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James Wharton (born 1 January 1987- ) is the author of ''Out in the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier'' and ''Something for the Weekend': Life in the Chemsex Underworld'' and an
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
activist. Wharton was born in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
on the first of January 1987, and grew up in the nearby village of
Gwersyllt Gwersyllt () is an urban village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The densely populated village is one of Wrexham's largest and is situated in the north western suburbs of the city, bordering the nearby villages of Llay, Cefn-y ...
. In 2009, he garnered attention by featuring on the cover of
Soldier Magazine ''SOLDIER Magazine'', the official monthly publication of the British Army, is produced by an in-house team and published by the Ministry of Defence. It is aimed primarily at junior ranks but also to all ranks of the British Army, cadets and th ...
– the official monthly publication of the British Army – as an openly gay trooper in the
Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel (United Kingdom)#Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel of ...
. Wharton came out as gay to his regiment in 2005, aged 18 and just six years after the army's discrimination against gay people was declared a breach of human rights by the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
. Before 2000, Wharton could have been court-martialled. Wharton left the army in 2013 after ten years' service and in 2014, he was granted the Freedom of the City of London for his work as a prominent LGBT activist. Following working in public relations and for the LGBT-specialist insurance company Emerald Life, Wharton was the Wellbeing Services Manager at Birmingham LGBT until September 2019. As of 2023, Wharton is a reporter working for
Forces News The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselve ...
.


Background

Until 2000, the British
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
(MOD) policy was to continue the long-standing ban on gay people in the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
, and 298 were dismissed in 1999, the year before the ban was lifted. A legal challenge to this stance was taken up by four people who had been investigated and dismissed for being gay — a female nurse and male administrator dismissed from the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
, and a Lieutenant Commander and
naval rating In military terminology, a rate or rating (also known as bluejacket in the United States) is a junior enlisted sailor in a navy who is below the military rank of warrant officer. Depending on the country and navy that uses it, the exact te ...
, both males, dismissed from the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. Their legal challenge was supported by the pressure groups
Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...
and Stonewall. After losing the case at the
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
in London, they appealed to the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
in Strasbourg. In September 1999, this court ruled that investigations by military authorities into a service person's sexuality breaches their right to privacy (
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides a right to respect for one's " private and family life, his home and his correspondence", subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democrat ...
). In light of the ruling (which as an ECHR ruling applies to the militaries of all member states of the EU and of the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
), the MOD subsequently lifted the ban, and began allowing gay people into the services from 2000 onwards. According to a national opinion poll published a week before the ruling, the ban had been opposed by 68% of Britons.UK Gays win military legal battle
BBC News, 27 September 1999


Army career

Having had a lifelong ambition to serve in the British Army, Wharton began his career aged sixteen, following three years with the Army Cadets. After his basic training at The Army Foundation College in
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...
from 2003 to 2004, Wharton signed up as a Trooper in the
Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. The Colonel (United Kingdom)#Colonel of the Regiment, Colonel of ...
division of the Household Cavalry in 2005. For his first two years, Wharton's duties were largely ceremonial but in 2007 he saw active service in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
as a member of an armoured reconnaissance unit. In 2008, Wharton was seconded to Canada to take part in the training troops for active service under the command of
Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...
, who defended Wharton against a homophobic threat from soldiers in another regiment. Wharton later described the incident in his book ''Out in the Army'' and he defended his publicising Prince Harry's role in it by saying "(he) wanted to write honestly about his time in the Army". By the mid-2000s, the Armed Forces had begun to celebrate their modern approach to diversity and in 2008, gay servicemen and lesbian service women were encouraged to take part in London
Gay Pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
in their uniforms. (According to a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
press release, "personnel will be considered to be on-duty for the uniformed element of the event"). At first worried that he might be the only serviceman to attend, Wharton was joined by over fifty uniformed men and women from across the armed services. In 2009, Wharton was invited to appear in Soldier magazine – the official monthly publication of the British Army. What Wharton expected to be a short article on his experience as an openly gay soldier in the British Army turned out to be the featured article. A photograph of Wharton in dress uniform and wearing his Iraq Medal decorated the cover alongside the word "pride" in bold. Just nine years before it was illegal to be gay and serve in the armed forces. The following year, Wharton entered a Civil Partnership, which was later that day celebrated at the non-commissioned officers' mess in the Household Cavalry's Hyde Park barracks. Having returned to ceremonial duties, in 2010, Wharton took part in
Trooping of the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign, though the event is not necessari ...
, which since 1748, has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign. In 2011, Wharton formally escorted the Queen Elizabeth II at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Wharton returned to public attention in May 2012, when a photograph of him – in uniform and without permission from his commanding officer – alongside his civil partner was published on the cover of
Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...
with the heading "Have you heard the one about the Iraq veteran who can fight for his country but can't get married?" In the same year, Wharton came 20th of 250 influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on The Pink List. In 2013, after a decade of service, which included meeting Prime Ministers
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
and
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, and advising representatives of the US Armed Forces on their "Don't Ask, Don't tell" policy, Wharton left the army and published his autobiography.


''Out in the Army – My Life as a Gay Soldier''

Published in 2013 (and with an afterword) in 2014, Wharton's autobiography and first book was met with critical acclaim. Covering Wharton's career in the army from 2003 to 2013,
Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...
described it as "the most moving book I have read" and publisher Ian Dale listed it as among the top 25 books published by Politico's & Biteback.
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
described it as "a wonderful, stirring and thrilling read".


Gay saunas controversy

In a column for the launch edition of Winq magazine in 2014, Wharton advocated the closure of gay saunas. He claimed that saunas promoted homophobia and were "thorns in our side that mark our community as different for the wrong reasons." His views sparked a nationwide controversy and met with strong opposition by notable LGBT activists, including
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...
, Matthew Hodson, chief executive of the gay men's health charity GMFA, and Jason Warriner, clinical director for The Terrence Higgins Trust, who argued that "(closing saunas) would make it more difficult for organisations like Terrence Higgins Trust to provide safer sex information, supply condoms and deliver HIV testing services among groups at increased risk of sexually transmitted infections and HIV." Wharton later retracted his comments, which he said were in part due to a traumatic experience he had in a sauna when he was eighteen.


''Something for the weekend – Life in the chemsex underworld''

In 2014, a year after leaving in the army, Wharton's civil partnership broke down and he moved to an apartment in north London. A far cry from the house he lived in with his civil partner and their two dogs. In need of a new circle of friends, Wharton discovered the London chemsex network and fell victim to it. Wharton later wrote ''Something for the weekend:Life in the chemsex underworld'' – that included recounts of his personal involvement – which was published in 2017.
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
wrote of the book "(it) looks compassionately at a growing culture that's now moved beyond London and established itself as more than a short-term craze." His publisher, Iain Dale said, "this book...describes the true secret lives of many men in the nation’s capital. It’s an important story that needs to be told and will surprise many". In a 2017 interview for
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 ...
, Wharton said: In 2016, Wharton, seeking help with his addiction, turned to the Wandsworth Community Drug and Alcohol Service, and with their support, walked away from the chemsex culture. Following his recovery, Wharton went on to campaign against the stigma of chemsex addiction and the danger it presents to mental and sexual health.


Bibliography

James Wharton; ''Out in the Army. My Life as a Gay Soldier'', 2nd Revised edition, Biteback Publishing, 2014 . James Wharton; ''Something for the Weekend. Life in the Chemsex Underworld'', Biteback Publishing, 2017 .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, James 1987 births Living people Blues and Royals officers British Army personnel of the Iraq War British autobiographers British gay writers People from Wrexham Military personnel from Wrexham