Robert Hughes interviewed by Claire McHugh

Interview with Robert (Bob) Hughes recorded by Claire McHugh on 27 March 2026 at the Dana Research Centre and Library, Science Museum, London. Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes 14 seconds. [Start of interview, track 01] Childhood in Croydon, South London, and teenage years; feeling fortunate to grow up in London; realising he was gay; memories of ‘Gayest Moments on British TV’ with Boy George; working at Switchboard (LGBTQIA+ support helpline in the UK, registered charity); reflections on coming out and how his experience compared with others. Discussion of coming out, attending an LGBTQIA+ Youth Centre, having a positive early life experience and a strong support network. [00:11:41] Teaching abroad, transgender acceptance among children and children’s social awareness; gap year; University of York, socialising, and differences between London and Yorkshire gay nights out; realising others had not had the same positive life experiences. [end of track 01] [Track 02] Studying English Literature at university and A Levels; joining campaigning and social LGBTQIA+ groups; feeling a duty of care towards LGBTQIA+ folk and describing how being part of the community shaped his life. Post-university work in the Students’ Union as Welfare Officer; teaching in China, South Korea and Austria; being closeted, experiencing heterosexism from a head teacher, and learning to hide in less LGBTQIA+ friendly cultures. [00:13:20] Teaching in Wales in a macho environment and feeling guilt about not being a queer role model for students; working in Korea, attending Seoul Pride, seeing protests against Pride, mistaken conflation of tradition with being anti-LGBTQIA+, being closeted and facing the possibility of dismissal for being gay; decisions about which countries felt safe or not to work in. Personal life abroad, dating while hiding, partners’ fears about being outed, and losing carefree feeling about being gay; living and working in Austria and being more open in a relationship with a flight attendant. [00:24:50] Relationship with parents and accepting family; co-chairing the University of York LGBTQIA+ society; becoming a donor parent; reflections on family, social pressure and not feeling pressure to follow traditional life milestones such as marriage and house buying. Having a donor child; moving back to London from Austria in 2017; working for an education charity in fundraising; volunteering at Switchboard from 2020. [00:35:07] Work at Switchboard, hearing other LGBTQIA+ experiences, bringing together queer individuals from different generations and walks of life, and trying to make things better for queer people; the damaging effect on staff morale of a hostile Supreme Court judgement (April 2025). Continued education charity work alongside Switchboard volunteering, including schools work, fundraising and tackling educational disadvantage; reflections on hate crime, shootings, and the contrast between an all-queer team at Switchboard and the education charity. [00:47:05] Reflecting on life path, future jobs and body confidence as a gay man. [00:51:12] Discussion of the impact of Section 28, young people’s understanding, gaps in older teachers’ training, the negative effect of misinformation filling educational voids, and thoughts on passing work on to younger generations. [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.