The archive of the Sussex Lancers (Brighton’s gay bikers club) was destroyed around 2016, so I was hoping that after my exhibition Sussex Lancers: Tailor-made Leather Lovers at Brighton Museum opened on 31 January, some Lancer-related material might surface.
In a completely unconnected turn of events, this February saw work start on repairing the paved area of the garden at the Sussex Beacon. If you’re unfamiliar with the Beacon: “For over 30 years we have been a trusted lifeline and place of safety for people living with HIV in our community.”
The paved area is a centrepiece of the garden at the Beacon, and features an impressive ‘trachycarpus fortunei’. Obviously we all know what that is… but to avoid us tripping over the latin, let’s just call it a windmill palm.
(courtesy of the Sussex Beacon on Facebook)
Undiscovered in the undergrowth
Forgive the rather flowery heading (see what I did there), but next to the palm was a simple metal plaque explaining the origins of the tree. I was contacted by Community Services Team Manager at the Beacon, better known to many as Alan Spink, as he knew I would be interested in what the plaque had to say.
There is another plaque on site that commemorates the official opening of the Sussex Beacon by HRH the Duchess of Kent in March 1994. The garden plaque however, pre-dates that by over a year. Alright, I’ll stop drawing this out – the plaque says this:
Don’t hurt your eyes squinting, scroll down.
World AIDS Day 1992
The first person to die of AIDS in Brighton was in 1984 and the combination therapy to supress the virus didn’t materialise until 1996. This plaque dates from 1992, when stigma and prejudice around HIV and AIDS were rife.
The mayor in Brighton 1992-1993 was Councillor Mrs Gill Sweeting. Sadly she is no longer with us, but at the memorial service for her in 2015, the chief executive of Brighton Housing Trust, Andy Winter, said “the most important thing about Gill was her care and compassion for people on the margins of society”.
How right he was, as the plaque commemorates the planting of the palm tree in the Sussex Beacon garden by the mayor of Brighton on World AIDS Day: 1 December 1992.
Lanceolate connection
What could possibly be the connection between the Sussex Lancers and a windmill palm tree? Is it that the palm tree’s leaves are described as lanceolate – tapering to a point like a lance? No, I’m just throwing random facts at you. The reason is that the tree was donated by the Sussex Lancers.
The plaque has been weather-beaten for over 30 years so is unsurprisingly in need of repair. I tried to make it clearer in Photoshop but my skills were found to be lacking. In desperation I turned to that new-fangled AI thingy, and asked it to enhance the text on it – and the result is so much clearer:
For anyone who needs it, here is the full text:
This tree was planted by the Worshipful the Mayor of Brighton Councillor Mrs Gill Sweeting on “World AIDS Day” 1st December 1992 Tree donated by “The Sussex Lancers”
Earliest AIDS-related plaque in Brighton
What makes this plaque not only fascinating but important, is that according to my research into LGBT monuments and memorials in Brighton, the date on it makes it the earliest AIDS-related plaque in Brighton. I know, I gave the game away in the heading really, oh well.
If you’re left thinking it was lucky that Alan Spink had seen the Sussex Lancers exhibition and knew I would be interested… you might be surprised to know that the man sitting on the motorbike in the image below is the same Mr Spink. Thank you Alan!
