People's Pride Archive
Share your memories of Pride and help us to create the People’s Pride Archive
Fifty years of Pride in the UK
2022 is a significant year for LGBTQ+ history in the UK as we celebrate and reflect on 50 years of Pride. Since the first Pride in 1972, the scale and definition of what Pride can be has continued to expand.
Pride means something different to us all – from a call to arms and time to unite in protest, to a celebration and party with friends and allies. The queer experience is wildly diverse, and there are as many ways to celebrate Pride as there are identities within the community.
The People’s Pride Archive
We need your help to create the People’s Pride Archive.
As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UK's first Pride march we are collecting photos and stories of Pride through the decades.
We want to give a home to your photographs and stories relating to Pride, creating a dedicated archive that celebrates the struggles and celebrations of the past 50 years.
Pride is about people, and we want to record the excitement and the adventure, the highs and the lows, the laughter and the tears, the bravery and the defiance. It can be heartfelt, it can be powerful, or it could just be about a certain someone you finally managed to kiss – it’s whatever Pride means to you; however you want to share it.
And we’re not only interested in the big events, such as those in London, Brighton or Manchester. Whether it’s a party in your back garden, balcony or street, a memory from the 80s or 90s or from a recent Trans Pride or UK Black Pride, your story matters.
Please add your stories and photographs to the archive so they can empower, inspire and educate future generations.
At Bishopsgate Institute we are open to all, and every story matters. So, whether it’s a memory from your first Pride, or a photo from a memorable year please share it with us.
The People's Pride Gallery
Image gallery
A gallery slider
Rachel Smith, Pride in London, 2013 - This is a photo of me and my wife at Pride in London, 2013. This was the first time we marched in Pride together as a couple, which was very special. Later that summer we got married, having decided to wait until the Marriage Act was passed (in England and Wales). As you can see, we were quite pleased with ourselves.
James Sizen Bell – London Pride, 2018 - So, it was through Rugby… The Kings Cross Steelers invited my rugby team at the time (The Berkshire Unicorns) to join them in the parade. I got totally leathered and after throwing myself at about 25 of the other Steelers, this shit finally stuck to Tom… whilst queuing on Great Portland Street waiting for the parade to start… it was very romantic. I was a total mess!
Simon Hetherington, Manchester Pride, Drunk at Vogue, 2017 - I have an odd relationship with Pride, having volunteered for Pride in London for 3 years. Thankfully I'd abandoned ship before all the accounts of clear racism, classism, cronyism etc within the organisation surfaced. Pride's raison d'être is to honour, celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community by bringing people together - Pride in London only represented and served a very small, white, privileged fraction of our community. In the first meeting I attended I remember thinking "Why is everyone so posh and white" but I had a really strong commitment to the cause so I pursued my volunteer work nevertheless. In that role I was responsible for promoting the organisation and its events across all types of media, and I still feel guilty about playing a part in something so problematic. What doesn't help is that prior to that I organised a big tech company's presence in the parade, so have contributed to some quite shameful elements of pride from the inside and out. However, I adore pride when it's done properly - authentically representing and serving our LGBTQ+ family and bringing people together. Black pride in 2019, Trans Pride last year, Love Party in Manchester are just a few examples of that, and inevitably they have formed some of my favourite, most glorious pride moments.
Paul Anderton - Regent Street, London 2019 - Paul shares the story of an argument he had with a close friend about the commerciality of modern Pride. He argues that as a boy growing up in Blackpool in the 1990s, where the gay scene was dark and underground, as a 15 year old, he would have marvelled at the corporate recognition of Pride, and he may not have been so afraid. Though he understands the financial nature of Pride branding, he argues that it may still help those who don't have access to a thriving scene.
Rachel Sparks, 2010 - This is me and my friend Jules from Pride 2010 when we marched with the Pink singers LGBT choir. This is one of my first Prides and I loved the atmosphere, I felt almost famous with the cheering crowds. In my time in the choir we visited places like Malta where, at the time, our presence as a queer choir wasn’t welcome. We doubled their numbers at their march and many people in the LGBT community didn’t feel safe to be out. This contrast showed me that Pride is a protest and remains important for communities who still fight for their human rights.
Ez Little, Brighton Trans Pride 2019 - This picture of me and my close friend Meg was taken at Brighton Trans Pride 2019. This was my first Trans Pride event after coming out a few months beforehand. I marched with the Queer AF collective in Brighton, who I had met at an alternative London Pride march that same summer - we bonded over our anger at the corporatisation of London Pride and hatred for rainbow capitalism. I am wearing the same outfit I wore for most of my first year out as trans, as I was still trying to figure out my sense of style (and I still am!). It was the first time I had been surrounded by other trans people for a whole day, and that feeling of coming home to my community has stayed with me.
Wouter Den Haan - 1993. Protest has always been a part of pride. This is from the 1993 "March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation" with 800,000-1million participants. One of the best weekends of my life. Proudly facing the then always present religious bigots with my friend Ray.
Tony Bird - London Pride, 1994. First time in drag. I made the costume myself. I had this photo framed in my flat when my parents visited. On returning from the bathroom my rather naive Mother commented: "You know, there's a picture of a woman in there who looks just like me when I was younger." Gordon Rainsford took the photo - it was liberated from Capital Gay after they published it.
Cliff Docherty - Pride 2012. This is a pic of me and my best friend, the artist Alexandre Santacruz at Pride in 2012, wearing a couple of his t-shirt designs. I love this pic because it’s part of a series where we're just totally losing our reason, to the point of actually crying with laughter. Behind the really serious message of Pride, which is never far from our minds, it’s also the one day when you can laugh without fear, be yourself, be daring and for a somewhat timid soul like me, go a little further than you normally would. And perhaps that makes you braver in other areas of your life. And what were we laughing at? It’s so stoopid. Another friend took my camera and said OK, one of you turn your back and one face the camera so we can see both sides of the shirt, now smile. So, I'm facing away, and I muttered I don't know why I'm smiling. And that was it. We didn't just lose the plot, we lost the whole mini-series. And I love this pic. It's Pride, its friendship, its self-expression, it's art.
Kerry Deakin – London Pride, 2014. This photo is of myself at London Pride on Shaftsbury Avenue 2014, taken by a friend after the shop we were in gave us the shop window flag.
Paula Griffin, Trans Pride, June 26 2021 - The first Trans Pride after the pandemic & my "debut" after announcing to the world in February that year via the magic of Twitter. Earlier that month I'd joined Goal Diggers, a football club for all women and non binary people, & to have my new teammates marching alongside me in solidarity was one of the most incredible feelings of my life. The attendance was totally overwhelming as was the support along the route with the applause & shouts of encouragement drowning out any snide comments. A day that will remain with me for a long time to come.
Will Roberts, Mancheter Pride, 1999 - This photo is actually from Manchester Pride 2001, as I have no pics from 1999 – my first Pride. Seeing as I went by myself and had no gay friends, it’s amazing the difference a couple of years can make. My first Pride I was 17 and just itching to explode out of the closet, so I secretly got the train to Manchester. I didn’t know anyone, so I kind of just bumbled around the Saturday daytime crowds, but the sense of belonging I had was overwhelming. I ended up by a small stage, and on it was Mark, a boy who had been a few years older than me at school. Earlier that year he’d been crowned Mr Gay UK. We interacted briefly, and I think he was surprised to see me there. As the day wore on, I had to pull myself away and get the train home. At the station I bought a copy of the Gay Times that Mark was on the cover of – this will come back later. The train back to Blackpool was filled with queer people. It was a sunny day, and in my memory the carriage was filled with golden light and laughter, with Pride attendees marked by their purple wristbands. At one point a group of scallies started giving abuse to a gay couple in matching sailor outfits. A drag queen at the far end caught wind of the attack and stomped down the carriage. They pointed at the scallies and bellowed, ‘There’s more of us than there is of you in this carriage, so fuck off!’. And with that, the scallies sheepishly got up and left the carriage, whilst the rest of us cheered. I couldn’t stop smiling all the way home. Oh, and the Gay Times? My mum found it in my room a few months later, which facilitated one of the easiest and most loving coming outs imaginable. All thanks to Pride…in a roundabout sort of way.
Robert Howes, 1978 - In the winter of 1977-78 I went on my first LGBTQ+ demonstration in central London to protest against Mary Whitehouse's prosecution of Gay Times for blasphemy. It was a Big Event and left me feeling inspired and exhilarated, so I decided to go on the next Gay Pride march in the summer of 1978. For reasons which must have seemed valid at the time, the organisers decided to hold it in West London, so we ended up marching round the back streets of Earl's Court, to the bemusement of the occasional passer-by and the irritation of drivers coming off the M4 (see photo). Since then, I have been on many Pride marches/parades in city centres from London to Bristol and São Paulo (the largest in the world, 1.5 million in 2004) but I still remember with fondness "my first time" on the streets of Earl's Court - marching, that is.
Karen Isaac, Canterbury Pride, 2022 - This is a photo of me, taken at Pride Canterbury 2022. I go every year as I support all Gay people, as many members of my family are Gay or Bi. I am 64 and feel privileged to be able to go and feel such a part of it all. The atmosphere is amazing.
Richard Jefferys, London Pride, 1986 - The main person in the photo is me, assisted by copious amounts of Elnett hairspray, wearing a Foetus of Excellence T-shirt long since lost. I believe this is in Kennington Park, where the 1986 Pride March in London ended.
Kevin Moore - 1989 in Kennington Park, coming off stage Sarah Jane Morris, Kevin Moore, Jimmy Somerville.
Trevor Sherman - During the 80s I was a young gay man living in Paddington London. I knew that visibility was important, but the rainbow flag wasn't used very much in the UK. I would paint a huge pink triangle on a white bedsheet with the words "Gay Pride" and the year above it, I would then hang this from my balcony for everyone to see. (I wish I had a photo but alas I do not).
At our first London Pride in 1991. Coming up from Bath it was an adventure and we were excited to be among thousands of like minded people who not only wanted to party but show the world what it was like to be queer.
This was the very first Gay rights demo in Derry City in May 1982. Gay people had been banned from yet another pub and we chose not to accept it this time. We organised this demo at short notice. It wasn't large but it had effect. We also got two of the the local political parties Sinn Féin and SDLP to issue support statements in the local newspaper.
Lawrence Toms - Me, my extraordinary and beautiful stepdaughter and my extraordinary and beautiful wife at Trans Day of Remembrance, Brighton 2019
Laks Mann - An iconic moment for me as the Founder of Gaysians UK, which I launched at Pride in London 2017. The excitement and energy was electric as I led the marching group to rapturous crowd applause. To date, still the largest gathering of South Asian queers at a UK Pride event. That year was poignant as it represented the 50th anniversary of partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK. It also represented the 70th anniversary of the Partition of India, which led to the draconian S377 that criminalised homosexuality being inherited into the country's penal code.* So, marching in Pride was a significant moment to recognise the freedoms we now enjoyed in the UK, yet also to protest at how we'd be criminalised in our motherlands by the very same homophobic laws exported by our country of birth. So, this juxtaposition of anniversaries was key to galvanising British Brown queers to be visible, to represent, and to show up and march in numbers. Gaysians UK was a game-changer - it turned heads, captured the zeitgeist and created a resurgent Brown queer movement that is increasingly making waves. *Note: S377 was introduced in 1861 when India was under British rule. On 6th September 2018, this 19th century law was finally struck down in a unanimous and landmark judgement by the Supreme Court in Delhi.
Ashley Vaughan - Anti-section 28 protest, London, 1988. I (Ashley) am on the left and my childhood friend Robin is on the right (we are still great friends now). I'd traveled down from Bath and Robin from Leeds. Robin was already out but I had been slower to exit the closet. We were both at the march and were sitting atop the shoulders of friends. Neither of us knew the other was there. Robin saw me and screamed 'smash', still a nickname to this day. So then I didn't really have to come out to Robin. I remember we saw Marc Almond at the march and were very excited.
Anna Reid, 2016 - From 2016, the year Royal Trinity Hospice first took part in Pride in London, marching with thousands of other people. We are one of the founding members of the London Hospices LGBT network and have taken part every year since.
Lucy Betts - 2022; the first pride post Covid, and our first real Pride ever. The past few years have been hard for both of us; meeting this woman has been the silver lining of my life. It made everything worth it. I'm suddenly thankful for all the self hate, all the guilt and shit I went through. It gave me perspective, and it gave me the mental freedom to let myself be happy. The atmosphere here was electric.
John Young - Circa 1974. Edinburgh Gay Liberation Front on part of a march against fascism
Peter Gwynne - Gay Pride 1979. Shrewsbury CHE organised a coach trip to London Pride. We were waiting for the coach to take us back to Shrewsbury, emboldened by the experiences of the day.
Mark Nutley - This is London Pride 1989 travelled from Preston in Lancashire with friends from work. Such an amazing happy day. Having not long come out It was so exciting to be around so many gay people. I’ll never forget that feeling of freedom.
Roger Taylor-Brown - London Pride March 1994, myself Roger Taylor-Brown, my partner Dassos Stassoull and my brother Graham, who is also gay. I still have that US army uniform which was purchased in New York to wear at Pride. It was my third Pride march having come out at 38 in 1991.
Kara Alberts - Pride 2022!
Robert Loton - Broadgate Arcade, Liverpool Street Station, 2022, Avenue of Flags, 50 years of Pride.
Trevor Skingle - 43 years ago, I had to leave the Army before they found out I was Gay. Since then, I've been involved in lobbying for LGBTQ+ rights in the Armed Services and in 2000 the ban was lifted. Too late for many of us who were either forced out or discovered, abused and sent to military prison and dismissed with an adverse service conduct record. The 50th Anniversary Pride was the first time the LGBTQ+ military family came to together to include those veterans affected by the pre 2000 ban. It was a double-edged sword. Feeling the pain of what we had been through and being heart-warmingly welcomed by the rest of our serving military family. This is a photo of the Guards Band's Bearskins put to one side at the pre–Pride Parade reception at the Guards Barracks near St. James Park.
Protest Stencil - Bus stop poster for a campaign by Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants and others saying that there should not be Police participation at Pride. Poster is in the style of the official 2022 #AllOurPride branding, but with additional text '#NoPrideInCops'. Similar posters were placed around Central London, protesting the inclusion in Pride of institutions complicit in the UK’s ‘hostile environment’ for migrants (including LGBTQ+ migrants). More photos/original poster available on request.
Chris Doyle - This was a photograph from 2019, from the first pride that my boyfriend (on the right) attended, aged 29. It just so happens that I am his very first boyfriend too. We marched and celebrated in his hometown of Liverpool and I remember feeling so so proud that he was my boyfriend that day; it was like he'd fully embraced who he was, as the pride flag cape shows! I just had to kiss him. We didn't know anyone had their phone pointed towards us and it wasn't until a couple of days later that we saw this photo of ourselves which was taken by our friend whilst we kissed. So, looking at this picture is a great way for me to enhance the feelings of pride and love I feel for him.
David Potter - Pride 1990, London. The Salford University Lesbian & Gay Group (as it was then), drove a minibus down to join the march. this was the first outing of our "It's Cool To Be Queer" banner, which had prompted much discussion beforehand about reclaiming the word Queer. In the photo are me (on the left of the photo) Co-Chair of the Group 1989-91, and on the right Dermot Kehoe Chair of the Group 1988-89
Diya Zhou - Myself. This picture was took by my girlfriend, and this is our first time to attend London Pride together. We have been know each other since high school in China. This red outfit was bought from a vintage shop's Pride collection last year.
Qiuyan Chen - Qiuyan held a placard at the 50th anniversary of Radical Gay Pride, 1st July 2022. "Queer, don't stop speaking up!". While censorship, discrimination and violence still exist, she encourages the community to stay angry and keep fighting.
A lesbian couple hold hands at Pride in London March on 2nd July 2022. The sign reads “明着骄傲openly proud“, a quote from a sentence “明着骄傲偷着乐“suddenly widely circulated within the Chinese community.
Paul Hicks 2018. - I campaigned for Witney Town Council to fly rainbow pride flags in support of local pride events and the LGBTQ+ community. The Council agreed to fly the flag, but they made no provision for one, so I donated a flag to them. In 2018, the rainbow pride flag was flown from Witney Town Hall for the first time in the Town’s history. The rainbow pride flag is now embedded within the Council’s flag flying calendar.
Bishopsgate Institute is possibly the largest (definitely the most accessible) LGBTQ+ Archive in the UK, holding archives from Stonewall, Switchboard, GMFA/The Gay Men's Health Charity, ACT UP London, Outrage!, Campaign for Homosexual Equality and material relating to the Terrence Higgins Trust, Boyz and QX magazines. We also hold records of individuals including Paris Lees, Robert Workman, Hazell Dean, Gordon Rainsford, Peter Tatchell, and many others…but we are also passionate about how important all of our histories are and welcome donations from anyone who wants to document their own LGBTQ+ history.
To be a part of the People's Pride Archive, all you need to do is select the tab below which will take you to a form. Provide your story, upload a picture, fill out your details and preferences, and you're good to go!
Image: Gordon Rainsford, 1994
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