IT was landmark moment in British law and equality.
Fifty years ago gay sex was partially legalised and the persecution of gay men and women, in theory, consigned to history.
On July 27 1967, gay men in England no longer had to fear life imprisonment for having sex in private under the Sexual Offences Act.
It was the first, significant step although not the final victory, far from it.
It was only in 2003 when gay sex was fully permissible. It was hard fought, following years of abuse and prejudice, some of which still continues today.
Inequalities still existed. The age of consent remained at 21 for gay men until 2001.
Sex between women has never been a crime.
So while the 1967 act was a landmark legal move given it was the first gay law reform since 1533 under Henry VIII, it was not the end of criminalisation.
There was a backlash.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the physical abuse and vilifying of the gay community by the authorities and society at large, became worse after the reform.
It signalled a step, albeit tentative, towards tolerating gay sexual behaviour which many believed was morally wrong, and did not want to confront.
Human rights activist Peter Tatchell, 65, says 420 men were convicted of gross indecency in 1966.
By 1974, the figure skyrocketed by more than 300 per cent to over 1,700 convictions.
So how far have we really come towards equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community?
“I feel we’ve come a long way but there are still walls to be broken,” says Peter Greening, 49, who has been a prominent voice for gay people, in particular those with HIV, since 16.
Proud - Peter Greening
“Homophobia might not be so visible but I feel it’s still out there.
“We’re still in a world where it’s illegal, and they will kill you for being gay, in 72 countries around the world. That’s scary.
“If we look at what’s going on in Chechnya where our brothers and sisters are being murdered - the world is just standing by and watching.
“Donald Trump just took away transgender rights for them to serve their country.
“They’re willing to put their lives on the line and he says no because ‘you’re mentally ill’. That’s wrong.
“I’m very grateful David Cameron sorted out the equality rights he did when he was in power.”
The former Tory Prime Minister legalised same-sex marriage with the legislation being passed in July 2013 and coming into force the following March.
Arguably, the day same-sex couples were allowed to get married is when homosexuality really became legal.
But for Peter, born five months after 1967 Act, noticeable change happened in 1984.
During this time he was living in London, having left his birthplace of Colchester at 18 because as an “effeminate gay boy,” he was a target.
Protest - a still from the film Pride. PA Photo/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
He said: “In 1984, there was the big Gay Pride march and how we supported the miners in South Wales did the gay community a lot of favours.
“But I also remember the backlash around what the media would term the ‘gay plague’.”
The so-called gay plague was HIV and Aids. The illness spread through the community and gay men suffered renewed stigma.
“Just as we felt we were starting to make progress, it put us back,” said Peter.
“But again, the gay community fought with their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to push for medical advances and care for those who were dying at the time.
“It was a very scary time for people.”
Many friends Peter lost through HIV are to be honoured in a catalogue of gay men who lived through the 1980s and 1990s, which will be archived in the British Film Library.
For World Aids Day on December 1, he hopes to organise a candlelit vigil and, with the support of Colchester Council, see the clock face on the town hall shine red.
In Eastbourne, Sussex, where Peter spent 20 years before relocating back to Colchester a year ago, the gay community was very visible.
It was “stable not fractured” as he feels it is in Essex.
He vividly remembers the heyday of the Fox and Hounds pub in Little Bromley, which is now the Haywain country pub, where gay men could meet to socialise.
There was also Colchester Gay Switchboard, as it was in the 1970s, bestowed to the gay community by someone who died of Aids, Peter explained.
Now it is Outhouse East, the support organisation hosting Colchester’s first Pride on August 19.
Landmark - some of the team behind Colchester's first Pride
He said: “A lot of people question, well do we need a gay community because we’re more accepted now and can be ourselves more openly.
“But, of course, we should always remain visible because we’ve had to fight and claw our way out of being criminalised, victimised and suffering homophobic attacks.
“These things will continue and if we were to crawl back into invisibility, and the underground, then our fight would have been in vain.”
As soon as Peter left for London and then Brighton in 1999, he embraced his “camp-ness,” his fighting spirit and pride.
Coming out at just 13-years-old was not necessarily a purposeful declaration, it was a way of breaking free.
“I was just sick of being picked on and keeping quiet about it,” the former Alderman Blaxill School student said.
“It was a very different time and Colchester was very homophobic.
“Of course, in the early Eighties things began to change with pop culture and it was more acceptable to be effeminate and flamboyant, but I found it very difficult at times being chased by a mob of skinheads or mods through Castle Park.”
The announcement was not a surprise to Peter’s friends, or teachers, but he suffered heavily because of it with weekly beatings at the hands of homophobic bullies.
He said: “I realised from a young age that stigma and discrimination would be my best friends for life.
“But it made me into who I am today which is a strong, outspoken person and an activist.
“I think my parents were in denial about it until I told them. I expected my father to be disappointed and, in fact, it was quite the reverse, he was great.
“It felt absolutely wonderful because growing up as I did, I questioned whether I was loved and maybe for a short time, I felt I wasn’t, but that acceptance from my family has been great.
“They love me just the way I am.”
Sparkle - Peter Greening looking flamboyant at Brighton and Hove Pride in 2002
KEY MILESTONES ON THE LONG ROAD TO LEGALISED SEXUAL EQUALITY (Source: Stonewall)
1971 – Marriage between same-sex couples in England and Wales is banned under the Nullity of Marriage Act
1972 – London hosts the country’s first ever Pride and Gay News is founded
1980 – The first Black Gay and Lesbian Group is established
1988 – Margaret Thatcher introduces Section 28 of the Local Government Act (LGA) 1988 banning homosexuality being promoted in schools
2000 – LGBT personnel are allowed to serve in the Armed Forces
2002 – Equal rights are granted to same-sex couples wanting to adopt
2003 – Homosexuality can now be taught in schools after the Section 28 of the LGA is repealed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
2004 – Transgender people have the right to a new birth certificate after the Gender Recognition Act 2004 is passed
2010 – A new offence of ‘incitement to homophobic hatred’ comes into force in the UK
2016 – The Isle of Man legalises same-sex marriage
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