Cliff Tucker (executive)
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Anthony Edward Dyson, aka Tony Dyson (28 November 1928 – 30 July 2002) was a British literary critic, university lecturer, educational activist and
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
campaigner.


Biography

Educated at
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...
, Dyson began his academic career in 1955, when he was appointed Assistant Lecturer in English Literature at the University of North Wales, Bangor. From there, he went to the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
, where he was later appointed Reader. He took early retirement in the 1980s. Dyson single-handedly took the initiative in forming the
Homosexual Law Reform Society The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation in the 20th century that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes to the set of laws which criminalised homosexuality at the time. History In 1954, the Conservative government set up a D ...
(HLRS) in May 1958. He had sent hundreds of letters to Members of Parliament and celebrities asking for their support, successfully bringing together an impressive collection of distinguished names, including
Noel Annan Noel Gilroy Annan, Baron Annan OBE (25 December 1916 – 21 February 2000) was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of colonel and was appointed to the Order of the Briti ...
, Lord Attlee,
Alfred Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer ( ; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989) was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) and ''The Problem of Knowledge'' (19 ...
,
Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
, Trevor Huddleston,
Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...
, C. Day-Lewis, J. B. Priestley,
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
,
Donald Soper Donald Oliver Soper, Baron Soper (31 January 1903 – 22 December 1998) was a British Methodist minister, socialist and pacifist. He served as President of the Methodist Conference in 1953–54. After May 1965 he was a peer in the House of Lo ...
,
A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his telev ...
,
Angus Wilson Sir Angus Frank Johnstone-Wilson (11 August 191331 May 1991) was an English novelist and short story writer. He was one of England's first openly gay authors. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for '' The Middle Age of Mrs ...
and
Barbara Wootton Barbara Frances Wootton, Baroness Wootton of Abinger, CH (14 April 1897 – 11 July 1988) was a British sociologist and criminologist. She was the first of four women to be appointed as a life peer, entitled to serve in the House of Lords, und ...
. The campaign began with a letter, signed by all these figures, published in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' on 7 March 1958, calling for the implementation of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations that the law in relation to male homosexual relations be liberalised. Dyson had written on the University of North Wales headed paper making a bold statement of exactly who and where he was, which was a risky move. "It is difficult to comprehend the danger of living as a homosexual before the law was reformed in 1967, with the ever-present threat of criminal proceeding or blackmail. Dyson's careful and courageous handling of the campaign during these years was instrumental in ensuring that it did not arouse animosity and become counter-productive." The same group of people simultaneously founded the Albany Trust, the charitable arm of the HLRS, which became the pioneer national counselling agency for gay men and lesbians. Dyson was Vice-Chairman of the HLRS and a Trustee of the Albany Trust. During this time, he met Cliff Tucker (18 December 1912 – 21 May 1993), a senior executive at BP, a Labour Party councillor in inner London and a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
. They lived together for 35 years until Tucker's death in 1993. Dyson followed Tucker's final wishes and bequeathed the proceeds of their
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
home to Tucker's alma mater, the
University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter () was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest Academic degree, degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited degree awarding powers sinc ...
. As a result, there is now a
scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
and lecture theatre bearing Tucker's name, and a Fellowship in Poetry named for Dyson. In 1959, Dyson, together with Brian Cox, founded the literary journal ''
Critical Quarterly ''Critical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the humanities published by Wiley. The editor-in-chief is Colin MacCabe. The journal notably published the Black Papers on education starting in 1969. History Early years ''Critical Q ...
'', described in ''New Pelican Guide to English Literature'' as "probably the most influential English literary-critical journal in the academic field over the post-war decades." Together, Dyson and Cox wrote ''Modern Poetry: Studies in Practical Criticism'' (1963), which became a standard text book for many years. As a literary critic, Dyson published works on
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
,
Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...
,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
and
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...
, among others. In 1969, Dyson and Cox published the first of what became a series of five Black Papers"The Black Papers — there were five but the first two had the greatest impact..."
/ref> criticising "progressive" educational methods and the Labour government's policy of replacing
grammar schools A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...
with
comprehensive schools A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...
. This and subsequent Black Papers attracted considerable support, especially on the right of the political spectrum. However, they failed to stop the comprehensive schools movement. Dyson died in London in July 2002, after suffering from
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
for several years. The papers of Tony Dyson and of his partner, Cliff Tucker, are housed at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
John Rylands Library Special Collections. A further box of his papers is held at
Lahore School of Economics Lahore School of Economics, also known as "The Lahore School", is a private research university based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan and recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. It was established in 1993 and chartered by the Go ...
archives.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, Anthony Edward 1928 births 2002 deaths 20th-century British LGBTQ people Academics of the University of East Anglia Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge British activists British LGBTQ rights activists British LGBTQ writers