Island residents share their stories and experiences of being a member of the LGTBQ+ community on the Island.
How do you record an oral history interview?
We contacted Museum and Heritage Educator, Lisa Kerley and she gave a fascinating training session to the Out On An Island team who are LGBTQ+ or allies.
You can learn more about Lisa’s work here.
We then put out an open invitation to anyone who identified as LGBTQ+ and who had an Isle of Wight connection to sit with an interviewer and to share their stories in their own words, anonymously if they preferred.
This kind of interview invites the interviewee to talk freely without interruption, comment or judgment where possible to let a natural story unfold. It provides a valuable first-hand account of lived experiences.
The recordings will be preserved for future generations and archived at Wessex Film and Sound Archives in Winchester and Carisbrooke Castle Museum, Isle of Wight.
Sydney Cardew
Sydney is a trans lesbian who was born in 1987 and grew up in the small village of Rookley on the Isle of Wight.
Rosa MacCormack
Rosa is a lesbian who has lived on the Island since 2003. She has found that activities and events for lesbians here are few
Robin Ford
Robin was inspired to share his story and contacted us after coming along to a talk featuring Peter Tatchell and hosted by Out On
Robert Jones
Robert was born on the Isle of Wight in November 1950. He identifies as a gay man and has lived on the Island all
Michelle Norcott
Listen to the story of Michelle, a trans woman who decided to come out and transition when she was 60. Her connection to the
Melissa Gilmore
Melissa is a non-binary person who identifies as queer and bisexual. They moved to the Island in 1998 and in 2008 left for University
Lucy Benton
Discover what it was like to move to the Isle of Wight in 1997 for Lucy, a trans woman who was born in Birmingham.
Karl Stedman
Listen to the story of full time artist Karl, a gay man who was born in North Yorkshire. He and his husband moved to
Karl Love
Karl is a gay man from Yorkshire who moved to the Island in 1992 with his partner, now husband, David. He got a job
Karen Wright
Karen came to the Isle of Wight when she was 6 months old and spent her childhood here. Sociable, outgoing and active, she loves
Jude Ashley-Walker
Jude is a lesbian who was born in London. She describes feelings of gender dysphoria when she was a child. Jude was the Isle
Julian Clarke
Julian is a trans man who was born on the island and has lived most of their life here. Their original ambition was to
Jess
Jess is an Island raised queer woman born in 1991 and now living in the north of England. She frequently returns to visit the
David Froud
David is an openly gay man who lived as a monk for seven years before moving to the Isle of Wight in 1975 where
Caroline Diamond
‘Late onset lesbian’ Caroline was born in 1966 and came out aged 46. She moved to the Isle of Wight in 2000 due to
Callum Murphy
Callum is a gay man who was born in 1990. He works for local government and has been a volunteer for Isle of Wight
Anonymous
Listen to the story of a man who prefers to remain anonymous. He identifies as gay or queer and was born at St Mary’s
