Arthur Gore, 8th Earl of Arran

 

Arthur Gore's obituary in the West Herts and Watford Observer, 25th February 1983.

Arthur Gore, 8^th Earl of Arran, was born in July 1910 at Bishop’s Stortford. The second son of his parents, he grew up in a privileged family and as a child he was educated at Eton and then Balliol College in Oxford. Later in life, he would go on to play a key role in the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England.

As the second son of an Earl, Arthur had somewhat more opportunities for his future. During the Second World War, he worked in various roles – first as a press attaché with the British Legion, then at the British Embassy in Lisbon. He also acted as the deputy director of the overseas general division of the Ministry of Information, and in the years after the war he continued with the Central Office of Information as a secretariat director.

However, in 1958 Arthur’s older brother died by suicide, reportedly because he was gay, and Arthur suddenly became the 8^th Earl of Arran. This entailed more responsibility for Arthur, who was now to sit in the House of Lords. Arthur took his responsibility seriously, and became an active member of the House. Because of the alleged nature of his brother’s death, Arthur seems to have taken up the cause of homosexual rights, and supported decriminalisation. It had been illegal in England for two men to perform sexual acts with each other since the 16^th century, but now momentum was building to relax these strict laws. Many in society now felt that homosexuality, whilst morally wrong, was not something that should be punished in the law courts.

In July 1965, Arthur Gore brought a bill before the House of Lords which had been based on the findings of the Wolfenden Report 8 years prior. This report had recommended the decriminalisation of same-sex acts in private between two consenting men over the age of 21. Gore’s bill was an attempt to bring this into law, and he was supported by both Labour and Conservative MPS as well as both Archbishops. His bill passed two readings, but it never made it into law due to the dissolution of Parliament for the 1966 election.

In 1967, Labour MP Leo Abse brought a private member’s bill into the House of Commons, which Arthur sponsored. After much debate, and a few adjustments to the bill, it passed through by 1 vote. Homosexuality was now partially legalised for the first time in centuries, and Arthur had played a key role in the process.

In his personal life, Arthur married Fiona Bryde Colquhoun, the eldest daughter of a Baronet. The couple were both passionate animal rights activists, and Arthur became known for eccentricity in part because he had a pet badger which he would sit in his lap whilst he had guests for tea. The couple had homes in Hertfordshire and Scotland, and spent their time between both regions.

It was later said that Arthur had become an alcoholic whilst working on the homosexuality bill, perhaps because of the huge task it was and the external pressure placed upon him by others who disapproved of his actions – he had suffered from intimidation whilst working on the legislation. He managed to recover after the bill was passed, and he went on to become known as an outspoken columnist, writing for many publications such as The Evening Standard, The Guardian, Punch, and The Daily Mail. Not all of his opinions were as forward-thinking, and the columns were known for abusive language, including racism against the Irish.

Arthur Gore died at his home in Hertfordshire in February 1983, aged 72. An eccentric member of the nobility, he had played a major role in helping to decriminalise same-sex relationships between men in England and Wales, and suffered abuse and hatred to do so – but great praise and appreciation from many others.