The Abergavenny Witch Hunt : A New Book From William Cross

FROM THE ABERGAVENNY CHRONICLE 24 JULY 2014 THE ABERGAVENNY WITCH HUNT : A NEW BOOK FROM WILLIAM CROSS In 1942 the Author J.R. Ackerley wrote a letter to the Spectator expressing his outrage in regard to a story he had stumbled across that took place in Abergavenny. The story concerned a number of men who were involved in a notorious sex case that made national news and ‘rattled the town like an earthquake.’ Ackerley was himself gay in a time when homosexuality was still an imprisonable offence, and made his protestations on the basis that over 20 men were put on trial for homosexual behaviour. One of the men involved took his own life by throwing himself in front of a train, while most of the other men involved received sentences ranging from one to ten years. While it is indisputable that lives have been cut short and damaged by the criminalization of homosexuality,the question that must be asked is, did Ackerley have the full facts at his disposal in regard to the Abergavenny scandal of 1942? Or did he choose to ignore certain extremely disturbing elements which would still carry a prison sentence today? For example, the Judge in the case had no hesitation in describing some of the men involved in the case as ‘principals who corrupted youths’. Such men’s defining sexual characteristic was that of a predatory male, which had they been heterosexual, would have been equally as damming. A new book by Newport author William Cross covers in detail the 1942 case and it’s wider implications. Keen to stress that he did not write the ‘The Abergavenny Witch Hunt’ out of any sense of mischief, finger-pointing or financial gain, Cross said, “I wrote the book because history is not only about great deeds and noble lives, it’s also about peeling back the layers of less righteous conduct.” Under the editorship of a tenacious newsman named George Harris, the Abergavenny Chronicle covered the proceeding and trials more extensively than any other media outlet. Below is a brief summary of events as they unfolded [ not repeated here ].The Chronicle would like to add that in no way, shape or form does it judge, condemn or seek to assassinate the character of any of the individuals involved in the 1942 case, but merely seeks to present its readership with a purely objective article of historical fact that we feel will be of some considerable interest, not only in respect to a period of Abergavenny’s history which remains largely forgotten, but also in regard to the ever changing dynamic of British social and cultural life in the twentieth century. ALL ENQUIRIES PLEASE E-MAIL THE AUTHOR WILLIAM CROSS williecross@aol.com