AIDS: THE LOST VOICES
It’s not every day an average 24-year-old becomes the centre of a national media frenzy, especially when it’s 1992 and you’re living with HIV after receiving HIV-infected blood to treat your hemophilia.
Birmingham’s Roy Cornes found himself being whisked into hiding by the local authority after he was named in all the major national newspapers by several women he’d slept with. They alleged through the newspapers, in an act that some say was vengeful, unfounded if not malicious, that Roy had “knowingly” infected them with HIV and “full-blown AIDS” through sexual intercourse.
In this episode, we attempt to strip back the sensational headlines and the vilifying language to understand who Roy was and if he fully understood the full extent of his HIV diagnosis as a heterosexual man - given HIV/AIDS had largely been publicised as the “gay plague”.
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CORNES, Roy Cyril - was born 7 September 1967 in Birmingham, West Midlands to parents George Cornes and Audrey Power who married in 1953, Birmingham. Roy was the youngest of eight siblings; Gordon, Paul, John, Alan, Merle, Andrew & Garry.
Roy, like some of his brothers suffered from a rare blood condition called haemophilia (learn more on the NHS Website). With no known cure Roy and thousands of others relied upon donatted blood for its clotting agents. Roy as did his brothers Garry and Gordon received blood contaminated with HIV.
EVIDENCE: John Cornes giving evidence in 2019
As a result Roy is believed to have unknowingly passed on HIV to other’s through intimate sexual contact. With no cure nor effective treatment for HIV in 1992 Roy developed AIDS which ultimately claimed the life of his brother Garry 8 November 1992 aged 26 (later his wife Lee Diane - given Garry had unknowingly passed HIV to, died February 2000 aged only 33). Roy, himself on 27 May 1994 aged 26, and later his brother Gordon on 20 December 1996 aged 42.
Roy’s brother John also a haemophiliac also received contaminated blood as part of his treatment, although, not contaminated with HIV but Hepatitis C. On behalf of himself, and his entire family John stoically gave a Written Witness Statement and verbal evidence to the recent Infected Blood Inquiry after decades of campaigning.
Garry & wife Lee Diane Cornes
Gordon Cornes
ALLEN, Gina Caroline was born 3 August 1971 in Birmingham to parents Raymond Allen and Mrs Ford. Gina sadly passed away from AIDS-related complications after being admitted into hospital she fell into a coma and sadly never recovered. It is believed Gina was the only child of the couple.
Gina was survived by her father Raymond and Grandmother Rose.
RUSSELL, Lynette Joy - was born 1952 in Australia before emigrating to Birmingham, West Midlands. In 1976 saw the arrival of her first born followed by a second four years later in 1980. After Lynette broke the story with herself subject to the most appalling ignorance, stigma and physical abuse she moved to Stoke-on-Trent around 2004. With a fresh start and a passion for horses and her grandchildren, Lynette sadly passed away in the winter of 2016 in Stoke-on-Trent.
THE HIV PODCAST
As mentioned in this episode, my friends over at THE HIV PODCAST did a whole crime series on ‘Deliberate & Reckless HIV Transmission’. Tune in and let Sarah & Jess guide you through real life criminal cases where HIV was deliberately passed to another.
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