For roughly a century, my hometown was the location of the largest biscuit manufactuer in the UK, Hu
For roughly a century, my hometown was the location of the largest biscuit manufactuer in the UK, Huntley & Palmers, and even though they’ve not really been as big of a deal for some time, you can still see various buildings and parks in the area named after the two founders.However, the popularity of the brand ended up leading to it taking an odd place in British LGBTQ history, all due to one guy’s decision to use the founders’ names as euphemisms.See, in 1954 the Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, better known as the Wolfenden Report after its Chair, Lord Wolfenden, was instituted to examine homosexuality and prostitution after multiple high-profile trials for “homosexual offences“.Homosexuality was illegal in the UK at the time (lesbianism never was, but was still highly taboo) and the Wolfenden Report would actually play an important role in in it getting decriminalised in 1967 (albeit for men over the age of 21).However, the decision was made by Wolfenden and the panel to use Huntley and Palmers as internal euphemisms for “homosexuals“ and “prostitutes“ so not to “scandalise” the secretaries who were writing down the minutes of the meetings surrounding their report.So yeah. That’s how the British Isles’ largest biscuit brand accidentally got tied to LGBTQ history! -- source link
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