Historic court files, provided by the Cheshire County Archives, are on display for the first time revealing details of the conviction of Alan Turing, the World War II Enigma codebreaker, at Chester Town Hall, in Northgate Street, from 23rd September (Friday) and goes on till 9th October (Sunday). The official documents list the charges, pleas and sentences of the trial of Turing in Knutsford.
The display is ahead of the Chester Pride festival of this year, which starts on 1st October. It forms part of a new heritage project- ‘Pride in the Past’. This initiative is by Chester Pride and Big Heritage, with funding from Heritage Lottery and support from Museums and Archives teams at Chester Council and Cheshire West Council. It intends to tell the story of LGBT communities of Cheshire, across the last 2,000 years. This public display starts off the year-long project, where volunteers will make an exhaustive search into Cheshire’s historic records, for other such individuals who because of their sexuality, were put on trial. Recorded and remembered, their names and stories will be put on a commemorative event in 2017.
Alan Turing was convicted in 1952 for homosexual behaviour, after he admitted to a sexual relationship with a man. Recognised for his role by many during World War Two, contributing to the Allied campaign to defeat Nazi Germany, and to help crack the Enigma code, he helped save millions of lives. Turing convicted for gross indecency, underwent chemical castration, but eventually he suicided. The Oscar-winning film, The Imitation Game, brought to life his story of and his vital contribution during the war. The sentence on Alan Turing was eventually repealed and he was given a Royal Pardon posthumously, after a major campaign in 2013. To keep update with free events, news , announcements and upcoming fundraisers, go to the site- chesterpride.co.uk, or follow on Facebook Chester Pride UK, or on Twitter @chesterpride.
