LGBTQIA+ map 'promotes belonging' at rail stations

An illustrated travel map and exhibition is being launched to highlight local LGBTQIA+ stories and develop a sense of "visibility, belonging, and safety" across a rail network.

The project - called Exploring LGBTQIA+ Gloucestershire - was developed by Gloucestershire Community Rail Partnership (GCRP) and features 13 original portraits by Brockworth-based illustrator Sherina Steele.

The portraits include both historical and contemporary figures like King Edward II and Olly Alexander, who have shaped Gloucestershire's queer history.

About 2,000 maps will be distributed throughout June as part of Pride Month, with the exhibition open to the public at Cheltenham Spa Station from 31 May.

GCRP executive director, Hannah McDonnell, said: "Through this map and exhibition, we're working to remove barriers, amplify underrepresented voices, and build a more inclusive transport network rooted in the communities it serves."

The initiative, funded by Great Western Railway, aims to promote visibility at railway stations across the county and forms part of the national Railway 200 celebrations, by spotlighting underrepresented histories and communities within the rail network.

Ms McDonnell said that by sharing the stories of LGBTQIA+ people and places across Gloucestershire they hope to "inspire connection, pride and belonging, both within the community and among those who travel through it".

The 13 portraits featured in the exhibition and on the map include singer and actor Olly Alexander, former chief constable of Gloucestershire Police Suzette Davenport, King Edward II and Conservative MP for Cheltenham between 1874 and 1928 Sir James Agg-Gardner.

Others included are computer scientist Alan Turing, Bee Bailey - the first openly transgender police woman on Gloucestershire Police, and Stroud-born barman Jody Dobrowski who was killed because of his sexuality in London in 2005.

Project manager Piper Holmes said the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK is "steadily increasing by 3.3%" but she said recent spikes in hate crimes had "tripled in recent years".

She said that through the project, the team wanted to "encourage queer people to explore their area and know that Gloucestershire can be a place for them".

"Making the places listed accessible by public transport is critical as many young people are not driving these days," she added.

She also hopes the project will help build "confidence within the community to access rail industry careers".

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