#devon england

[normalpeoplethiings]

next month i will finally be back in the uk, i’m too excited. reuniting with the homeland finally 🤞

[lotoseaters]

Southwood farm garden, Devon

[wildermouse]

a day on dartmoor 🌿

[damaged-blogger]

[100gayicons]

“The rest of the world has no conception of what our love is.”  

Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher met while on houseboat vacation ("on holiday" as it’s known to Brits). The year was 1938. They fell in love. Gordon was in the army and if discovered he would be subject to a court martial.

Gay sex had been illegal in England since 1885 when the "gross indecency" law was passed by Parliament. Well-known figures such as Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing were prosecuted under the law. Curiously, the law did not apply to women.

Finally in 1967, the Sexual Offences Act decriminalized sex between consenting men over the age of 21. But "out" gays, man or woman, still could not serve in the military until 2000.

When WWII broke out in 1939, Gilbert was drafted and assigned to training as an airplane gunner. Gordon got orders to join a unit in Europe. But they stayed in touch with letters, lots and lots of love letters.

The letters described their love for each other, and hopes for the future, as well as anxiety about surviving the war. Here’s an example from 1940:

February 12 1940, Park Grange

My own darling boy,

There is nothing more that I desire in life but to have you with me constantly... I can see or I imagine I can see what your mother and father's reaction would be... The rest of the world has no conception of what our love is. They do not know that it is love."

They both dreamed of a time when they could love each other without hiding

“Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our letters could be published in the future in a more enlightened time.”

“I feel that all our happiness and all our unhappiness should be shared”.

But as a safety precaution, they each signed their letters with just “G”.

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/stories/the-secret-ww2-love-letters-between-two-men

By the end of the war, separated and alone, Gilbert and Gordon drifted apart. But Gilbert saved Gordon’s letters. They were discovered in a box after he died in 2008.

Eventually the box found its way to an auction were it was bought by a collector of military ephemera. Initially he thought the letters were between a soldier and his fiancé -- until he realized “G” stood for Gordon. He searched for more and his collection of Gilbert's & Gordon’s letters reached nearly 600. The collection is on loan to and displayed at the Oswestry Town Museum (190 miles northwest of London).

No photos of Gilbert & Gordon are available. Below is my wishful thinking.

[snowflake-shenanigans]

Forgive me if someone already made this joke

[connectparanormal]

[cursedvoiceshistory]

Victorian England really said “it’s either the literal Devil or a very athletic mouse.” 🧐❄️

In 1855, Devon woke up to a 100-mile trail of cloven hoof-prints. Not in a straight line, mind you- these things went over 14-foot walls, across haystacks, and straight across rooftops.

The best part? The “scientific” community at the time genuinely tried to suggest it was just "a rogue kangaroo." 🦘

I’m sorry, but unless that kangaroo learned how to double it's jump height, the math isn’t mathing. Other theories include birds, an otter, and even mice.

What’s your pick: The Great Devon Mystery, a very lost kangaroo (a real theory!), or did the Prince of Darkness just fancy a winter stroll? 👇👇👇

See the entire breakdown on our podcast on Spotify or Youtube

(links to both are here: https://cursedvoices.com/devil-footprints)