Free premiere at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will connect different generations of LGBTQ+ sailors

On 26 March from 6pm to 7:30pm at the Action Stations Auditorium in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, visitors will be able to enjoy the premiere of Uncharted Waters: Generations of LGBTQ+ Pride in the Royal Navy.

Uncharted Waters is a film created in partnership with the Royal Navy’s LGBTQ+ Network and filmmaker David Graham, showcasing how the first-hand experiences of LGBTQ+ Sailors and Officers have differed before and after the lifting of the ban on homosexuality in the armed forces in 2000.

Joanna Valentine, Community Producer at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, helped organise the event. She said: “The purpose of the film is to show different LGBTQ+ generations of the Royal Navy talking to each other. While we are aware the film doesn’t include everyone’s experiences, it is a starting point in making our collections more inclusive of LGBTQ+ history.”

After the film visitors will have to chance to meet and network with local LGBTQ+ organisations and Veterans’ charities, such as the Royal Navy’s LGBTQ+ Network, the Terence Higgins Trust, Downtown Pompey, Portsmouth Pride, Queer All Year and Fighting With Pride.

Lieutenant RN Danny Cairns, the Co-Chair of the Royal Navy’s LGBTQ+ Network said "Our short film, Uncharted Waters, is a perfect way for the Royal Navy's LGBTQ+ Network to show its open arms to our returning Veteran Community. Within the Armed Forces, Veterans are a huge part of our culture and education system; unfortunately, the LGBTQ+ ban not only took away a generation of Sailors, but took away our role models, our mentors and a support network. For the recommendations to support our Veterans returning to us, it will allow both them and the Service to finally heal but will also allow us to train a better Sailor tomorrow."

Alongside community organisations, the Collections team from the National Museum of the Royal Navy will also be present, allowing Veterans and serving personnel to come forward to register their interest in sharing an object or story about their experiences in the Royal Navy. Alongside this a special object will be on display especially for the event, a touching gift presented to a Royal Marine that was commissioned by his partner.

The film is a part of a much wider piece of work by the National Museum of the Royal Navy to develop and widen access to the Collection and engage with the entire story of the Royal Navy. This work enriches the Collection and the stories the Museum tells visitors.

Tickets to the film are completely free, for general admission please visit: https://bit.ly/3Pyn2xL

For Veterans please visit: https://bit.ly/3TpYDLT