Shropshire veteran back in military family after lesbian sacking

Jean Macdonald was dismissed from the Armed Forces for being gay

A veteran who was dismissed from the Armed Forces for being a lesbian said charities had helped welcome her "back to the military family".

Jean Macdonald was a lance corporal in the Women's Royal Army Corps when she was dismissed in 1981.

"Witch hunts" to eradicate anyone gay were "quite terrifying" at the time, said the 66-year-old from Shropshire, who said she was "interrogated".

"You join at a very young age and maybe don't know your sexuality," she added.

Gay people and other members of the LGBT community were not allowed to serve in the military until a rule change in 2000.

Ms Macdonald joined at 19 and was a lance corporal in the Women's Royal Army Corps

She said "everything was looking up" in her military career and was due for a promotion when one day she was called up by members of the Specialist Intelligence Branch, who told her it was their belief she was a lesbian.

"'We're going to find you out', they said, and they marched me down to my room and I had to stand there while they ransacked my room.

"They took my Tina Turner poster because they said that meant I was gay, because I liked Tina Turner.

"They took my pyjamas, they said they were men's, they took letters, photographs, it was almost like you had lesbian written on your forehead."

Looking back, she said, the services were "totally homophobic".

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Last year she and other veterans who had requested documents about investigations and interrogations by military police were told the files were deleted in 2010.

A search of the service police database produced only one document in relation to her dismissal, reading: "Conducting oneself disgracefully - unnatural act."

An independent review looking at how the Armed Forces dealt with members of the LGBT community, thought to have affected more than 5,000 people, is set to report back in May.

"All of a sudden, you've lost your career, your love and your pride of serving your country," she said, adding there was "no support whatsoever".

Jean Macdonald's wildlife photographs are featured in the Help for Heroes 2023 calendar

Finding the episode traumatising, it resulted in years of mental health difficulties leading to a diagnosis of complex PTSD.

She said she found little help in the intervening 40 years and hadn't approached veterans' charities for "fear of being turned away".

But after connecting with other LGBT veterans through the charities Fighting with Pride and Salute Her in the past 18 months she had "reclaimed her veteran status."

The help and interaction had given her confidence "and hope for the future", she said.

"I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for their help," she said.

She had attended services at the Cenotaph in 2021 and 2022 with charity Fighting with Pride, the only two where LGBT veterans had been allowed.

"I'm so grateful to these charities that have welcomed us back into the military family."

Always a keen wildlife photographer, the Craven Arms resident was chosen to have images used on the 2023 Help for Heroes calendar.

"I hold the camera up and look through the viewfinder and all of a sudden the world doesn't seem such a scary place, it's just being in that moment," she said.

Ms Macdonald marched at the Cenotaph with charity Fighting with Pride - the first time LGBTQ veterans were allowed

The MoD has previously said "historical policy prohibiting homosexuality in the Armed Forces was abhorrent".

The spokesman added: "We deeply regret LGBT+ members serving in defence suffered injustice as a consequence. Our priority now is to understand the full impact of the historic ban and find appropriate ways to address the wrongs of the past. 

"The policy followed at the time was to remove references to these former offences and investigations from service records. There was a legal duty to ensure these records were erased from individuals service records."

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