Gay navy sailor

For centuries, LGBTQIA+ sailors served their country in silence. From the early days of Continental Navy, through USS Constitution ’s active sailing years, and into the 20th century, homosexuality was a crime subject to punishment by court martial, usually resulting in discharge.

Legally speaking, queer men were banned from serving in the Royal Navy until Despite this, it was able to maintain a reputation for homosexuality, one summed up by Churchill's description of the RN's traditions as 'rum, sodomy and the lash'.