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Derek Oyston CHE Film Award
Once again we've awarded prizes in conjunction with the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Our panel of judges were unanimous in awarding the second prize of £500 to Intersexion, about the life of people born with ambiguous genitalia, and the first prize of £1,000 to Taboo ... Yardies about the severe dangers facing LGBT people in Jamaica.
For more details, see our film awards page.
Death of Allan Horsfall
CHE very much regrets to announce the death of our
founder and Life President, Allan Horsfall. Allan Horsfall at the age of 84.
In 1964 Allan was the main organiser of the North West Committee for Homosexual Law Reform. This became the Committee for Homosexual Equality in 1969, and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality in 1971.
In later years he campaigned on many LGBT issues, and set up Gay Monitor with Ray Gosling.
For more about Allan Horsfall, see the entry on the LGBT History UK website and the obituary by Peter Scott-Presland.
You can also hear the obituary on the BBC Radio 4 Last Word programme (broadcast on 14 September) on www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ml0jc.
There was a celebration of his
life in Manchester on the 20th of October, which would have been his 85th
birthday, See our press release
for more details.
Derek Oyston Film Award
See the Film Award page and
our Press Release dated 2 April 2012
for the details of the 2012 Derek Oyston CHE Film Award.
Change of Address
As a result of downsizing by the LGBT Consortium we are changing our postal address. We're delighted to announce that we will now be hosted by London Friend (which began many years ago as an off-shoot of CHE) at their offices in King's Cross: the new address is: CHE, c/o London Friend, 86 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DN.
CHE Meeting at Ealing Town Hall
We held our
autumn Quarterly Meeting at Ealing Town Hall on the 8th of October, by special
invitation of John Gallagher, CHE member and Mayor of Ealing. The main
speaker was Ray Collins (Baron Collins of Highbury) until recently General
Secretary of the Labour Party.
fter the meeting we had drinks and nibbles in the Mayor’s Parlour. The photo shows (left to right) Lord Collins, John Gallagher, and Ross Burgess (CHE Executive Member).
AGM and Conference
We held our AGM and Annual Conference on Sunday 4th July at the Soho Centre for Health and Care. The main business was a debate on Gay Marriage between Peter Tatchell and Andrew Lumsden. A full report of the debate can be vewed here; details of the rest of the meeting are in the Conference Minutes, available on request.
CHE and Pride
As in previous years, CHE funded the refreshments for older LGBT people at St Anne's Soho, on the afternoon of London Pride
John Gallagher elected Mayor of Ealing
Congratulations to CHE Member, John Gallagher, who has
been relected as Mayor of Ealing for 2011–2012, having been Deputy Mayor the
previous year.
Michael Brown gives the Robert Cook Lecture
On the 10th of April, Michael Brown, recipient of the Derek Oyston Achievement Award, gave the first Robert Cook Lecture on the subject of “Before the Act – being gay in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.”
The lecture is in memory of Robert Cook, one of CHE's longest-standing supporters, who died in 2009.
Derek Oyston film prize awarded
CHE is once again presenting the Derek Oyston Film Award at the
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. CHE's three judges (pictured, left to
right, George Tregaskis, Ian Stewart, and Nettie Pollard) have met with a BFI
programmer and made a selection.
The winning film is Mutantes (Punk Porn Feminism) and the runner-up is We Were Here.
See our film award page for more details and more photos.
Derek Oyston prize given to Michael Brown
The 2010-11 Derek Oyston Achievement Award, in
conjunction with the LGBT Consortium, was presented to Michael Brown, veteran
gay campaigner, at a ceremony on the 29th of March.
The presentation took place at a Consortium event to launch the lgbtlondon.com website and the LGBT Pledge for London’s statutory providers.
See other pages for more about the award (with another photo), our Press Release, and a page of tributes to Michael Brown.
See the video of Michael Brown's interview following the award.
CHE at the Consortium Conference again
CHE again had a stall at the conference of the LGBT Consortium, held this year in Leeds. All delegates attending the Conference received a form inviting them to nominate people or organisations to receive the Derek Oyston CHE Award, 2010–2011.
CHE meeting and reunion
It was standing room only at Friends House, Euston, on
the 27th of November, for a special CHE Quarterly Meeting.
There was a special invitation to all who contributed to the book Out of the Shadows or are mentioned in it, and the meeting began with Tony Walton, editor of Out of the Shadows, describing how the book came to be written. Other items included a commemoration of the life of Griffith Vaughan Williams, an inroduction by Peter Scott-Presland to the book he has been commissioned to write about the history of CHE, and a general discussion about CHE's future. It was standing room only, and CHE recruited a number of new members.
Death of Griffith Vaughan Williams
We very much regret to announce the death on 15th November 2010 of our Secretary, Griffith Vaughan Williams, a very long-standing campaigner for gay rights.
Griff's funeral was on Wednesday 8th December 2010 at Mortlake Crematorium, conducted by Rev Sharon Ferguson of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement.
Contract signed for book on CHE
At the November 2010 meeting of CHE's Executive
Committee, it was agreed to commission Peter Scott-Presland, the noted gay
author, to write a history of CHE. This was one of the last things Griff did
for CHE, before his untimely death less than two weeks later.
Our photo shows Griffith Vaughan Williams (Secretary of CHE) and Peter Scott-Presland at the Executive meeting. More about this in our Press Release.
CHE at the LGBT History Month pre-launch
CHE paid for LGBT History Month to use the Twickenham
rugby centre on the 2nd of November 2010 for the pre-launch of LGBT History
Month 2011.
Our picture shows the CHE stall at the pre-launch.
Book launch at CHE AGM
CHE's AGM at
Friends House on the 4th of July was the setting for the launch of Out of
the Shadows, edited by Tony Walton, a history of the pioneering London
gay groups and organisations, 1967–2000. See the Out of the
Shadows web page, which
includes information about the book and its contributors and how to order
it.
Special guests at the AGM included Angela Mason (recently appointed a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission) and Michael Black and John Morgan, the gay couple who hit the headlines in March when they were refused a double room at a Berkshire B&B.
London Pride Parade and festival
Saturday 3rd July: CHE funded the refreshments at the afternoon Relaxation and Entertainment Area at St Anne’s Dean Street (which also featured entertainment by the London Gay Symphonic Winds).
John Gallagher elected Deputy Mayor of Ealing
Congratulations to CHE Member, John Gallagher, who has been re-elected as Councillor for South Acton Ward, and subsequently elected as Deputy Mayor of Ealing for 2010–20011.
CHE joins the Cutting Edge Consortium
CHE has become a corporate member of the Cutting Edge Consortium, a unique coalition of faith-based and non-religious social justice organisations, civic groups, trades unions and professional associations, opposed to religious exemptions from legislation on sexuality and gender identity. For more information about the Cutting Edge Consortium, e-mail cuttingedgeconsortium1@googlemail.com.
General Election 2010
Our campaign of writing to prospective parliamentary candidates has its own page on this website.
Second Derek Oyston Film Award
For the second year running, CHE has presented the Derek Oyston Film Award as part of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. This year it went to The Kuchus of Uganda, directed by Mathilda Piehl. See our Film Award page for more about this.
CAGS affiliates to CHE
Croydon Area Gay Society (CAGS) voted to affiliate to CHE, under CHE's new affiliation arrangements.
Death of Alan Louis
It's with great
sadness that we report the death of Alan Louis, CHE's Community Liaison Officer
and a long-term member of the Executive Committee. Alan died on the
4th of March at Bart's Hospital.
Alan had been an active supporter of CHE for many years and took a particular interest in services for older LGBT people and the "murder music" campaign.
CHE Executive members and friends were much in evidence at Alan's funeral on the 29th of April at Golders Green Crematorium. We heard tributes from several people who had known Alan, plus a selection of his favourite music. Afterwards we went to the Tea Room for light refreshments.
CHE Quarterly Meeting
CHE's quarterly meeting was held on Sunday
14th February: at Friends House, Euston Road. The meeting included a
commemoration of the late Robert Cook, a very long-term supporter of CHE, and
discussion of campaigning priorities and other future activities.
CHE at the Consortium Conference
At least five CHE members (including three Executive
members) attended the Consortium Conference (that's the Consortium of lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgendered Voluntary and Community Organisations) at an hotel in
London on the 30th of January 2010.
A lot of the delegates visited our stall and took copies of the leaflets and the Annual Report and Spring Newsletter.
We had some interesting discussions, and are hoping to pick up some new members as a result.
Robert Cook dies
We were
very sad to hear of the death on 28th December 2009 of Robert Cook,
a very long-standing supporter of CHE. He died instantly of a heart attack
while waiting at a bus stop.
Bob set up the original lesbian and gay policing initiative about 20 years ago, and was one of the leading members of LMG (London Monday Group for Homosexual Equality) as well as Returning Officer for CHE's annual elections. He was always a good person to talk things over with, and will be much missed.
The funeral was held on Thursday 14th January, at St Mary Abbot's Church Kensington, where Bob acted as archivist.
Special CHE Meeting
We held a
special meeting on the 17th of October at the Consortium offices in Bermondsey,
where we have our office space. We had a private DVD showing of the film
Darling, which won the 2009 Derek
Oyston Film Award, and discussed plans for the future.
The meeting asked the Executive to:
- investigate a new scheme for other organisations to become members of CHE
- consider arranging a special mini-conference to discuss issues of false accusations of sexual abuse.
It's now planned to have similar meetings about once a quarter.
SLAGO Garden Party
SLAGO's annual Garden Party was held in Purley. Griff Vaughan Williams of CHE presented the SLAGO cup and shield to the winning groups.
Derek Oyston CHE Award
The first
Derek Oyston CHE Award, in conjunction with GALHA was presented to Sue Sanders
of Schools Out during the GALHA (Gay and
Lesbian Humanist Association) 30th
anniversary event (also commemorating 40 years of CHE), in the Great Hall
of the Bishopsgate Institute.
CHE Conference and AGM
The annual conference, held at Friends House, heard about CHE's successes during the past year, and planned its activities for the future..
London Pride
The parade was followed by a relaxation event at St Anne's Soho, from 2 to 5 pm, with tea/coffee provided by CHE and entertainment by the London Gay Symphony Orchestra.
Chris Smith becomes a Vice-President
CHE is
delighted to announced that Lord Smith of Finsbury has agreed to become one of
our Vice-Presidents. As Chris Smith he was Britain's first openly gay MP and
he's currently Chairman of the Environment Agency.
Sue Sanders honoured
Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools Out, has been announced as the first recipient of the CHE Derek Oyston Award, in conjunction with GALHA. More about this...
CHE moves offices
CHE
has agreed to take up office space provided by the Consortium of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Trans-gendered Voluntary and Community Organisations in the Tower
Bridge Business Complex, Bermondsey.
The agreement, confirmed at the CHE Executive Meeting on the
29th of May 2009, takes effect from the 1st of June, and
gives CHE much improved office facilities plus the benefit of being co-located
with other LGBT organisations.
CHE launches film award
For the first time, this year CHE, in association with the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, presented The Derek Oyston CHE Film Award. The award, value £2,000, was for the film screened in the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival which most reflected the aims and objectives of CHE.
The intention of the Award is that it will encourage filmmakers to make films which document the experience of campaigning and the continuing struggles for LGBT rights in the UK and around the world.
Old campaigners reunited
CHE held a very successful reunion event on Sunday 15th
February 2009 as part of LGBT
History Month. The event, at Friends Meeting House in Euston Road, was open
to all present and former members of CHE and their friends.
We had an excellent turnout including members from different periods of CHE's 40-year history. Our Vice-president Ray Gosling cut the cake, and several of those present renewed their membership of CHE.
The CHE Executive have decided that the Reunion is to become an annual event.
CHE leaders talk in Croydon
Allan Horsfall
(CHE's Life President) and Ray Gosling (a CHE Vice-President) spoke at a
meeting of Croydon Area Gay Society on the 2nd of December 2008.
See the CAGS press release for more details.
CHE — past and future
CHE's Life President, Allan Horsfall, writing in the November 2008 issue of Out in the City magazine (page 91), talks about the origins of CHE and why it is still very much needed today.