2) Shortlist by early December
(3) Interview in early January 2025
(4) Delivery by 22 August 2025
The compressed timeline is imperative to ensure completion during the 25th anniversary year of the lifting of the ban on LGBT military service.
Background – Defence LGBT History
Until 2000 it was illegal to be LGBT in HM Armed Forces. Many people were interrogated, imprisoned, dismissed or administratively discharged because of the ban on LGBT service. Others could not take the strain and stress of continually hiding their sexuality, and so resigned. Some died by suicide. Their lives were blighted, losing family and friends and being unable to work meaningfully as they were “dismissed with disgrace.” Even after the ban was lifted, nothing was done to support those who were so badly disadvantaged under it, until 2020 when Fighting With Pride (FWP) the LGBT military charity was founded [1].
Since the ban was lifted in 2000, the MoD has made huge strides in its approach to Diversity and Inclusion. The single Services of HM Armed Forces are today rightly recognised as one of the best employers for the LGBT community. The Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force all have dynamic LGBT Networks and routinely participate in Pride parades in uniform around the country.
A memorial to all LGBT Armed Forces personnel (Veteran, Serving, Reservist, Cadet Forces and their families and friends) will acknowledge their contribution to the defence of our peace and freedom in the past and in the future and recognise those affected by the historic ban on LGBT people serving in the Armed Forces.
Whilst there are memorials to the single Services at the National Memorial Arboretum, it was recognised in the LGBT Veterans Independent Review by Lord Etherton [2] that there should be a government funded public memorial at the Arboretum, to all LGBT people who have served and continue to serve in the military (the LGBT Armed Forces Community). The Government has agreed to fund a Memorial and has allocated a grant to Fighting With Pride for this purpose.
We now have a unique opportunity to create a memorial which brings the LGBT Armed Forces Community out from the margins they were relegated to for so long. To project their service and sacrifice to the fore, in a progressive and inspired way. The memorial needs to stand out from the ordinary, to blend the vibrant diversity and flair of the LGBT community with the traditions of military service. Now no longer hiding in the shadows, but visible – Pride in their service, Pride in their community and Pride in themselves.
[1] https://www.fightingwithpride.org.uk
