by EMMA POWYS MAURICE

The ban on LGB people in the British military was lifted 20 years ago today, but memories of the era still run deep for those who served.

It was a time when being outed could mean the loss of your job, your home, your medals, and the respect of colleagues who had become like family to you.

Homophobic language was common and unchallenged, and many LGBT+ servicemembers lived in fear that one day it would be applied to them. A single suspicious comment might tip off the Special Investigation Branch (SIB), a military unit tasked with uncovering closeted LGB people.

The SIB had the authority to raid your civilian house, go through your belongings, open sealed letters, all in search of ‘evidence’ of homosexuality. “You’ve been named, clear your house,” was the terrifying warning, if you got a warning at all. “It’s horrible. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling,” remembered Mandy McBain, a lesbian and ex-Navy lieutenant commander who now works for Stonewall.

She found herself under the SIB’s spotlight in 1999, just before the ban was lifted. She “lied like an Oscar winner” to clear her name, and was eventually deemed straight enough to continue serving, but the fear of being outed never went away. Read more via PinkNews