The White Lion

For many who attended, CHE meetings were not only political but deeply personal. They provided rare opportunities to speak openly, form friendships, find partners and build confidence in a period when being openly gay could still mean family rejection, job loss or harassment. Social life and activism were tightly intertwined, and the pub setting helped create a sense of belonging that extended beyond formal campaigning.

The Wandsworth–Richmond group formed part of a nationwide network of CHE branches that emerged across Britain in the late 1960s and 1970s. Together, these groups helped shift gay politics away from secrecy and individual survival toward collective action, lobbying for law reform, challenging hostile media coverage, and arguing for equal ages of consent and workplace protections. While national campaigns were important, much of this work was rooted in small local meetings like those held here, where people organised leaflets, public talks and demonstrations, and supported each other through everyday discrimination.

From its Putney base, the group built links across Wandsworth and Richmond through outreach, public events and collaboration with other progressive organisations. Over time, it evolved in name and structure — later becoming CHERP and eventually merging with neighbouring groups in the early 1980s — reflecting how local gay politics shifted as visibility and community infrastructure slowly expanded.

Placing this history at the White Lion highlights how queer political change was built through ordinary social spaces. Pubs like this were not just places to drink, but sites where confidence, community and collective resistance took shape in ways that would reshape LGBTQ+ life across Britain.