Personal experiences are individual encounters or events that someone has gone through in their life, shaping their beliefs, values, and understanding of the world.
This Digital Memorial Wall has been created to provide an opportunity for those who were affected by the LGBT+ ban in the Armed Forces to express their personal thoughts and recollections.
Sir Hardy Amies KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) :- A submission by a friend.
Sir Hardy Amies KCVO, a late friend, was a Savile Row couturier. Despite being a fairly visible gay man, he served his country with honour and bravery during WWII, despite the ban. Achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Special Operations Executive and acting head of the SOE for Belgium for much of the war, becoming ‘head’ of the SOE in Belgium in 1944.
Hardy suspected that the SOE’s commander, did not consider a dressmaker to be suitable military material. However, his training report stated:
‘This officer is far tougher, both physically and mentally, than his rather delicate appearance suggests. He possesses a keen intellect and an abundance of shrewdness. His only handicap is his precious appearance and manner, and these are tending to decrease.’
The training notes also state that he possesses a ‘keen brain’ and ‘shrewd sense’. (and also hints that his superiors knew he was gay, but turned a blind eye.)
In 1944, Hardy outraged his superiors by engaging the renowned photographer Lee Miller and arranging a Vogue photo shoot in Belgium after D-Day.
The full transcript and more photographs from this submission can be found via this link: Sir Hardy Amies KCVO
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦