We like to think we know the story of how Britain went to war with Germany in 1939, but there is one chapter that has never been told. In the early 1930s, a group of young, queer British MPs visited Berlin on a series of trips that would change the course of the Second World War.
Having witnessed the Nazis’ brutality first-hand, these men were some of the first to warn Britain about Hitler, repeatedly speaking out against their government’s policy of appeasing him. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain hated them. Branding them ‘the glamour boys’ to insinuate something untoward about them, he had their phones tapped and threatened them with deselection and exposure.
At a time when even the suggestion of homosexuality could land you in prison, the bravery these men were forced to show in their personal lives gave them extraordinary courage in public. Undaunted, they refused to be silenced and when war came, they enlisted. Four of them died in action. And without them, Britain would never have faced down the Nazis.
Join us and our guest speaker Chris Bryant as he discusses his new book highlighting this important story. This event will be held on Zoom, and a recording of it will be sent out to all those registered afterwards.
Chris Bryant is a Welsh Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for the Rhondda since 2001. He has held a variety of positions within both the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet, ranging from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to the Foreign Office where he keeps a keen interest as Chair of the Spain and Russia All Party Parliamentary Groups and as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Chris has previously written books not only on general aspects of British politics including a 2-volume biography of Parliament, but also biographies of prominent politicians Glenda Jackson and Stafford Cripps. The Glamour Boys is his seventh book.
This talk will take place at 7.00pm GMT. If joining us from a different country, please check the timezone appropriate to where you are.
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