On 6 August, the National Trust reversed a decision to enforce the wearing of gay pride badges for all its volunteers at a Norfolk property after 10% of them resigned.
The ‘outing’ of Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, the last owner of Felbrigg Hall, was a questionable act. Surviving family members were not supportive of the Trust outing him, as they question whether the unmarried man was gay and say his private life is of no concern to the public.
Some of the volunteers objected to the badges being worn on grounds of ‘conflicting personal opinions’ regarding the promotion of gay lifestyles. For holding conservative views on sexuality, the volunteers experienced media criticism that was formerly the preserve of the outed homosexual. The Trust said they couldn’t do frontline roles if they didn’t wear the badges and should ‘take a break’ from volunteering.
