LGBT Profiles: Antony Grey
To be honest when it came to writing a new article I was at a loss. So, I thought I would write another LGBT profile. I have a big list of names and yet I could not decide who to write about. Then it was suggested to me that I look at UK LGBTQ activists, so after a little bit of digging I found someone. I should have known about this person I think the LGBTQ community and those outside the community should know. The person we are going to look at is Antony Grey, I hope for my own personal gratification most of you are saying; who is that? Well let me tell you.
Antony Grey was born Anthony Wright on 6th October 1927 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, UK to Gladys, a lady of half Syrian decent, and father, Alex. He attended university in Cambridge where he studied history. Studying left him determined to “do whatever I could to fight the iniquitous laws which had destroyed the genius of Oscar Wilde and brought untold misery to many thousands of otherwise blameless men”. In a previous LGBT Profile we looked at Oscar Wilde, who was jailed after being found guilty of sexual intercourse with a man. This is what Antony wanted to change as at this time the laws were still the same; it was illegal to be gay.
Antony had a long term partner in Eric Thompson, a neighbour he met in north London. In the 1960’s they moved in together but struggled to find somewhere that would let two men live together. After hearing a car accident outside their flat, they quickly made the spare bed looked like it had been slept in. They knew the police would be around and if they didn’t set the spare bed the police would potentially think they were sleeping together. This act could land someone in jail or, as with Alan Turing, it could lead to chemical castration.
Antony joined Homosexual Law Reform Society, initially as a volunteer which led to a job. It was at this point that Anthony Wright became Antony Grey, he chose grey because there are “very few black and white issues in life”. To coincide with the society the Albany Trust was born, a charity which helped to support gay men, Antony was their secretary. It was working in these jobs which allowed him to make a difference. He pushed hard for change, making speeches, writing articles and lobbying parliament for a change so that gay sex was no longer illegal.
In July 1967 the Sexual Offences Act received Royal Assent and Antony’s dream of making gay sex legal became a reality. At this point it was between two consensual adults above the age of 21 in private, this was a massive step forward. Last year the Sexual Offences Act celebrated it’s 50th anniversary, the act stuck and now the age of consent is 16.
The work that Antony put in to change the law needs to be commended and his name needs to be more widely known than it is. If it wasn’t for brave, determined people like him standing up for gay rights, life could be different for the LGBT community. Lord Woldenden had already recommended that gay sex be made legal in 1957 but it took another 10 years of forcing through the issue that actually made a change. Lord Arran who sympathised with LGBT rights said of Antony Grey that he “had done more than any single man to bring this social problem to the notice of the public”.
In 2005, 2 days after it became law, Antony had a civil ceremony with his long term partner Eric Thompson. Antony died in 2010 but his legacy lives on. Whilst reading about Antony I found out that he came out to his parents when he was 32, coming out in this period was no mean feat. What also impressed me about his coming out was his belief that a coming out should be thoughtful, kind and gentle rather than defensive and indulgent. I want to take the opportunity in this article to say, thank you Antony.
