Campaigners have been awarded £350,000 to construct a monument to honor LGBT armed forces veterans. Following pressure from the Sunday Mirror and the charity Fighting With Pride (FWP), Chancellor Rishi Sunak publicly apologized last year to the 20,000 service personnel who were imprisoned, dismissed from duty due to their sexual orientation, or involuntarily outed prior to the lifting of the military’s gay ban in 2000.
The memorial is proposed to be located at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, a 150-acre site managed by the Royal British Legion, and will serve as a tribute to all LGBT service personnel, including those impacted by the ban. “We are honored and delighted to have the opportunity to create this significant memorial, and our work on it will commence promptly,” stated Craig Jones MBE, Chair of Fighting With Pride. “We are committed to creating a fitting memorial, but significant work remains to alleviate the poverty experienced by veterans most affected by the Ban following the loss of their careers.”
Mr. Sunak’s apology followed a damning report by Lord Etherton, which depicted “a clear picture of overt homophobia at all levels of the armed forces.” The memorial was one of the report’s 49 recommendations, all of which have received in-principle approval from the government, including financial compensation for those whose careers were impacted. Mr. Jones emphasized, “Too many face crippling debt, inadequate housing, social isolation, and poor health and well-being. 2024 must be the year when all 49 of Lord Etherton’s reparation recommendations are implemented.”
Johnny Mercer, Minister for Veterans, stated, “We are proud of our LGBT veterans and grateful for their service in protecting our country, and I am delighted that Fighting With Pride will assist in the creation of a memorial to honor them. We are committed to swiftly implementing the recommendations made by Lord Etherton in his Independent review, and this memorial will bring us one step closer to achieving that goal.”
Andrew Murrison, Minister for Defense, expressed his satisfaction with Fighting With Pride being selected as the winning bidder to construct the memorial. He remarked, “Our LGBT personnel are a vital part of our Armed Forces community, and it is only right that those who have served, or continue to serve, be recognized through a national memorial.” “We are committed to correcting past wrongs and are swiftly implementing the recommendations from Lord Etherton’s review.”
The group will now conduct nationwide community consultations to gather ideas for the memorial, which they hope will provide a “fitting, enduring, and sustainable place to honor all LGBT serving personnel, veterans, and families, including those who lost their careers due to the Ban.”
