Stephen Jenkins interviewed by Robert Morgan

Made:
2024-03-20 in Exeter

Interview with Stephen Jenkins recorded by Robert Morgan on 20th March 2024 at Exeter Library. Duration: 52 minutes 40 secs. Joined railway 1973, education, boarding school, studying modern languages at university in Oxford, career prospects; knowing he was gay from a young age, sex education at school then; not being out as gay at university; early 1970s changes in society, Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) impact, questioning his own sexuality and coming out, feeling of not fitting in with people openly gay at university; [00:05:05] career considerations, interest in industry, interest in transport and railways; traffic management training scheme with British Rail (BR), South Wales, his impressions at start of training, cultural shock, experienced railway staff there, feeling isolated as a gay man, no knowledge of other LGBTQIA+ people; coming out attempts, experience going to gay pub for first time in Cardiff; [00:11:05] shift supervisor role at Severn Tunnel Junction, dealing with male employee known to chase young male employees; Total Operations Processing System (TOPS), yard supervisor role and TOPS officers, work culture then, pranking and goofing around; how he felt about being asked out by colleague; [00:16:30] work at Head Office, doing masters at university funded by BR; exploring his sexuality and coming out when doing masters at university, discovering LGBTQIA+ community, surprised when meeting someone from BR at gay pub for the first time, how different it felt then (1970s-early 1980s) compared to now (2024); occasionally met LGBTQIA+ people working in railway industry, gradually realising there were more LGBTQIA+ people in railways than he thought; Railtrack, early 1990s, assumptions and gossips about a manager being gay, anecdote how he came out to his line manager, hierarchical relationship with line manager, how he feels about talking about his sexuality; [00:24:00] applying for job at Railtrack in Swindon, wanted to be open about his sexuality, being chairman of lesbian and gay switchboard for 5 years, sexuality not made a topic at work/when hired; anecdote, hearing people gossiping about him; used to keep quiet about his sexuality, changed in late 1990s, how things feel different now with visibility of LGBTQIA+ people; [00:28:10] impact of 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, more discreet about his sexuality; lack of knowledge how HIV was caught, ticket collectors worried they could catch it from tickets; microagression, when he was off work with flu and people thought he had AIDS, lack of support at work then; Severn Tunnel Junction job, anecdote, colleagues’ prank with fax machine; when his boss tried to find out if he was gay, unofficial support; not coming out at work, how he dealt with gossip, reflecting on having kept part of his identity secret throughout his railway career; [00:37:00] Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in workplace now, employers embracing people’s identities, being able to bring whole self to wok; how it felt for him not being fully himself at work, impact on confidence and ambition, not wanting to be in high profile position; how railway felt a safe workplace to him as a gay man, but may have felt different to others; [00:44:30] how railway industry has changed for LGBTQIA+ community, rail employers at pride events, employers supporting employees; how BR supported well its employees when straight, married with kids; advice he would give to LGBTQIA+ person joining railways now, not to be put off from joining railway industry, support, be yourself and do not hide your sexuality; what his dad said about work when he came out; generational differences in acceptance of LGBTQIA+; reflecting, used to think senior management was always made of straight people, impact of knowing that senior staff could be gay [00:52:40] [end of interview]

This interview was made as part of People Pride and Progress (PPP) project. The project was initiated in 2023 to record the stories and memories of the LGBTQIA+ community in a new oral history archive over two years. It aimed to connect past, present and future through intergenerational interviews, offering opportunities for colleagues across all parts of the rail industry to connect, reflect on and learn from each other’s lived experiences while creating an archive of oral history interviews.

Details

Category:
Corporate Archive
Collection:
People, Pride and Progress
Object Number:
2026-22
type:
oral history interview
rights:
Science Museum Group
credit:
People Pride and Project Archive created by the Science Museum Group, made possible with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the players of the National Lottery

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