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Good evening. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Um, firstly, a big thank you to for allowing us to use this venue for tonight's event. Um, some of you I know. For those of you who don't my name is Stu. I'm one of the commanding officers up at the which is the Air Force Base just up the road at the man. Thank you. I'm also a member of the over LGBTI Q [00:00:30] support group that we've had in the defence force for a number of years. Right now, today, the New Zealand Defence Force is arguably one of the most progressive militaries in the world. We're a world leader in LGBT inclusion. We rainbow tick accredited and we've got a number of awards for the support that we provide all of our diverse people that we have serving for us. If you are a member of the LGBT community, you can serve in any branch of the army, the Navy, the Air Force, or our civilian staff, and do so openly and with pride. [00:01:00] But it hasn't always been this way and up in the years preceding the 1993 Human Rights Act which essentially repealed the ban on on open gay service in the military and certainly in the years leading up to the Homosexual Law Reform Act. Being LGBTI Q in the New Zealand defence force was not easy. We know that the policies and the culture of the time destroyed careers, and in some very sad cases it destroyed lives. And we [00:01:30] know of the story of people like squad leader Peter Rule, who very sadly committed suicide after he was outed and then ousted from the military and couldn't reconcile the loss of his career and everything with what had happened to him. So because of that culture and because of the the the climate of the time, stories about our queer military history in New Zealand are extremely rare. Which is why this book, I believe, aside from being just a beautifully written story and account [00:02:00] of some some gay soldiers during the Second World War, is actually I believe, a groundbreaking historical document that I think should be in every every library in the country. So I'm not going to say any more about the book because that's, uh, Brent's Brent's domain. So without any further ado, I will pass over to Brent, and you have control. Uh, thank you, Stu. Um, for for your introduction. Um, So, uh, [00:02:30] I've written a book crossing the lines, uh, which is published by Otago University Press this year. And, um, really pleased that, um they have, um, had the bravery to put themselves behind my writing. And this book. Um, historians are always interested in historical relationships between past and present. Um, there's always a danger in LGBT Q history of being seduced by this kind of tele teleological [00:03:00] progression. Uh, as things have gotten better in the trend for inclusion, uh, with the extension of civil rights and we need to remember that it was never inevitable that the present is as it is today, uh, where we are, where we are now is contingent. It's dependent on a number of factors happening. However, as, uh said, um, we do have an enviable situation, and I want to acknowledge that [00:03:30] at the beginning of my talk tonight, since 1993 openly serving LGBT have been included in our military supported by Overwatch, uh, which is the organisation within our defence force who have organised tonight. And, um, by 2014 New Zealand was being recognised as having the most inclusive military force in the world. And I think that's something that needs to be acknowledged and something that we should be proud of, as as citizens of New Zealand. [00:04:00] Um, so I just wanted to start with with acknowledging, um What we've what What's happened? Um, and of course, since, um, what I haven't got there is yes, uh, in 2019, they also received a rainbow tick recognising inclusion within the military forces. So researching and writing crossing the lines was, 00, and I must say, um um, it was a it was a 10 year endeavour. And, um, I must pay respect to those in Wellington who encourage me and particularly [00:04:30] the Minister. Ministry of Defence historian John Crawford staff at LA the Lesbian and Gay Archive New Zealand, which is within the Alexander Turnbull, the Alexander Turnbull, I guess in in General Archives New Zealand and the Defence Force Archive at Trentham Military Camp. And much thanks to, uh, from Overwatch for providing me with this photo which appears in the book Uh, the wedding photo, the first same sex wedding on a military base in New Zealand, uh, which I want to acknowledge. Um, and also thanks for the [00:05:00] royal Society, but who are also based in Wellington. Um, they gave me a fellowship that allowed me to have a whole year to read and to think. And that was in 2009. And that was the time that I initiated the research into this This, uh, project, Um, I hope that this book crossing the lines, um, has we will add New Zealand to the histories of harm homosexuals [00:05:30] in, uh, World War two military history. Uh, we have a a series of books that, um, that exist, uh, een, uh, wrote in 1991 about the situation for gay and lesbians in World War Two. Paul Jackson has produced, uh, one of the boys in 2004. Uh, Emma Vickers, a more academic book about, um, British British soldiers. Um, smell, uh, his book [00:06:00] is about, um uh, Australian soldiers, particularly from Brisbane and Queensland and their, um uh, their their their time in Papua New Guinea. So I'm hoping that, uh, what I've, um, produced adds to that literature. Um, and in a way, my findings do confirm a number of findings that they they also agree with, um that war was a formative, um, time and experience and a turning point [00:06:30] in 20th century gay and lesbian history that homosexual soldiers were able to carve out queer spaces and create a queer subculture despite the rigours and the rigidity of the military. Uh, while the past is often described as a place of unremitting homophobia to quote, uh, be, um I suggest that many men were able to find, uh, ways to manoeuvre around this and live their lives [00:07:00] fully to live, to live full lives as homosexual men. So in doing so, I sought to provide evidence within our nation's history for gay men, particularly gay men within the armed forces today of what one might term, um, a common DNA for them. So the history I have written, um, ended up with a focus on three men Ralph Dyer, Douglas Morrison and Harold [00:07:30] Robinson. So they turned themselves homosexual men. And I use that I use that word. Although it's a little bit, um, outdated now and and the the temptation is to use the word queer, I guess, um, in in modern literature. But when I interviewed um, Harold and Douglas, it was definitely they, um they were homosexual men, and in fact, Harold was very insistent. I am not gay, I'm homosexual, and he saw a really distinct difference in those terms. And so words matter, [00:08:00] and I decided to honour them by using the words they use to to self describe. So they provide the central story for this history. They were drafted into the war. They all performed in concert parties, uh, providing entertainment for the troops. And the book's narrative spans from their childhood in the early 19 twenties to about 1959. Uh, in the last chapter, though I do discuss the historical significance of this history and make reference to those historical [00:08:30] relationships between past and present connecting, uh, to the post war gay liberation movement in the 19 seventies, who, where there was direct action protests at ANZAC Day ceremonies, and to the New Zealand Defence Force of today regarding the significant changes that have taken place within the armed forces. So the decision to start, um before and continue after the war, I think, was really important. So rather than showing the war years [00:09:00] in isolation, which is what many historians do. I wanted to integrate them into a narrative of the whole of their lives. So hearing about their formative lives, their youth, their family life, their their training and drama and dance sort of lays the foundation for their experiences as homosexual men and performers as entertainers in the New Zealand military. All three are, um, already acknowledged and were comfortable with their homosexual identity [00:09:30] before the war. And they were very active in pre-war queer communities. Um, there were three young, uh, queer men integrated into the communities in which they lived, um, integrated into the pre-war queer communities in Dunedin and Auckland. Um, I particularly loved uncovering, um, the life of Harold Robinson in Dunedin. Um, he was a rather precocious boy, I think, um, elocution [00:10:00] lessons singing the competition Society, Ballet lessons theatre. Um, it was theatre in particular that opened up connections with other young homosexual men. He's a He's a working class boy from South Dunedin, and he access culture in a really big way. Um, his prewar boyfriend is Roller Watson. Here they are at Warrington, just north of Dunedin. Um, and I must say those bathing tos are homemade [00:10:30] by Harold. Very proud of them. And I think, um, they would have been very special at that point. Not sure how many other men in Otago, uh, before World War two were wearing, um, a swimming costume like that? Um, so Howard Robinson ends up in the 36th Battalion, which is eighth brigade in the Pacific. Uh, first serving in Fiji, uh, then in Norfolk Island, which the, um 36 battalion, [00:11:00] um, garrisoned New Caledonia and then Guadalcanal and the Treasuries in the Solomon Islands. Um, it's the 36th Battalion who made the first opposed landing of New Zealand troops since Gallipoli at in the on Mono Island in the Solomons. And Harold and his boyfriend provide a queer presence That, um, is a is is really an important event in our nation's military history. So I think World [00:11:30] War two is a time of total war. It meant, um, conscription was introduced in New Zealand on the 22nd of July 1940. And with that, a really diverse cross section of individuals is drawn into the army for the sake of this of this greater cause. They had to work together, um, and swept up in the war along with other men their age. There's no hint that these men wanted to avoid service. They they wanted to serve. They wanted to do [00:12:00] their part. I think most homosexual men in the New Zealand military forces. At this time, as I, as I've seen from my research escape any victimisation, this con con conscripted army, the conscripted citizens army had to an extent to be inclusive. So in this respect, uh, homosexual men found that there was a place for them within the military forces. Harold found himself in two roles in the war in the Pacific. He was the [00:12:30] Batman to Major John Marshall, who later becomes our future prime minister, John Marshall. Well, I'm not sure, but, um, a Batman is like a personal servant to an officer. Shaves him, gets him dressed, organises his quarters, brings him drinks and food, takes messages to others. Um, and it It is an intriguing relationship. The conservative Marshall And he was a very conservative prime minister. If you If you know your political history with [00:13:00] this very flamboyant camp Batman at the same time, there's a second role for Robinson. And, um, the Batman role gives him time to do this. Uh, he's a female impersonator in the two concert party, which is the 36 Battalions entertainment troupe. Harrell detained what British historian Emma Vickers calls a good fellow status within the unit. So this this [00:13:30] not only, um, signified acceptance, um, value and a sense of belonging, But it also led to the unit protecting the homosexual soldier. So Harold had a very outgoing personality that led to his acceptance as one of the lands. Uh, Robinson would entertain his, uh, his brigade. Uh, his humour and quick wit, uh, would bring a bring a laugh on stage and off stage in his [00:14:00] physical appearance. He's He's fit healthy, strong, muscular body. He's got an enthusiasm to fit in. Uh, he works hard to become a good shot when handling a gun. Uh, and that led to his unit, Um, respecting him. In fact, it became the fifth best shot, Uh, using a Tommy gun. That's a Thomson machine gun, uh, in his unit. So for Harold, mateship was seen as a really important value. Uh, and Harold Robinson was a loyal mate for [00:14:30] everyone in his unit. Some homosexual soldiers could have been shunned by their peers ostracised and found the experience during this period of total war. A very negative one. But others, like Harold, would have worked very hard to fit in and become accepted by their unit. Um, Robinson could get a really cutting retort back to anyone who challenged him on his sexuality. He was not someone to mess with. Um, so the a key theme in the book, [00:15:00] uh, that that I illustrate is the ability of men to integrate into communities of servicemen of homosexual men to integrate into these communities of servicemen despite official hostility towards same sex love and desire. Um, he was never a good looking woman, though, Um, this image, which is in an album of photos that Ralph Dyer left, [00:15:30] uh, to the Alexander Turnbull Library. Um, shows Harold at the concert party. Um, Harold is dressed as a woman is on the left. Um, Harold was always very proud of his legs from all that ballet dancing, and there they are on display. Um, the Batman role gave him enough time to design his own dresses and prepare for the two concerts on the left. He's dressed as May West during the Battalion's time on Norfolk Island. That's from Norfolk [00:16:00] Island. And on the right, he's dressed as Carmen Miranda while in New Caledonia. In the unit. There just happened to be, uh, a soldier who had worked making wax models at the, um Auckland Museum. And so I was able to fashion some wax fruit for his head. Um, Harold's camp name given to him by other gay soldiers was Helena after Helena Rubinstein, who they all considered to be the ugliest woman in the world at the time. Um, she may have been the richest [00:16:30] woman in the world, but she was she she is pretty ugly. Um, so it's a joke that Harold never presented himself as a as a beautiful woman. He had a had a rather large nose and just doesn't really pull it off. Um, the costumes are made out of, um, just scraps of material. Some some of them are parachute material. Some of them are. Are are foil from from, um, planes, um, whatever they could get their hands on. Although they did get later on costumes sent up from New Zealand as people heard [00:17:00] what they were doing and and people would send up the dress for them. Um, here he is at the Coral Digger shows they were performed on the Treasury islands. That's Sterling and Mono Island in the Solomon Islands. Um, I love the fact that the stage is is is in the jungle with this giant rock beside it and a tree growing in the middle of the of the area they're performing in, um, during the during the war. Harold's lover at the time [00:17:30] was Bob Murphy, another soldier in his battalion. Um, here they are pictured together in military uniform, and it's probably the only picture we have of a same sex couple in World War two in uniform. Um, Bob was a beer drinking, rugby playing soldier from Oui, His nickname was, uh, from yes. So homosexual men found ways to manoeuvre their private lives during the wartime military service and pursue [00:18:00] their sexual interests being away from home and the scrutiny of family and community, um, opened up a space. It gave them freedom that they might never have had back in their community. And, um, I think that's certainly the case for, um, Bob Murphy. The context of homo social, uh, within the military forces is a key theme throughout the book. So the homos social nature of relationships within the military, uh, [00:18:30] during war time meant that the bonds between men were often very, very close, so that intense intimacy led to profound friendships. So mateship bonds between men on an interpersonal and platonic level. But these bonds could also provide a cover for sexual intimacy between men. Um, some men. For some men, this homos social environment lead them to experiences that you might define as [00:19:00] situational homosexuality. Uh, the experience for that particular moment at that particular place. Um for others, though, it would have confirmed the nature of their desire. David Wy was a young 21 year old homosexual soldier from Christchurch. He's left us a a very large collection of diaries, letters and photographs that are in the Hocken library in Dunedin. He's got about 58 folders of material. Here's a hoarder of everything [00:19:30] he copies of every letter he sent and every letter he received. Um, and his diaries. Um, his 1943 diary chronicles his sexual relationship in New Caledonia with Charles Darky Boyd who's a soldier from Dunedin. Um, and it's interesting that Willie describes Boyd. Uh, the only picture we have of Boyd is this rather blurry picture here. Um, he describes him as straight. He acknowledges that So, um, I think Boyd is a is a very good example of situational [00:20:00] homosexuality. Boyd marries within a year of returning back to to New Zealand. So what is clear is that homosexual men were reasonably successful in creating these kind of satisfying sexual relationships and close affection or bonds. And I and I see that again and again. Here's the controversial one. Uh, it was Brigadier Dove who David W went to when he wanted to be posted to the forward [00:20:30] area, uh, to be reunited with darky boy um Boyd sent up to the Solomon Islands to fight the Japanese. And David W finds it very difficult to be separated from his first love. Brigadier Dove was second in command of the Pacific campaign after Brigadier Bar. He's the second most senior figure in the Pacific campaign. Um, he's a figure, though that's well known in pre-war queer and [00:21:00] post war queer circles in Auckland. Um, so he he's living a double life. Um, maybe he's a homosexual man who has been, who's felt that he has to have a wife. And, uh, he has a wife and two daughters, a house in in on Victoria Avenue. Perhaps it's a marriage of convention, but he's well known by the soldiers and homosexual soldiers. Had a really complicated relationship with Dove. He's a potential ally. [00:21:30] Um, he helps out soldiers who get gay soldiers who get in trouble with the American authorities. Um, yet the power and authority he wielded, uh, was was wearily regarded, especially when he used his position to gain sexual favours. Um, Robinson, Uh, who, while still in uniform, he robust do sexual advances. He he considered do a creep. Right. Uh, when you interviewing him when he's in his nineties, it's like, Oh, that [00:22:00] creep, Um, that was in a really difficult position. I think, um, the mateship and camaraderie among homosexual men required a certain amount of levelling that clashed with Dove's position of authority and reconciling the two, would have been really quite difficult. Um, it would also make him a figure of fun. In the butt of many jokes. Morrison first met Dove uh, when he was still a colonel [00:22:30] in January 1943. And it's one of the very few times he used shorthand in his diary and, um, as a sort of secret code, I guess. I guess he assumed not many people could read shorthand, and he secretly records his impression. He says, meeting the colonel who is not as pleasant as I expected. In fact, a monster. Uh, three days later, he remarks in his diary our old friend Colonel Dove but sarcastic there. He's only met him. Three days before our old friend Colonel [00:23:00] Dove visited the camp Ron, making facetious remarks on his presence. Um, world. He wrote down a joke in his diary made by an Auckland gay man who knew Dove before the war. A man called John Waldy, uh, in in in his diary in 1943 he writes, um, Bill Dove. Your name is in the book, but I've got the book, and I think that indicates the men's understanding that they, too, had something to hold over. Dove, Um, [00:23:30] W is a a very hospital orderly. He's in no way important. Um, but he's successful in getting this transfer from dove to the front line to be reunited with darky Boyd, which is extraordinary in itself. Um, Dove appears in many gay men's queer phone address books in the archives in the post war years, Um, he kept up contact with many of the soldiers he met. He [00:24:00] later corresponds with and invites Willie to his holiday home in Lake Tal for a men's weekend. Uh, an invitation that Willie accepted. And Dove pays for the trip for um uh, for Willie and a friend, another gay friend of his, uh, from Christchurch to come on up for that weekend, Um, which is an intriguing relationship. I'll let you to make your own conclusions, Um, during the war. So Ralph Dyer, Douglas Morrison [00:24:30] are both from Auckland were in the Pacific Kiwi concert party. They were touring New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. They were did shows in Guadalcanal, Bela, the Treasuries. And then they actually got all the way up to Nissan Island in the Green Islands, which is north of Bougainville and in part of Papua New Guinea. Today they were the Pacific Kiwi concert parties, female impersonators. This is Douglas in uniform, um, as AAA very [00:25:00] sis Male figure. Um, so I So I looked at their, um, their time growing up. Um, this is, um, Douglas. He attended Mount Albert grammar. He's, um, Louis the 16th. This, um there's another boy called Ray New Dick, which I must say is the most unfortunate surname seated beside him as Marie Antoinette. Um, in the right hand image. Um, Douglas is in the trench coat lining up for school, cert [00:25:30] at some year 11 exam for the younger members of the audience. Um, Douglas plays the very plain Jane female parts. Um, he's the girl next door. He's the mother figure in the skits. His camp name was Bula Bula BBC, Um, BBC because he had a rather posh voice right to the to his last days. Um, in fact, he briefly worked at one ZB radio in Auckland before being drafted. [00:26:00] Um, and I was very lucky because Harold was still in contact with Douglas. Douglas left New Zealand in 1944 as part of the reinforcements going to Cairo, Egypt, and he never returned. He really felt that he couldn't come back to New Zealand after the war and live as an openly gay man. Um and so I was able to take a flight to London to interview him, and that was a real privilege. Then I later found, uh, a diary kept by Douglas during [00:26:30] the war. Um, kept by him in New Caledonia in 1942 and 43 is held at the Kipen Burger Research Library at Army Museum. So there is a queer presence in the archives there, and they also hold many, many hundreds of letters sent by Douglas to two aunts that he liked, who have given all the kept all the letters and have given them to the Army Museum archives. I later contacted his sister in New Zealand who, um, was very little when he left and and really [00:27:00] had not much memory of him and actually assumed he had he had died already. She still had a metal trunk, Uh, and we opened it up and inside were lots of programmes and ephemera from the concert parties. It was basically all his positions that he had left in New Zealand in 1944. Um, so I you know, as an historian, you just kind of realise I've had gold. This is the treasure chest. Um, Ralph Dyer, um, is, um, was known to [00:27:30] gay men, actually, in the army as Crystal or Chrissy. Um, he played this kind of sexy Rita Hayworth type of the of glamorous woman, uh, for for the Pacific Kiwi Concert party and in the Alexander Turnbull Library. We've got this very large album of wartime photographs. He's probably the best known of the three men. He because he joined the Middle East Kiwi concert party in the very last few months where they were in Italy at the time, Uh and then [00:28:00] coming back, um, to New Zealand. Um, And in the post war period, he toured with the post war Kiwi Review. And it's the Kiwi Review concert party that a lot of people remember, uh, which toured Australia and New Zealand in the 19 fifties. So there's a lot written about him in publicity material, but he's was, ironically, very elusive to be able to research. Um, but here he is, uh, lacklustre sewing. [00:28:30] Um, I guess the materials and the and the humidity of the Pacific didn't last that long. So the book is part biography, but it's also partly a detailed history of life in the wartime concert parties. Um, and in particular, it's the first publication to talk about the Pacific Kiwi concert party and the concert party and and really the first book to discuss a clearer perspective on those concert parties. Um, one of my key historical narratives in the [00:29:00] book is that even as they performed heterosexuality in the concert party shows their homosexuality was there for those who were in the know, uh, or those who were in on the joke. Um, so here's, uh, Douglas and and Ralph, um, in, um, their their military clothes. Um, the makeshift stage. I love this picture because of the, um the barrels underneath the stage [00:29:30] holding it up. Yes. Uh, they often perform performed for American soldiers. So all dressed up in red, white and blue is is the patriot patriotic colours for, um, for performing in front of US soldiers? Um, and and they did a lot of comedy skits. Um, and, uh, here, we've got Ralph as Adolf Hitler. Um uh, in a in a really interesting skit, a skit. They called, um, Nazi land as a New Zealand [00:30:00] of the Nazis. Um, during the war, um, the three men become really close friends. Um, they keep meeting up. Even though Harold is the is is in the 36th Battalion. They they intersect, um, constantly. And so there's a wartime mateship between all three men. They also became friends with many other New Zealand homosexual men as well as American soldiers. Um, and here in the picture, on the left, uh, you can see, [00:30:30] um, a gay American soldier with the dog tags on. Um, I must say he has the best fingernails you've ever seen anyone go to war with. Um I don't know how he has has his manicure, so well, um, so homosexual men found each other during the war. Um, sometimes I think the groups were facilitated through the pre-war links that they had. Um, but another way, of course, I argue, is that they formed around the female impersonators in the concert party because the so the entertainment units kind [00:31:00] of offer a focal point for meeting other homosexual men. Um, and that included those American queer soldiers. So Douglas records soldiers passing notes to him through the window of the vehicle, asking to meet up the next day. So American soldiers sort of pass these notes, and, um, and of course, they they do meet up, um, an American soldier named Hal Schaffer, um, came up to the camp, uh, when they were in in 1943 sees the show, stays behind, goes backstage, [00:31:30] introduces himself to Morrison. Um, Morrison wrote in his diary that he found Schafer a very nice boy and exceedingly interesting on that day. And the next day, uh, after an afternoon show at the Red Red Cross, um, hut at Camp Barnes, Um, Morrison meets Schafer again, and they head into They go to La Grande Theatre and saw a film. They go to a coffee house, and Morrison writes in his diary, we romanced until it was time for me to return to Camp. Morrison [00:32:00] is obviously smitten. And, in fact, at the very end of the diary that day, he writes, the spell is broken. The day means little else to me. Um, and he spends the week, uh um meeting up constantly with Hal Schafer before they then, of course, are moved away. Uh, on tour, um, back up to the front line when, um, New Zealand soldiers are withdrawn from the Pacific. All three men, uh, come back to New Zealand. They do [00:32:30] a series of wartime shows in Auckland, Uh, at the town hall. Um, but they even come down to Wellington here, and they help with the Victory loan fundraising campaign. It was all about raising money for the war effort, and they performed at Victory Corner in Wellington. Um, they sold kisses to men for 10 bobs at the time. I don't know how that works. Um, that's victory corner there. And here they are on stage. That's the, [00:33:00] uh, um, junction of Featherston and Hunter Street at Lampton qua. Later, all three men are sent to Egypt, uh, as part of the reinforcements, and they find themselves placed in the pay corpse. Um, Ralph has posted up to the Middle East concert party in Italy. Douglas remains in the pay court, but actually gets himself posted to Italy and gets to be discharged in, uh, in London. Um, Harold and, [00:33:30] um uh, Ralph do return to New Zealand. Uh, but very quickly, they both decide they they want to leave after the war. Um, Harold first, Then Ralph joined Douglas in London. Douglas is is doing repertory in London. Um, Harold gets one of the very first, um, return serviceman's bursaries. And with that Bursary, he travels to London to study at the Sad Wells Ballet School. Um, Ralph follows to [00:34:00] do a theatre design course, and they they flat together in in London. So there's there's a, um, continuing story of their friendship in the post year wars. Um, throughout the book, I've tried to widen the historical lens, uh, to take in the stories of other homosexual New Zealand soldiers. Um, and I think that's a really important decision. Uh, as it allows us to see, uh, Robinson [00:34:30] Morrison and dire in a larger social and cultural context, um, to be able to compare and contrast their lives and experiences with other men. Um, in the end of the at the end of the book, uh, writing process. Uh, the book actually contains 50 named homosexual New Zealand men who are in military service in the war. So it it is the search for the needle in the haystack. But, um, we found quite a few needles there. I think, um, there's 36 named and profiled in a little bit of detail [00:35:00] at the back, Um, 10 from the judge advocate General's court Martial records remain unnamed, as the provision for use of those records is that, um, they remain anonymous. Um, the judge advocate General's files are held in Wellington at archive New Zealand. Um, and what's surprising is that, firstly, the the records are very fragmentary. Um, the military did not systematically bring all their records back here. [00:35:30] Um, but in the in the records that we have, there's very few cases, um, homosexual indecency charges where there's 14 charges, uh, in the surviving files that involve only 10 New Zealand men. Um, five men charged, uh, in New Zealand, one in Lebanon, two on the HMNZS Leander, which was in the Mediterranean, and two at Mardi camp in Egypt. Um, [00:36:00] four of these were from the Navy, three from the Army and three were from the Air Force. And one would expect for a start more cases from the army, uh, due to its size compared to the other forces. So there's a few questions that poses about you know what does what does this mean? Um, is have we got a very tolerant military force that doesn't prosecute anybody? Um I think, um when I was thinking through this, uh, the men may simply have been dealt with informally by their commanders who issued summary [00:36:30] punishments. Um, you know, so they admit their offence and they accept, um, detention, confinement to barracks, Uh, maybe extra guard duties or fines without really any formal proceedings. Um, and I think that's a That was probably often a very pragmatic approach because it allows the officer in charge to limit the effect, uh, first on the individual, but also limit the effect on the unit. Um, [00:37:00] the lack of records may also indicate that many officers were prepared to overlook same sex behaviour. I think there may have been a degree of unofficial tolerance, uh, among officers who were dealing with incidents, um, and and and and and and dealing with them in an informal way, uh, to avoid the removal of that man from the war effort. And it is, uh, a huge loss to bring someone that's been trained, uh, in particular skills to bring them all [00:37:30] the way back to New Zealand. Um, a court martial sentence was read out to the accused man's unit. Um, and that threat and its corresponding humiliation might have acted as a deterrent for men, um, and and meant that they were, um, more discreet, um, in their behaviour. Um, I think that often, though, what the court martial files show is that it often may have been dependent also on personal the personality of those involved, [00:38:00] uh, particularly, um, if, uh, particularly dependent on how well the offending soldier had integrated into the unit and and his value, Um, the case of the X ray technician in Lebanon, uh, who had skills that were probably too valuable to lose from the war effort. Um, he is found guilty, serves time in prison in Cairo, but released, um, long before his his um [00:38:30] the length of his sentence, um, has expired, and he's reposted very quickly to another hospital, uh, where he can continue serving without anyone knowing, uh, what he'd been up to. Um, two others, uh, Pat and Mike from the fifth Field Park Regiment. Um, they're buried together in at the Lama battlefield. They are mentioned, but, um, by their first names, they come from a a memoir by a soldier called Reginald de Grasse, who's [00:39:00] got a series of, um of memoirs held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum Archive. Um, Mike's killed by German butterfly bombs and Pat's grief leads him to suicide. It's one of the it's one of the really, um, affecting stories that are uncovered. These images are of the the homosexual men in the Middle East Kiwi Concert Party. We've got Walter Pre and Phil J, Uh, and the other soldier that's not in the picture. There is, [00:39:30] um, Tom Martin and Tom Martin. Of course, there's a nice link because he later ends up flatting with, um, Harold Douglas and Ralph in London. Um, apart from Pat and Mike, who died at I did uncover Noel Hume. Uh, he's really the only other homosexual New Zealand man I found who was killed in action. Of course, there'll be others who are not, uh, in the historical records that we just We just don't know. Um, [00:40:00] Hume was killed at in the western desert. Um, the pre-war photograph of him, uh, photographs of him is taken in Christchurch with his, uh, pre-war boyfriend, Laurie McElroy, who served in the Air Force. He was posted up to Canada. Um, the photo on the right is, um of Hume in uniform in in Egypt and Cairo. So historians are interested in the historical relationships between change [00:40:30] and continuity. One of the key themes I emphasise is that of a actually of continuity between the wartime experiences and the pre-war lives of Robinson, Morrison and Dia. And this continuity allows them to bring, I think, a sense of personal confidence, courage and and and creativity to their wartime experiences and made the difference in how they were viewed and accepted by others. Um, I hope that I've shown how they are able [00:41:00] to bring their queerness home in the midst of the war of the war. Uh, when they performed in New Zealand, uh, between deployments. And I think that continuity continues, uh, in their post war lives. My aim was to honour these men in my writing, uh, by constructing valid lives, uh, valid lives that in themselves are full of joy. Uh, and and more than a little bit of sex, uh, although some of it's pushed into the footnotes, but it's there, uh, [00:41:30] in the end, it's a bitter, sweet story, uh, of these three men, uh, who self empowered, uh, construct themselves a good life in a different world. And I think all three of them had a good war. World War two was a good war for them. For them. So, uh, thank you for coming along. Um, thanks to Overwatch and ST Pear for inviting me here tonight, Uh, and and the bar for hosting. Uh, I hope I sparked your interest [00:42:00] in military history, and I spoke. I hope I sparked your interest in LGBT Q history. Um, there are a lot more stories that need to be researched and a lot more stories that, um, need to be written in our New Zealand history. Thank you.
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