Keith Barber interviewed by Laura Stoffers

Interview with Keith Barber recorded by Laura Stoffers on 10 May 2025. Duration: 4 hours 20 minutes 2 seconds. [Start, track 01] Born in London, living close to railway early interest in signalling, engineering and science. Denial about being gay, isolation at school and university, mental health; 1978, starting railway career. [00:11:10] Awareness of a gay underground on the railway, how Chief Divisional Inspector discreetly expressed KB was safe, LGBTQIA+ support; police entrapment and queer protection networks. [00:23:40] Signalling responsibilities, accidents, route-setting panels, Solid-State Interlocking [SSI] and European Train Control System [ETCS]. [00:39:20] Relief signalman at Kensington Olympia; Liberal Party campaigning; meeting openly gay people, colleague support; accepting he was gay aged 21. [00:44:40] Living as a gay man under Thatcher, homophobic policy, calls for recriminalisation, tabloid outing, parallel with attacks on transgender people and LGBTQIA+ rights today. [00:53:00] Section 28, HIV/Aids crisis, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, queer solidarity, London Friend [LGBTQIA+ counselling organisation], current supervisor role there. [01:06:30] Permanent signalling job, Marylebone; anecdote, wearing “I’m a fucking queer” badge at work. [01:09:00] religion, joining St Botolph’s Aldgate, meeting his partner, BK’s family relationship with his partner; how they celebrated their 25th anniversary, special church service; workplace openness as a gay couple; managing freight as Relief Supervisor, shunting, Speedlink delays. [end of track 01] [Track 2] Work at Willesden Brent Sidings; queer social life, gay bikers, LGBTQIA+ bellringing group, other bellringing groups, London Pride. [00:06:00] Lack of organised LGBTQIA+ rail groups; leaving rail 1994, Station Manager role at Enfield Town, heritage signalling and simulators. [00:30:00] Station Supervisor responsibilities, staff acceptance, preferring the term Gender Sexual Relationship Diverse [GSRD] [00:49:15] Religion and LGBTQIA+, Christianity, inclusive parish at St Botolph's Church, Aldgate, gay carol services, Gay Christian Movement (founded 1976, known as Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) from 1987, and OneBodyOneFaith since 2017), conflicts and confrontation within the Church of England around LGBTQIA+ inclusion, his personal opinion of some church leaders then, how LGCM being established at St Botolph’s church was legally challenged by the Archdeacon of London [01:12:15] Living openly as a couple in Stepney and East Ham, Civil Partnership, support from Sikh and Muslim neighbours, visibility, normalising queer lives. [01:30:00] Training and Recruitment Officer for Anglia Freight, set recruitment/training systems, Channel Tunnel driver-trainer and traction-inspector selection criteria, work with British Railways Board psychologists. [01:39:10] Railways Act 1993, privatisation, redundancy; training as therapist, openness about his gay relationship, ASLEF stall at Pride 1994, Sexual Harassment Counsellor role; social progress for gay men. [01:50:30] AIDS/HIV crisis, St Botolph’s response and support to affected people, impact of combination therapy. [02:00:40] Criticism of attacks on transgender people. [end of track 02] [Track 3] Discussing the Supreme Court ruling (April 2025) and its impact on trans people, reactions to the ruling, his opinion of it. [00:05:05] Hoping for renewed LGBTQIA+ progress, dismantling privilege and broader representation, reflections on his own life and privileges; activities in retirement, boating and interrailing. [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.