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Craig Jones (Royal Navy officer)

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Craig Jones MBE (born 17 July 1968) is a former Royal Navy Officer and LGBT rights defender in the UK armed forces.[1] Jones was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Years Honours List for services to Equality and Human Rights in the Armed Forces.[2][3]

Craig Jones
MBE
Craig in 2008
Born (1968-07-17) 17 July 1968 (age 56)
Bingley, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Portsmouth
Occupation(s)Author, Equality Campaigner and formerly Lt Cdr RN

Early life and education

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Jones was born on 17 July 1968 in Bingley, West Yorkshire. His father was a storeman and his mother a dinner lady.[4] He was educated at Bingley Grammar School prior to joining the University of Portsmouth.  He was a member of Southampton University Royal Naval Unit in the rank of Midshipman Royal Navy Reserves between 1986 and 1989 and trained in HMS FENCER. Mid-way through his degree studies he was offered a Commission in the Royal Navy. [5]

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Jones joined Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth in 1989 and passed out in April 1990.[6][7] He completed his Fleet Time in HMS UPTON, HMS ARIADNE and HMS ALACRITY, before joining the Fleet as a Lieutenant in HMS CORNWALL in 1992. He was the Royal Navy's first Helicopter Fast Rope Boarding Officer and led operations to clear stranded shipping from the Shatt Al Arab after the 1st Gulf War. He was an executive officer in the border regions of Northern Ireland during "the troubles" conducting counter-terrorism boardings and searches in the coastal regions. Later he was Deputy Navigator of the aircraft carrier HMS INVINCIBLE during Operation Bolton.

After completing the Principal Warfare Officers Course, he was the Operations Officer of the Amphibious Flagship HMS FEARLESS.[8] In 2004 he was the Fleet Signals Intelligence Officer at Northwood HQ and his final role was at the Ministry of Defence as the Maritime Signals Intelligence Procurement Officer. From the day of the lifting of the gay ban on 12 January 2000 and until leaving the Service in 2008, Jones led the LGBTQ community in the British Armed Forces and negotiated with Service Chiefs the unravelling of the impact of decades of prohibition.[1][5][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Military law and homosexuality

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Homosexuality was decriminalised under the Sexual Offences Act 1967, but this did not extend to members of the armed forces where men & women serving were dishonourably discharged if their sexuality was discovered.  

Warrant Officer Robert Ely, a bandsman who joined the army at seventeen and served for twenty years before being dismissed for his homosexuality, set up Rank Outsiders in 1994 with Lt Elaine Chambers, a Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps nurse who had endured a harrowing dismissal from a much loved career. Royal Navy Officer Edmund Hall later joined Rank Outsiders and set up the Armed Forces Legal Challenge Group in 1995 and is credited with winning the support of Stonewall to drive the British Government into lifting the ban.[14]

In 1998, the campaign worked with Stonewall on behalf of Jeanette Smith, who had been thrown out of the Royal Air Force, and Duncan Lustig Prean, a Royal Navy commander who was being dismissed. They asked Stonewall to arrange legal representation, leading to a long battle through the courts with Graham Grady and John Beckett also joining the case. Although the judges in the High Court and Court of Appeal said that they felt the ban was not justified they could not overturn it and Stonewall had to take the case to Strasbourg and the European Court of Human Rights before winning it.[15][16]

On 12 January 2000 the long-standing ban on homosexuals in the British Armed Forces was finally lifted.  Announcing the change to Parliament, the Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Geoff Hoon acknowledge that "There will be those who would have preferred to continue to exclude homosexual, but the law is the law.  We cannot choose the decisions we implement.  The status quo is simply not an option."[15][17]

Campaigner

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As the "gay ban" was lifted [15][18] Jones came out in an ill-prepared Armed Forces which had opposed the lifting of the ban for decades.[8] By his own admission he forcefully petitioned Service Chiefs to unravel the impact of decades of prohibition, and is widely credited with driving change at a pace which was counter to the MODs intent.[8][19][20][21][22] In 2005 the Royal Navy was the first armed service to sign up to Stonewall's Diversity Champions programme.[13][22][23][24]

In 2006, then a relatively junior officer, he was exceptionally and reluctantly given leave by the MOD to speak in the United States Congress tacitly advocating for the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) with members of Congress and Staffers.

Jones continued to receive criticism at the Ministry of Defence for speaking openly about the resistance of some service chiefs to change, notably about the MOD not allowing members of the armed forces to march in uniform at Pride. In 2006 the Royal Navy was given permission to march in uniform at Pride followed by the Royal Air Force in 2007 and Army in 2008.[25][26][27]

He returned to Washington in 2009 for discussions at Brookings as the Pentagon prepared for their own policy change.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] In 2008, Jones was engaged as a consultant to the Equality and Human Rights Commission during their compliance investigation of the alleged harassment of women in the Armed Forces. The enquiry found that the Armed Forces were making steady progress and working towards greater compliance.[38]

Jones was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours for services to Equality and Human Rights in the Armed Forces,[3] and completed his service career in 2008.  

To mark the 20th anniversary of the lifting of the British Armed Forces 'gay ban' Jones edited and published Fighting with Pride, a charity anthology book which brings together LGBT+ servicemen and women who have served in every conflict since WW2 to the present.[39] Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Anne-Marie Trevellyan MP read extracts from Fighting with Pride at a 20th anniversary reception at the House of Commons hosted by Johnny Mercer MP.[40]

Fighting with Pride was launched as a charity, supporting LGBT+ veterans on 12 January 2020 with Craig as joint Chief Executive along with Caroline Paige MBE before continuing as Executive Chair and in April 2024 as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Fighting with Pride has been instrumental in securing justice for veterans affected by the former Ban on homosexuality in the Armed Forces. The Ban, which saw thousands of members of the Armed Forces impacted by being removed from service, was overturned in 2000. [41]

Jones is currently a member of the MOD Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.[1][3][9][12][42]

Bibliography

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Fighting with Pride LGBT In the Armed Forces. London: Pen & Sword. 2019. ISBN 9781526765253.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Today, Personnel (4 May 2009). "My best and worst decisions: Craig Jones, global head of diversity, Barclays Wealth". Personnel Today. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Sussex heroes honoured". The Argus. 31 December 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "The London Gazette". The London Gazette Supplement 1.
  4. ^ General Register Office England & Wales Birth Index 1916-2007 Volume 2c Page 94.
  5. ^ a b "Navy List Research". www.navylistresearch.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  6. ^ Association of Royal Navy Officers. ARNO. 1990. p. 6.
  7. ^ Britannia Royal Naval College Lord High Admirals Divisions. Dartmouth Archives: BRNC. April 1990.
  8. ^ a b c d "When telling the truth meant the sack". 21 February 2005. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b The Navy Lists of Retired Officers. Ministry of Defence. 2003. ISBN 0-11-773005-X.
  10. ^ "Gay Power: The pink list". The Independent. 2 July 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  11. ^ "The IoS pink list 2008". The Independent. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Pen and Sword Books: Titles by Lt Cdr Craig Jones". www.pen-and-sword.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  13. ^ a b Lyall, Sarah (22 February 2005). "New Course by Royal Navy: A Campaign to Recruit Gays". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  14. ^ Edmund, Hall (1995). We Can't Even March Straight. Vintage.
  15. ^ a b c "BBC News | UK POLITICS | Services gay ban lifted". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  16. ^ LUSTIG-PREAN AND BECKETT v. THE UNITED KINGDOM - 31417/96;32377/96 [1999] ECHR 71, 27 September 1999, retrieved 21 July 2019
  17. ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (13 January 2000). "Forces ban on gays is lifted". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  18. ^ "BBC News | UK | Military gay ban illegal". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Gay in the Armed Forces". www.newstatesman.com. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  20. ^ "The Way We are Now : Ben Summerskill : 9780826487858". www.bookdepository.com. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  21. ^ Condron, Stephanie (17 March 2006). "New attitude to gay sailors has cut 'unhealthy secrecy'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  22. ^ a b Barkham, Patrick (21 February 2005). "Navy's new message: your country needs you, especially if you are gay". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Royal Navy to promote gay rights". 21 February 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Hello sailor: navy recruits pink press". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 February 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  25. ^ Condron, Stephanie (17 March 2006). "New attitude to gay sailors has cut 'unhealthy secrecy'". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  26. ^ Bannerman, Damian Barr and Lucy (14 June 2008). "Soldiers can wear their uniforms with pride at gay parade, says MoD". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  27. ^ Evans, Michael (16 June 2007). "Army chief 'apoplectic' over uniforms at Gay Pride march". The Times. London. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Allied Officers To Discuss Gay Service At Brookings". Palm Center. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  29. ^ McLean, Lt Col Charles; Singer, Peter W. (27 May 2010). "Don't Make a Big Deal of Ending Don't Ask Don't Tell: Lessons from U.S. Military Allies on Allowing Homosexuals to Serve". Brookings. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  30. ^ McLean, Charles (3 June 2010). "The Military Should Quickly Repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'". Newsweek. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  31. ^ Harley, Andy (10 February 2004). "Report Finds Allied Gay Personnel Had No Adverse Effect On US Military". ukgaynews.org.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  32. ^ "Serving With Openly Gay Soldiers And Sailors". NPR.org. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  33. ^ "Lessons Learned from the Service of Gays and Lesbians in Allied Militaries". Brookings. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  34. ^ Room for Debate (3 May 2009). "In the Barracks, Out of the Closet". Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Don't Ask, Don't Tell — Except in Britain | The Takeaway". WNYC Studios. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  36. ^ "U.S. allies say integrating gays in military was nonissue - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  37. ^ "talks.cam : Gay Debate: This House Believes that the Path to Success is Straight". talks.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  38. ^ "Investigation into sexual harassment in armed forces ends | theHRD". theHRDIRECTOR. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  39. ^ Jones, Craig (20 November 2019). Fighting with Pride. Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-5267-6525-3.
  40. ^ "British Military Marks 20 Years Since Lifting Of Ban On Gay Personnel". Forces Network. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  41. ^ "LGBT Charity Fighting with Pride to lead creation of LGBT Armed Forces Community Memorial". The Federation of Service Charities. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  42. ^ "Broadcasting equality body hires gay rights campaigner". PinkNews. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
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