Veteran Claims Abuse and Denied Reparations for Being Gay in Military
Michael Pitchford, a 78-year-old veteran from Rottingdean, alleges that during his military service he was humiliated, interrogated, and threatened with imprisonment due to his sexual orientation. Despite these experiences, he claims the government has refused to provide him with financial reparations.
Pitchford states he was pressured into paying £250 to terminate his army contract early, which he says disqualifies him from receiving the Dismissed and Discharged Payment of £50,000 offered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Although homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK in 1967, a ban on homosexual personnel in the armed forces remained in place until 2000.
An MoD spokesperson said:
"We recognise that those who felt pressured to resign, suffered unacceptable experiences and therefore the scheme was expanded to include an additional Impact Payment which we encourage those veterans to apply for."
The MoD also expressed that it "deeply regrets" the "wholly unacceptable" treatment of LGBT personnel during service and reaffirmed its commitment to "righting these wrongs."
Pitchford enlisted for nine years with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Initially, he concealed his sexuality, but in 1971, at age 23, he began relationships with men.
He described the internal conflict of living a double life and, when faced with an additional three years of service, said he "couldn't do it."
Harrowing Interrogation and Stigma
Pitchford recounted attempting twice to leave the army without success. As a last resort, he disclosed his homosexuality to a military doctor in hopes of obtaining a medical discharge.
Following this, he was formally charged with homosexuality but was not permitted to leave service. He claims that his status was publicly disclosed on the base, resulting in social isolation, being spat at, and removal from his engineering course.
During this period, Pitchford endured months of what he described as "harrowing" interrogation by military officials.
"They were monsters...their questions were horrendous," he said.
He further alleges that the army falsely informed his family that he was working as a male prostitute.
"I lost all my family because of that. And as years went on I buried it deep inside, but the wound never heals."
Pitchford also claims he was threatened with a three-year prison sentence unless he provided names of individuals with whom he had relationships.
Ultimately, he was instructed to pay £250 to end his contract and leave the base. Although he believed he was free, he was retained as a military reservist on minimal pay.
Review and Financial Recognition Scheme
The LGBT Veterans Independent Review uncovered decades of bullying, assaults, and expulsions of LGBT servicemen and women, often leaving them without income or pensions.
This review led to the Etherton report, which in turn resulted in the creation of the LGBT+ Veterans Financial Recognition scheme.
Under this scheme, affected veterans can apply for an LGBT Dismissed or Discharged Payment of £50,000. An additional payment of up to £20,000 is available for those who experienced further impacts such as criminal records or abusive questioning and interrogation.
Two veterans have issued a pre-action letter to the MoD challenging the legality of the scheme, alleging wrongful denial of payments based on their rank.
Pitchford expressed disappointment at being deemed ineligible because he was not "dismissed or discharged," despite feeling pressured to leave.
"[By] being rejected, I now feel I'm going through it all over again - the humiliation and abuse that I went through in 1972," he said.
He is currently appealing the decision to reject his reparation claims. However, with diagnoses of two brain tumours, heart disease, and prostate cancer, he is concerned about limited time.
MoD Response
The MoD acknowledged the distress caused to veterans who felt compelled to resign but clarified that the Dismissed and Discharged Payment is intended to recognise those dishonourably removed from service with exit papers attributing fault to them.
Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Send story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 08081 002250.
