The Albany Trust was founded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

as a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

in May 1958 to complement the

Homosexual Law Reform Society The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes to the set of laws which criminalised homosexuality at the time. History In 1954 the Conservative government set up a Departmental Committe ...

(HLRS). It takes its name from

The Albany The Albany, or simply Albany, is an apartment complex in Piccadilly, London. The three-storey mansion was built in the 1770s and divided into apartments in 1802. Building The Albany was built in 1771–1776 by Sir William Chambers for the ne ...

, in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where

J.B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

and his wife

Jacquetta Hawkes Jacquetta is a feminine given name which may refer to: * Jacquetta of Luxembourg (1415/16–1472), Duchess of Bedford, Countess Rivers * Jacquetta Hawkes (1910–1996), English archaeologist and writer * Jacquetta May, British writer, actress and ...

had an apartment, and at which the trust's earliest meetings were held. The goal of the Trust is to "promote psychological health in men by collecting data and conducting research: to publish the results thereof by writing, films, lectures and other media: to take suitable steps based thereon for the public benefit to improve the social and general conditions necessary for such healthy psychological development." The founding Trustees were

A.E. Dyson Anthony Edward Dyson, aka Tony Dyson (28 November 1928 – 30 July 2002) was a British literary critic, university lecturer, educational activist and gay rights campaigner. Biography Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, his academic career ...

, Jacquetta Hawkes, Kenneth Walker, Andrew Hallidie Smith, and

Ambrose Appelbe Ambrose Erle Fuller Appelbe (1903 – 24 January 1999) was a British solicitor and social reformer. Appelbe was born in Johannesburg to a British family, his father being a medical missionary. He was educated at Kingswood School and Trinity Hall, ...

. The Albany Trust developed into a pioneering counselling organisation for gay men, lesbians and sexual minorities. The funds raised and donated for the work of the Albany Trust allowed it to open offices in October 1958. These facilities, at 32

Shaftesbury Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue is a major road in the West End of London, named after The 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It runs north-easterly from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus. From Piccadilly Cir ...

, were then also available for the campaigning work of the HLRS. The longtime "public face" of these activities was

Antony Grey Anthony Edgar Gartside Wright (6 October 1927 – 30 April 2010), better known by his pseudonym Antony Grey, was an English LGBT rights activist. Grey was credited by Lord Arran to have "done more than any single man to bring this social proble ...

, from 1962 Secretary of both the Albany Trust and the HLRS (the latter later being renamed the Sexual Law Reform Society). After the

Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom (citation 1967 c. 60). It legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained t ...

partially decriminalised homosexual relationships between adult men, the Albany Trust became an educational and counselling organisation. From 1967 the Trust was also involved the development of sex education. For example, this included support and advice for the

Dorian Society __NOTOC__ The Dorian Society (1962–1988) was the first New Zealand organisation for gay men. It was founded on 27 May 1962 by a group of men including Cees Kooge, John McKay, Brett Rawnsley, and Claude Tanner, the latter of whom would be elected ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The Albany Trust, with help from the

Paedophile Information Exchange The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was a British pro-paedophile activist group, founded in October 1974 and officially disbanded in 1984.Tom de Castella & Tom Heyde"How did the pro-paedophile group PIE exist openly for 10 years?" BBC New ...

and the Paedophile Action for Liberation, published a booklet on

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

. The book was controversial, and campaigners such as

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permiss ...

claimed that this showed that public funds were being used to subsidise pro-paedophile groups; however, PIE and PAL did not receive public funding directly.

References

External links

* {{Official website
Catalogue of the Albany Trust papers
at th

of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. Organizations established in 1958 LGBT organisations in England LGBT culture in London 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom Pedophile advocacy

See also

Further reading

References

External links