George Montague (born 1923) was unaware of the word ‘homosexual’ and the
existence of men who had sex with other men until 1941 when, at the age of 18,
he enlisted in the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Accepted as a trainee wireless
operator air gunner, George later recalled, the very first time anything
registered with me was when I was a corporal and the corporals didn’t mix with
the other ranks. We used to sit in the veranda at the end of the hut. They
were all talking and I heard the end of the conversation: ‘I’ve got one in my
hut,’ and then somebody said, ‘I’ve got two in mine, and if I catch them
together, I’ll cut their bollocks off!’ I said, ‘What you talking about?’ And
they said, ‘Brown hatters.’ I said, ‘What’s that?’ They told me and I was
disgusted, absolutely disgusted. At the time, George was guilty of prejudice
against homosexuals. Shortly after the war, in 1946, George experienced his
first same-sex encounter but he kept his homosexuality a secret until 1982. By
then he was almost 60, and had been married with grown-up children. Since
‘coming out’, he has led a happy and fulfilled life. George lives with his
partner in Brighton, where he is known as ‘the Oldest Gay in the Village’,
which is also the title of his autobiography.
Born in 1923, when homosexuality was still the love that dare not speak its
name, George Montague has lived his entire life against the backdrop of the
gay rights movement; from the trial of Lord Montagu in the 1950s, to
decriminalisation in 1967, through the AIDS epidemic and Section 28 in the
1980s, to civil partnerships and finally marriage. Through those years, George
served in the Second World War, ran his own business, and was a prominent
Scouts leader. He married a woman, who shared the secret of his sexuality, and
they had children. He remained married to Vera for 22 years and they kept close even after separating. Sadly Vera died in 2000.
After he came out in 1982, he rediscovered himself as a gay man. In 1997 he met his partner Somchai who he entered into a civil partnership with in 2006 and finally married on the eve of Brighton Pride in 2015.
A true gem of the gay community, George is lauded every year as he joins in
the Brighton Pride parade. He campaigns to end homophobic bullying in schools,
to bring awareness to issues around HIV, and for the introduction of the
so-called Turing's Law, pardoning historic offense charges against gay men.
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