'Soon gay sailors will outnumber gay ballet dancers'
Colin Richardson
Monday February 21, 2005
The Guardian
"Fifty per cent of the fleet have sinned homosexually at some time in their naval career," declared a horrified Admiral Sir Frank Roddam Twiss, the second sea lord, in 1968. Admiral Sir John Fitzroy Duyland Bush, head of the Western Fleet, concurred: "There is, regrettably, ample evidence that homosexual practices are rife in the Fleet."
(snip)
After a legal battle initiated by four former members of the Royal Navy and the RAF the government lifted the ban on openly gay people serving in the armed forces. The move was welcomed by just about everyone, with the exception of most Conservative politicians.
"This appalling decision will be greeted with dismay," said Aldershot's Tory MP Gerald Howarth, "particularly by ordinary soldiers in Her Majesty's forces, many of whom joined the services precisely because they wished to turn their backs on some of the values of modern society."
Turn their backs, eh? Let's hope that none of them dropped their soap in the shower. In fact, most "ordinary soldiers" - or sailors or pilots, for that matter - have proved themselves to be rather more grown up than the likes of Mr Howarth.
(snip)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,1418924,00.html:D
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