A South East London transgender marriage in 1954

I have seen a few mentions on twitter and  facebook about the case of Vincent (born Violet) Jones and Joan Lee who were each fined £25 in 1954 following their 'illegal' wedding at St Luke’s Church in Downham - illegal because Vincent was not legally recognised as a man. An article at Historic England includes a photo of the couple on their wedding day (see below), with a quote from Jones: '‘We both love each other and when everything is put right we intend to get remarried. We shall have a public ceremony. We have nothing to be ashamed of.’

I wanted to see if I could find out more about this and thanks to the British Newspaper Archive and Ancestry, plus a couple of hints in messages from Bob from Brockley and Running Past, I think we can piece together more of the story.

Joan Mary Lee seems to have been born in Lewisham in 1933, her parents were George and Mary and in 1939 they were living at 120 Capstone Road in Downham with George working as a fitter for Post Office Engineering. Vincent Jones seems to have been born Violet Jones in Steyning, Sussex in 1928. The 1952 Electoral Register has Violet Ellen Jones living at 42 Ringmore Rise in Forest Hill. 

The couple met when they both worked as tracers in the drawing office at the South East London Telephone headquarters - not sure where this was, but it may have been the telephone exchange on corner of Glenton Road and Lee High Road SE13. According to the People (24/10/54) 'Girls who knew them say that "Miss Jones" had arrived at work one day in man's clothes and insisted that "she" had become a man, after operations'.

In September 1954 the vicar of St Luke's, Rev D G N Clark, 'pronounced Vincent Eric Kenneth Jones' of Forest Hill and '21 year old Joan Lee of Moorside Road, Downham, man and wife'  (Daily Herald, 25 October 1954) at a white wedding attended by relatives. 

After a two week honeymoon in Hastings they had set up home in rented rooms at 162 Ardgowan Road, Catford*.  It seems to have been the Vicar who reported them to the police having become aware that Vincent's  birth certificate bore the name Violet Ellen Katherine Jones. Following a police visit to their home in November, the couple were summonsed to appear in court for making a false statement to obtain a marriage certificate.

'The Girl Bridegroom' (Sunday Mirror, 24 October 1954)

The case was heard at Greenwich magistrates in December, and both were fined £25, the case receiving national media attention, some of it quite sympathetic. The magistrate said that Jones had 'made a grave false statement to cover your unnatural passion with a false air of respectability'. But this does not seem to have been a case of a same sex marriage by subterfuge - of the marriage of two self-identifying lesbians. Jones clearly identified as a man, telling the Daily Herald (25/10/54) for instance: ''I am a man. There is no doubt about that, and I have nothing to fear. My wife and I are very happy'.  In her statement, Joan said 'As time went of I became increasingly sure of my feeling for him as his for me, which neither of us made any attempt to hide from the world. To me he is as any other husband is' (Daily Herald, 14/12/54). 

Jones seems to have been recognised as a man at work and elsewhere and had experienced what would later be termed 'gender dysphoria' since childhood.  Jones' lawyer told the court that they had 'been a tomboy until teenage' and 'began to feel  desperate about her situation. It seemed ridiculous for her to be a female - she couldn't feel that she was a female. She tried to imitate them but found she couldn't do it'. Jones had sought medical treatment and spent four weeks at the Maudsley Hospital which had apparently 'advised Jones to wear male attire'(Liverpool Echo, 13 December 1954).

Jones told police 'I am a man but if you mean physically I still possess female organs... I have been to doctors to alter my sex completely but I was sick of waiting'. Jones had 'written to Denmark where there was a case of a woman doctor who changed her sex' (quoted in Alison Oram, 'Her Husband was a Woman!: Women's Gender-Crossing in Moden British Popular Culture', 2007). Gender Reassignment Surgery was in its early stages so it would have been very difficult for Jones to access it in 1954.

What happened next is unclear. Sadly Joan seems to have died in Dartford in 1966, bearing the name Joan Jones which suggests that the marriage continued. A press report from 1954 mentions that 'Joan is bald and wears a wig' which perhaps indicates an underlying serious health issue. There's a little confusion about Vincent - although so named in court, he is also referred to as Vic in press reports (e.g. by Joan's father below).  And it is as Victor E.K. Jones that he is named in a few places on family history website Ancestry, seemingly dying in Hastings in 1991 - decades after his honeymoon there with Joan.

 * press reports give address as Ardgowan Road, I have deduced house number from fact that their landlord Cyril Thomas is listed as living at 162 Ardgowan Road in 1962 electoral register.  Thomas 'in whose house the couple took rooms'  was quoted as saying 'They are a nice quiet couple. Sometimes they go out dancing' (DH, 25/10/54). 

'Girl weds girl in sex change sensation ' (People, 24/10/1954)-
found at British Newspaper Archive

(post last updated 18 November 2021)

UKIP's vanishing poster in New Cross

UKIP's election poster in New Cross hasn't done too well this week. This graffiti appeared earlier this week - it reads 'Stay out of South London, racist UKIP scum':

Last night, the poster was torn down. In his interesting review of the elections in Lewisham, Bob from Brockley writes: 'doubt many of my readers would even consider a vote for UKIP so I won't bother to tell you not to vote for their nasty, isolationist anti-politics. I'm fairly optimistic that, despite UKIP's worryingly high national polling results, the demographics of inner London (young population, confidently multicultural) play against them here. UKIP's stronger chances are in the Euro elections, for which the whole of London (including the outer London "Boris bagel" where they are performing well) is a single constituency returning eight MEPs: UKIP got 11% of the vote last time (one MEP)'.  

Meanwhile Hope Not Hate reports that some Independent candidates standing in Council elections might not be all they seem. Tess Culnane is standing as an Independent in Downham Ward, where she has previously stood for the National Front having earlier worked for the British National Party.  Michael Barnbrook, standing for the Bexley Action Group, was previously a BNP candidate too.

(Thanks to Chris for bottom picture, top one from @theblackjacobi)

See also: Nigel Farage at Dulwich College - a 'fascist' according to his teachers

Update 13 May:

More work on the New Cross UKIP poster seems to have simplified it further to as straight 'No':

Photo from @wigglymittens in twitter

The UKIP poster on Queens Road has also had some attention:

Meanwhile, spotted on a Lewisham lamppost:

New Cross Fire Station Saved - but cuts continue

New Cross Fire Station seems to have been spared the axe, according to the latest proposals due to be considered by London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) on Thursday 18 July. Clapham too has been saved, but 10 stations are earmarked for closure including three in South London: Southwark, Downham and Woolwich.

There has been fierce opposition to the plans published in January to close 12 fire stations in order to implement Boris Johnson's cuts of £28.8 million over the next two years. Banners such as the above (in Pepys Road SE14) have appeared around London. On 22 May, 200 people attended a consultation meeting at Sydenham School and voiced overwhelming opposition to the plans.

While it is good news that New Cross won't close, the proposals will still result in a reduced service across Lewisham and beyond, and in fact the number of proposed job cuts is now being increased from 520 to 552. So the campaign against the cuts will no doubt be continuing.

South East London Fire Stations Under Threat

Tomorrow (Wednesday 7th November) firefighters from all over the country will be converging on London for a lobby of parliament in protest against cuts to the fire brigade. In London, a leaked report due to be considered by the London Fire Authority on 22 November recommends the closure of 17 stations with the loss of 600 jobs. South London will be particularly badly hit - local stations on the closure list include:

- New Cross (Lewisham borough);
- Downham (Lewisham borough);
- Peckham; (Southwark borough)
- Southwark (Southwark borough)
- Woolwich (Greenwich borough);
- Clapham (Lambeth borough).

It goes without saying that this will put lives at risk - by definition the further fire engines have to travel to the scene of a fire, the longer it will take to get there.

A key figure in the decision about London fire brigade cuts is South London Conservative James Cleverly, the Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority as well as leader of the London Assembly Conservative Group (he is the Member for Bexley and Bromley). Having failed to get elected in Lewisham as a councillor, mayor and MP, we hope he's not going to take his revenge by closing down fire stations - at the same time as some of his party colleagues are planning to close down the Accident & Emergency department in Lewisham Hospital (where incidentally Cleverly was born). I'm sure it's just a coincidence that all of the proposed South London closures are in Labour boroughs.

Black History Month in Lewisham

Some interesting events in Lewisham for Black History Month (October). There's a black history walk through New Cross and Deptford with S.I. Martin on Saturday 23 October, 11 am (£5, book tickets through New Cross Library).

At Downham Library next Thursday 7 October there's 'Soundtracks to South London life' (7.00-8.30 pm): 'Patrick Vernon of Every Generation Media and lecturer and DJ Dr Lez Henry, author of What The Deejay Said identify the music, clubs, festivals and threads which counted in South London from the 70s through to the 90s'. Sounds good - check out this short film about South London reggae sound systems featuring Dr William Henry aka Lezlee Lyrix.

Goldsmiths Trust School Takeover Abandoned

We reported here last year proposals for Goldsmiths College to lead a Trust to take over managing two secondary schools and a Sixth Form College in New Cross. It appears though that this is no longer on the cards, at least according to this press release from campaigners against it:

CAMPAIGN SCORES VICTORY AND DEFEATS ‘GOLDSMITHS TRUST’ PROPOSAL

Staff at Addey and Stanhope School have been officially informed that Goldsmiths University has withdrawn its support for the proposed “Goldsmiths Trust” of Addey and Stanhope, Deptford Green and Crossways schools.

This news - confirming rumours that have been circulating for the last week - represents a significant victory for the joint campaign of trade unions, students and parents that have opposed this damaging Trust.

Martin Powell-Davies, Lewisham NUT Secretary, said: “This is tremendous news for everyone who supports comprehensive education. The Trust was always a half-baked idea. Its supporters were never able to show how a Trust would really benefit education. It would have taken staff out of Council employment and would have been a significant step towards the break-up of Local Authority schooling in the borough. We hope that we can now work together to strengthen genuine partnership between schools, not a divisive Trust”.

Des Freedman, UCU Secretary at Goldsmiths, said: “We are delighted that the proposers of the Trust have finally seen sense. We hope that they will continue to demonstrate their support for comprehensive education and not be swayed by the false promises from the Conservatives for more Academies”.

The “No Trust in the Goldsmiths Trust” campaign – backed by the NUT, UCU, ATL, NASUWT, GMB, and UNISON unions in Lewisham, along with Goldsmiths Students Union, Defend Education In Lewisham and ‘Hands Off Lewisham Bridge’ – organised a number of meetings and lobbies as well as street leafleting to highlight their opposition to the proposed Trust.

Campaigners are now moving on to oppose another school takeover. Lewisham Council have opened a consultation proposing that Merlin Primary School in Downham is taken over by Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy - just like Monson was taken over by Haberdashers Aske's Hatcham Academy. For further information, contact: Martin Powell-Davies, 0794 6445488.