Named as one of the top 200 gay
people in Britain in 1995 (source: Gay Times May 95 issue No. 200) and
voted by the readers of the Pink Paper in 1997 as being one of the 500
most influential people on gay life in Britain (source: Pink Paper 97),
for a decade Malcolm Lidbury was a driving force for gay equality and
HIV issues in Cornwall and the south west. Then about two years ago he
virtually disappeared from gay life. The death of his partner, a suicide
attempt and a victim of discrimination all being contributory factors,
but now he's back on the up.
He had published and ran the ICT,
a gay and lesbian publication for Cornwall (1992-95). In 1993 Lidbury
organised in Cornwall, a gay rally in support of the campaign to
equalize the age of consent, which featured in the C4 documentary 'Age
of Dissent'. He has made numerous television studio appearances, taken
part in documentaries and radio broadcasts, speaking in support of gay
equality and HIV issues, and produced several gay guides to Cornwall.
In 1994 Malcolm then long term
partner, Andrew, was diagnosed with AIDS. Malcolm won an ombudsman
enquiry against Kerrier local authority for 'mal-administration with
malice' against a gay AIDS sufferer. He publicly challenged prejudice
and discrimination in Cornwall's institutional organisations, despite
overt hostility from some Cornish gay men, who feared and opposed the
raising of gay issues locally.
A founder member of Magnet, a
sexual health initiative, also a trustee of the HIV related Sprocket
Trust and a trustee of Cornwall AIDS council, He was an outside advisor
on the proposed local health authority gay men's health project. He was
local co-ordinator for Stonewall project 2000 Camborne & Falmouth
constituency. The South West body positive contact for Cornwall and was
an affiliated member to numerous national gay and HIV organizations.
Malcolm was the author of
'Implications for Cornwall', a widely circulated damning report,
sponsored by Ivan Massow, The Sprocket Trust, Life Benefits Resource and
others. It condemned the response of the Cornish authorities towards gay
sexual health in Cornwall. Malcolm was also the G.U. Clinic voluntary
gay men's support worker. He also ran a gay supper group, a weekend gay
tea garden as well as a mid-week gay social group.
Malcolm and his then partner
Andrew played a major role in the making of the West country television
documentary 'Days of Judgement' about attitudes towards HIV/AIDS
sufferers in the south west. Malcolm was also facilitator to the
Cornwall Young Gay Men's Group and he is an officiate for non religious
gay commitment ceremonies and gay funerals.
He has been the invited guest
speaker to talk on HIV and gay issues to a wide diversity of
organisations including Cornwall Rural Community Council, students at
Truro College, media students at Falmouth College of Art, Unison
southwest regional LGB, Nursing students from Exeter Uni, and for
members of the institute of chartered environmental health officers.
On behalf of two Spanish gay men,
he took on a complaint against the English Tourist Assoc. the West
country Tourist Assoc. the Cornwall Tourist Assoc. and Falmouth
Hoteliers Assoc. when one of their members breached the Tourist
Association rules through breach of contract. He obtained a public,
televised apology for the two Spanish men.
There seemed to be no end to
Malcolm's willingness and commitment to HIV and combating discrimination
towards gay people.
Christmas 1996, Andrew, his
partner for seven and a half years, died as a result of AIDS, but
Malcolm continued to spearhead gay equality and HIV issues in Cornwall.
He won a formal apology from the County Council social services for
their failure to provide statutory services to an AIDS sufferer.
However, he still expresses his grave concern at continuing inherent
homophobia within Cornwall County Council and Social Services in
particular.
When a locally powerful
multi-million pound business, Trago Mills placed in the company adverts
for the castration of gay men, Malcolm took on the company, helped
co-ordinate protests, galvanized media interest and won a landmark
advertising standards authority complaint against Trago Mills.
However, his success as an
independent gay equality campaigner was also his Achilles heel. Malcolm
had been trying for years to get the local health authority to fund a
preventative HIV project for Cornwall's gay men. The Cornwall and Isles
of Scilly Health Authority eventually agreed to fund a project, but
appointed the Probation service to control the gay health project and
budget in Cornwall.
Malcolm was banned by the
Probation service from the Health Authority gay men's health project and
in the process they also ostracized many other local gay men from
accessing gay health resources. The effect of the GMHP ban was
personally devastating upon Malcolm. He attempted suicide with morphine,
which lead to long term hospital treatment for clinical depression. He
became a victim of the Cornish authorities prejudice and discrimination
which he had so long been fighting to eradicate.
"The ban and subsequent hate
campaign by some of those involved Cornwall GMHP, so soon after my
Andy's death sent me into deep depression, my GP put me on
anti-depressants and referred me for hospital treatment. I felt I had
wasted ten years of my life supporting HIV issues and gay equality in
Cornwall. I lost all confidence in myself, the gay community, my entire
life fell apart and my self esteem took a bloody hammering' said Malcolm
Following the suicide attempt,
unemployed and deeply affected by the continuing hostility directed
against him from within the 'probation service' Cornwall gay men's
health project, Malcolm withdrew almost entirely from gay social
contact, but despite the emotional beating he had received he did
continue to provide voluntary care to a small number of HIV and other
disabled gay people known to him personally.
In November 98, when taking one of
his care clients to hospital for an operation, Malcolm met Rob, a twenty
one year old student who had just left University. They arranged to met
for Sunday lunch and it's been a l-o-n-g lunch.
'We spent the summer at Rob's
family villa in Cyprus and with encouragement I began to rebuild and
enjoy my life.' said Malcolm
Whilst with Rob in Cyprus, Malcolm
began to paint again. A self taught artist and sculptor, Malcolm had
previously had successful solo exhibitions of his bronze male figurative
sculptures and male nude paintings and has a small, but growing
following of collectors of his work.
Today, Lidbury's art work is
becoming international. Already with an established a place in British
gay history for his gay equality and HIV work and now with the explosive
growth of the internet and the ability to reach a more cosmopolitan
audience world-wide, there will be greater interest and awareness of his
highly collectable homoerotic art.