This blog was written by Sarah Snelling and Sasha Pond, Graduate Trainee Library Assistants at the IHR Wohl Library.

History Day 2025 is fast approaching and this year, we will be running a Queer History and Heritage Trail to celebrate the diverse and rich histories of LGBTQ+ people through new perspectives and untold histories. Organisations participating in the trail will highlight queer stories and figures in their collections, and we’re especially intrigued to hear about the unexpected discovery of queer stories in a variety of collections. The trail will exist both in person and online via our Discover Collections website to ensure that everyone can get involved.

With a wide range of contributors already involved, from the Postal Museum to the History of Parliament Trust, Newham Heritage Centre to the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, we’re really excited to see so many organisations participating in the Trail through online submissions. Ahead of the in-person fair on Tuesday 4th November, we wanted to spotlight a few of the fascinating submissions we have received so far.

Scalpel handle inscribed with ‘E. Jenner’, X662. From the RCP Archives.

The Royal College of Physicians was founded over 500 years ago by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII to regulate medical practice in London and ever since, it has continued to play a pivotal role in raising standards and shaping public health. Their diverse collections tell the story of life, death, health, and disease since the 13th century, including LGBTQ+ histories that can be traced back at least 350 years. Some of this is explored in the virtual talk ‘That which never can be suppressed’: LGBTQ+ history in the Royal College of Physicians collections. The post ‘Sheltered from laymans’ eyes’: sex in the RCP library’  give us a fascinating look at early 20th century attitudes to sexuality through a note found in a library donation from 1919. The collections also reveal the histories of those within the medical profession. The careers of female physicians and nurses, and their hidden love stories, are uncovered in  ‘Unspoken love in the RCP’s archive: four women’s relationships’ and ‘Diana Kimber and Louise Darche: leading lights in New York nursing’. The piece ‘Medicalisation as marginalisation: queer heritage and class oppression in the RCP collections’ discusses the question ‘What is the point of queer heritage?’. Specifically, it speaks to the importance of using collections to move beyond showcasing queer lives of the past, towards helping liberate queer people in the present.

Constance Maynard (standing, middle) and Frances Ralph Gray (front, right) in 1888 with Westfield’s original teaching staff [QMUL Archives Ref. WFD/25/3/1]

The Archives and Special Collections of Queen Mary University of London look after the University’s own historical records and rare books, personal archives, other organisation’s historic records, and special collections. Amongst these are the diaries and unpublished autobiography of Constance Maynard, the first Principal of Westfield College (which merged with Queen Mary in 1989). Maynard’s diaries cover over 40 years of her life. They detail her devout faith and her close friendships, research, teaching, and role in the formation and early years of Westfield College. These writings are rich sources into the inner life of a queer woman from the 1840s-1930s. They also provide an insight into the history of women in higher education and the relationship between faith and sexuality. In this blog post, ‘For What Reasons the Murder Was Done: the Destruction of Constance Maynard’s Diaries’, the mystery of missing papers from the collection is explored, alongside a discussion of the role of the archive in record-keeping.

Postcard of pillar box painted in the Pride rainbow colours with the Houses of Parliament in the background. Courtesy of The Postal Museum (2016-0094).

The fascinating collections at the Postal Museum tell the 500 year old story of British postal communication and its continued impact on life around the world today.  From vehicles and uniforms to pillar boxes and stamps, the collections offer a window into social, engineering and design history through the lens of the postal system.

Among the many stories revealed through the archives are those of communication, secrecy and identity. In the early 19^th century, the practice of cross-written letters (writing in two directions on the same page to save paper and postage) became increasingly popular. It provided a method of sending coded messages, offering privacy for queer people to communicate freely, such as Anne Lister and her partner Ann Walker. The archives of the Postal Museum also shed light on the criminalisation of homosexuality and attitudes in the workplace. Gustavus Cornwall, who served for many years as Secretary of the General Post Office in Dublin, was accused of homosexual conduct in 1884, a time when such acts were illegal. The resulting scandal reveals the attitudes of, and reputational pressures faced by, the Post Office and the wider civil service.

Today, the Post Office continues to celebrate and support LGBTQ+ communities in a variety of ways – from painting its iconic red pillar boxes in rainbow Pride colours, to issuing stamps designed by Sofie Birkin marking 50 years of Pride, to collaborating with LGBTQ+ owned businesses such as Dean Morris Cards. The Postal Museum archives may not be the first place you think of when researching LGBTQ+ history, but they reveal rich and often unexpected stories of communication, identity, and belonging through an institution deeply embedded in everyday British life.

This is just a snapshot of the unexpected histories to be uncovered. Keep an eye on the website for new contributions and join us on the day to see the objects and collections for yourself!