Guard 'models’ Discharged (Press, 11 February 1976)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: Guard 'models’ Discharged (Press, 11 February 1976)
On 11 February 1976, the British Army announced that it would discharge 18 soldiers and request the resignation of an officer following an inquiry related to allegations that these guardsmen posed for photographs in a homosexual magazine named "Him." The issue first came to light through a report published in the "Daily Mirror." The Under-Secretary of State for the Army, Mr Robert Brown, addressed Parliament regarding the situation. Opposition Conservative MP Mr Neville Trotter condemned the newspaper's claims, stating they brought shame upon Britain's prestigious soldiers and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter. The editor of "Him," Mr Alan Purnell, expressed his disapproval of the Army's decision to discharge the soldiers, calling it a horrifying and overly dramatic response. He argued that several of the men featured in the publication were not actually soldiers and indicated that guardsmen had often modelled for homosexual magazines without significant consequences. Mr Purnell, who had experience in the sector, refuted concerns about the potential for exploitation or blackmail, suggesting that the real dangers lay elsewhere, such as in encounters with seductive individuals. He defended the practices of the magazine and remarked on the absurdity of the situation surrounding the guardsmen's modelling. Overall, the incident highlighted tensions between media representations of sexuality and military expectations during that era.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand