| Admin Biographical History | Antony Grey is the pseudonym of Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright. After taking a degree in history at Magdalene College, Cambridge (1945-1948), he worked as a journalist on The Yorkshire Post, Leeds, before moving to London in 1949 where he was employed in the Secretary's Department of the British Iron and Steel Federation and (from 1961) as a public relations executive with the London Press Exchange. One of the earliest voluntary helpers since 1958 of the newly-formed Homosexual Law Reform Society, he joined the Society's executive committee (using the name 'Antony Grey') as Honorary Treasurer in 1960 and became Secretary of the HLRS and also of its sister counselling and research charity, the Albany Trust, at the end of 1962, at first on a part-time basis and full-time from 1964. Grey campaigned tirelessly for the law reforms advocated by the Government-appointed Wolfenden Committee's report (1957), writing many articles, making numerous speeches to interested groups, lobbying MPs, and organising action to promote the passage of the (Arran/Abse) Sexual Offences Bill through Parliament until it became law in 1967. He resigned in 1970, but again became Secretary of the Sexual Law Reform Society - successor to the HLRS - and Director of the Albany Trust from 1971 to 1977, continuing to press for further liberalisation of the law and social attitudes. He was invited to become Chairman of the National Federation of Homophile Organisations (NFHO), 1971-72. Following his retirement from the Albany Trust in 1977, he was involved in counselling and training work and was for some years a member of the executive committee of the British Association for Counselling. In 1998 Antony Grey was awarded the Pink Paper Lifetime Achievement Award. He has published Quest for Justice: Towards Homosexual Emancipation (1992), Speaking of Sex (1993), and Speaking Out (1997)(Collected articles). Histories of the HLRS/SLRS and of the Albany Trust/Albany Society may be found in the description for the Albany Trust papers. |
| Description | Papers of Antony Grey, 1958-1992, comprising the following:
Material relating to the Homosexual Law Reform Society (and its later incarnation, the Sexual Law Reform Society), 1958-1984, including minutes, correspondence and papers of the Executive Committee; draft sexual offences bills, 1958-1966; correspondence with members of parliament and papers relating to parliamentary debates on sexual law reforms, 1963-1965; general correspondence, 1963-1982, with respondents including the Home Office, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, and the HLRS Honorary Committee; reports and memoranda, 1958-1980, on the Wolfenden Report, the Sexual Offences Act (1967), and the homosexual age of consent; material relating to conferences and seminars, 1974-1984.
Material relating to the Albany Trust, 1958-1990, notably copies of the original 1958 Albany Trust deed; minutes of the Trustees, and the Development Committee, Management Committee and the Counselling Service, 1966-1983; internal and general correspondence, 1963-1981, mainly relating to the officers of the Trust, grant applications, the National Federation of Homophile Organisations, Gay News, the Speijer Report and the National Viewers and Listeners Association; questionnaire and analysis of the Social Needs Survey, 1970-1972; financial material, 1964-1979; copies and drafts of Albany Trust publications on gay issues, 1966-1970.
Material relating to the Albany Society, 1968-1992, including the memorandum and articles of association, 1968; minutes of the Annual General meeting, 1969-1991; members' correspondence, 1978-1991; correspondence and papers relating to financial matters, 1979-1992, including annual accounts, grants and fundraising; briefings and memoranda on various, 1980-1990, including counselling, AIDS, and social services.
Working papers and other material, [1960]-1991, on subjects including homosexual law reform (including in Scotland and Northern Ireland), rape, prostitution and street offences, treatment for sex offenders, venereal disease, sex education, censorship, homosexuality and religion, homophobia, homophile organisations, AIDS, and the Albany Trust and HLRS archives. This section also includes notes, drafts and texts for speeches and articles on the above subjects.
Papers relating to other gay campaigns, 1987-1991, including an Organisation for Lesbian and Gay Action (OLGA) conference on legislation for lesbian and gay rights, and opposition to Clause 28 and the Criminal Justice Act (1991).
Additional papers deposited in 2010 (M3570). These include correspondence and papers relating to HLRS, SLRS, Albany Trust, journalism, writing and other activities, c1954-c1992. Unlisted, but mainly open. 18boxes
A further series of papers was deposited in 2011 (M3590 and M3688). These include correspondence; pamphlets; audiotapes; and, a few photographs. 10 boxes. |