AIDS: THE LOST VOICES
PRINCESS: with Martin, 24th February 1989
MARTIN JOHNSON met the late Diana, Princess of Wales on her first visit to the UK’s first AIDS hospice at London’s Mildmay Hospital. Photographs of the Princess and hospice resident Martin appeared in various newspapers the following day, 25th February 1989.
Martin was no stranger to the press given in late 1982 he found himself splashed across the front page of his local paper. Not only ‘outed’ as a gay man, but twenty-eight year old Martin was also subject to a police “raid” which saw him arrested along with 37 of his guests attending his birthday bash. Accused of hosting an “orgy” and ‘importuning’ homosexual acts against the Sexual Offences Act 1967 no charges were brought, but, MARTIN JOHNSON v UNITED KINGDOM was a claim Martin put before the European Court of Human Rights and we get to hear the UK Governments observations and the courts decision.
IN ORDER OF PODCAST EPISODE - CLICK TO ENLARGE (OPENS IN NEW WINDOW)
PETER ASHMAN was a human rights lawyer and activist. Ashman's activism spanned a period covered by the archive held at the Bishopgate Institute (from the days of the Gay Liberation Front to Stonewall, of which he was a founding member, and which operated from his front room for its first six months) and continued well into the 21st century.
Peter advised, prepared and represented Martin Johnson in his claim to the ECHR lodged in 1983 - MARTIN JOHNSON v UNITED KINGDOM. Courtesy of the Peter Ashman Memorial Archive, Bishopgate Insitute are three pages from Peter’s file on the Martin Johnson claim. The pages are the first three of the UK government’s response that spill the tea on questions the final judgment left unanswered. Was it an orgy? Who was the shady bitch that grassed to the rozzers? Was someone under 21 present?
Courtesy of the Peter Ashman Memorial Archive, Bishopsgate Institute.
First Floor: Flat at Esmond Road
JOHNSON, Martin Aston - was born 1st October 1954 in Muswell Hill, London to parents Derek A Johnson and Marion Annie Sheppard. Four years later followed Martin’s brother Derek in 1958.
Martin’s occupation was ‘Courier’ (Travel Agent) where he lived and worked from Chiswick, West London. Martin’s bio is short given he gave up his home to reside in the UK’s first AIDS hospice in London’s East End - Mildmay Hospital. His time here was relatively short as he passed away 16 days after meeting the late Diana, Princess of Wales on 12th March 1989, aged only 34. Martin’s mother Marion was at his bedside.
Footage © BBC - Princess Diana & Martin Johnson 24 February 1989 Mildmay Hospital AIDS Hospice
AIDS HOSPICE: Princess Diana sitting with Martin in the UK’s first AIDS hospice at Mildmay Hospital, London - 24th February 1989
Martin cited a legal case of a London “Transvestite Party” of the 1920s when speaking to the Acton Gazette in 1982 after he and his 37 “homosexual” guests were arrested for attending his birthday bash in his home. The only case we could find tat was significantly reported in the press was one of the Adelphi Rooms on Edgeware Road.
This story occurs in the Adelphi Rooms on Edgeware Road which, decades later became a familiar gay haunt along with the likes of the City of Quebec pub [Elephants Graveyard], Marble Arch - known during the war to be frequented by American & British servicemen seeking gay ‘liaisons’. Men dressing as women during this period, have an established cultural history of transvestitism and should not be misconstrued nor claimed to be today’s transgenderism.
Ballroom - taken 14 May 1924
Refreshment Room - taken 14 May 1924
In the same year, 1924, when these promotional photographs were taken, the Adelphi Rooms played host to many functions, mainly wedding receptions and masonic lodge dinners along with tea dances.
Archives at The Bishopgate Institute
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