Administrative/Biographical History

Paul Bunting was born in north London to artistic parents, from whom he inherited a love of music and art. At Wood Green school he excelled himself in various dramatic productions, including performing the lead role in Molière’s “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme”, to great acclaim. He also won prizes for his many contributions to the school magazine Compass. After gaining a BSc (Hons) Sociology degree in 1968 at Rutherford College in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Paul tried his hand at a number of jobs before finding his true calling in the health sector, working for the NHS for most of his life. In 1990 he gained an MSc at Birkbeck, University of London. He held Visiting Lectureships in Health Services Management at South Bank University and Carshalton College. And from 1990 to 1992 he was the Drop-In Centre Manager at the Landmark Day Centre for People Living with HIV and AIDS. Most recently he was responsible for developing clinical audit procedures for sexual health departments.

In 1970 Paul learned of the first meetings of the Gay Liberation Front at the London School of Economics and quickly got involved. Along with David Fernbach, Elizabeth Wilson, Tony Halliday, Bill Halstead and Michael Mason (the Manifesto Group) he contributed to the writing of the Gay Liberation Front Manifesto (London, 1971). His particular interest was the attitude of the psychiatric profession towards homosexuality, and he went on to write Psychiatry and the Homosexual (Gay Liberation Pamphlet No 1, 1973) along with Jeffrey Weeks, David Hutter and Andrew Hodges. He participated in the zap with a 15-foot papier-mâché cucumber at the offices of Pan publishers in protest against their publication of the homophobic “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex – but were afraid to ask” by David Reuben. And of course, he enjoyed the marches, the demonstrations, the “gay days” in the park and the dances that GLF organised for several years. As GLF faded Paul got involved in various off shoots, helping to fund the setting up of Gays the Word bookshop, and devoting much of his spare time to Gay Icebreakers, including helping with their regular tea parties and discos.

Paul was extremely intelligent, had great knowledge of wide-ranging subjects, and was extremely practical. He inherited a love of art and music from his parents – he dabbled in painting, he loved playing piano and violin, and went to many art exhibitions, plays, films and concerts. Throughout his life he responded to any form of injustice by firing off ferocious letters to hold people to account. He was no respecter of authority, and whether it was the editor of a national newspaper, the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Prime Minister, he would let them have it with both barrels. His socialism informed his world view. He was a committed vegetarian, then vegan, for all of his adult life. Latterly he was fervent in his support for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, for a state-owned NHS and for continued membership of the European Union, devoting much time and energy to these campaigns.

Scope and Content

Papers, artefacts, and publications of Paul Bunting (1968-2014), including: papers, ephemera, posters, questionnaires, and correspondence regarding the London Lesbian and Gay Centre, including: visitor information, staff, membership, meetings, social events, finances, Centre groups and services, and Centre committee elections (1982-1992); papers, newsletters, ephemera, posters, and correspondence regarding the Gay Liberation Front in London, other cities in Britain, Philadelphia, and New York, including: events listings, campaigns, local branches, and focus groups (1971-1981); papers, ephemera, journals, newsletters, minutes, and correspondence regarding Gay’s the Word bookshop, including: new stock at the bookshop, finances, job vacancies and resignations, events, Defend Gay’s The Word Campaign, annual general meetings (AGMs), and board meetings (1981-2001); papers, ephemera, cuttings, correspondence, posters and publications, regarding lesbian, bisexual and gay campaigns, organisations and events, including: various London gay, political and queer activist collectives, gay organisations and businesses in New York, Terrence Higgins Trust, cabaret and theatre shows, gay pride events, gay bookshops, and human rights organisations (1968-1996); papers, reports, ephemera, minutes and correspondence regarding workers’ and human rights campaigning, including the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), Civil Liberty, and trade unions for journalists, students and teachers (1976-1990); papers, maps, reports, ephemera, publications and correspondence regarding London boroughs and Greater London council authorities, including: Greater London Council (GLC) and its Gay Working Party, statistics about gay organisations in London, South Thames East Regional Health Authority, STERHA), gay advice services in Greater London, analysis of Section 28 by local government authorities, and public services in Greater London (1982-1995); journals, pamphlets, reports, newspapers, programmes, and extracts from various publications, regarding: sexuality, the welfare state, politics, campaigns by the Gay Liberation Front London, gay pride and Mardi Gras events, social welfare for lesbians and gay men, genitourinary medicine and HIV/AIDS (1971-2009); papers regarding the personal life of Paul Bunting, including his MSc thesis and associated research, and holidays (1970-1990); stickers, postcards, posters and badges, regarding: gay liberation campaigns and human rights, Labour Party Policy Review, famous monuments, feminist campaigning, and pride events (1971-1997); and papers, ephemera, and correspondence regarding miscellaneous subjects, including: The Other Cinema, Gay Men’s Press, National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL), gay rights organisations and campaigners, gay advice and counselling services, Greater London Council (GLC), The Albany Trust, Gay’s the Word, The Albany Trust, and sexual health (1976-2014).

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