LGBT Croydon
Resources and support groups for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people in the London Borough of Croydon
LGBT History Month
February every year is LGBT History Month around the UK.
LGBT
History Month February 2012
Croydon is once again planning a full programme of events for LGBT History Month 2012.
For the full list of events, see
www.lgbt-croydon.org.uk/croydon-lgbthm-events.
LGBT History Month has been celebrated in Croydon since 2006.
See below for previous years:
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
LGBT History Month
February 2011
Croydon hosted a full series of events throughout February for LGBT History Month 2011. The national theme this year was "sport".
The local events for the month were listed in a leaflet produced by Croydon Council. See also www.croydon.gov.uk/lgbthistorymonth
You can also download the programme for the Rainbow Reading Group launch.
For details of the participating groups, see the LGBT Croydon Home Page.
Photos
Hover the mouse over a thumbnail picture below to see the description, and click the thumbnail to see a larger version.
More pictures will be added in due course (if you've got photos suitable for inclusion, please e-mail them to info@lgbt-croydon.org.uk). Photos below were taken by members of the Croydon LGBT community except where otherwise stated.
History month display in Croydon Library
This display, on view in the ground floor of the Central Library throughout the month, included panels for all the main LGBT groups in Croydon, and a centre spread about the CAGS Tennis Group.
Justin Campaign display in Croydon Library
On the first floor of the Library, there was a big display for the Justin Campaign - campaigning against homophobia in football in memore of Justin Fashanu.
The Brief Encounter, with Darren Ollerton of The Justin Campaign
The regular bi-monthly CAGS meeting at The Brief, George Street, was addressed by Darren Ollerton of The Justin Campaign.
Civic reception at the Braithwaite Hall, with performance by CYTO
History Month was launched with a civic reception, attended by Cllr Lynne Hale, with a special performance by Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation, and a surprise visit by Sue Sanders, orginator of LGBT History Month in the UK.
Museum History Trail launch
The Museum launched an expanded version of their LGBT Trail.
"Telling Tales" event at Croydon Museum
We enjoyed an afternoon of reminiscence in the Museum's activities room.
Rainbow Reading Group launch
The Rainbow Reading Group was launched by Miss Aileen Cahill, Head of Library Services, with a special guest Issy Festing, author of The Bird Keeper.
CAGS History Walk
Phil led us on a walk round Croydon, visiting some of the places associated with the 40-year history of CAGS.
Other events
Other events during the month (no pictures yet) included a question and answer session with the Borough Police Commander, a quiz night, a film festival in the David Lean Cinema, a Trans Group meeting, and events for different age groups, while several of us visited History Month events in the borough of Merton.
LGBT History Month 2010
Highlights of LGBT History Month 2010 included a reception in the Croydon Clocktower, a week-long exhibition in the Clocktower Court, opening of the expanded LGBT section of Croydon Library by the Deputy Mayor, wreath-laying in honour of Alan Turing and other LGBT war heroes, and a special celebration of Croydon-born Roberta Cowell, the first person in the UK to have male-to-female gender reassignment surgery.
There were also events at Croydon Police Station, Mayday Hospital, the Braithwaite Hall, and the David Lean Cinema, and a Hustings session with representatives of local political parties.
Photographs of the events:
CAGS hustings 2/02/10 (10 photos by Davide Berlanda – sevenpics@live.co.uk)
Croydon Clocktower exhibition and reception 5/2/10 (4 photos)
Library opening 6/02/10 (11 photos by Michal Jaworski – www.michalj.net)
More pictures of the library opening (4 photos)
Roberta Cowell's book presented to the Library 6/02/10 (1 photo)
Wreath laying 6/02/10 (11 photos by Michal Jaworski – www.michalj.net)
More pictures of the wreath laying (8 photos)
Roberta Cowell celebration 13/02/10 (4 photos)
Thanks to the Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations, for facilitating the work of Michal Jaworski and Davide Berlanda. Other photos are by members of Croydon's LGBT community and Library staff.
Some other documents and resources:
- Full programme of events (pdf file: 400k)
- "Croydon Celebrates LGBT History 2010" leaflet (pdf file: 600k)
- Croydon Council's LGBT History Month web page
- Official programme for the wreath-laying (pdf file: 500k)
- Croydon Museum's LGBT History Trail (pdf file: 1.2 Mb)
- Description of the Roberta Cowell event
- Ray Harvey-Amer's speech at the wreath-laying (pdf file: 48k)
- National LGBT History Month website
Croydon Area Gay Society's LGBT History Month events were partly funded by Grassroots Grants and partly underwritten by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE).
LGBT History Month 2009
In February 2009 there was a special screening at the David Lean Cinema of the film Milk (introduced by the historian Michael Brown and followed by a discussion), a reception in Croydon Clocktower, and an exhibition (extended to a week) in the Clocktower Court. (More ...)
LGBT History Month 2008
For 2008 there was a celebration in Croydon Parish Church Hall of same-sex relationships in English History, covering "sworn brotherhood" in Chaucer and traditional ballads, with a re-enactment of the church ceremonies that were used at one time to celbrate same-sex partnerships in various parts of Europe. (More ...)
LGBT History Month 2007
For 2007 there was a play-reading at the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon, including Rid England of this Plague, from the book of the same name by Rex Batten (introduced by the author) and extracts from Beautiful Thing. (More ...)
LGBT History Month 2006
In 2006 there were no local events for LGBT History Month, but several CAGS members attended events in London, including a study day at the Museum of London and a walking tour of lesbian and gay Soho.
