Two police detectives arrived at Hollymeade, the home of a faculty member at Victoria University in Manchester. Alan, the occupant, had reported a burglary after a handful of trivial items had been stolen. The detectives did not dispute what Alan was telling them, and they believed the items were almost certainly taken.

But there were not there to discuss a petty theft. They were there because while investigating the burglary they uncovered evidence that led them to believe Alan was gay.

In 1952 engaging in homosexual activity was illegal. Like many gay men at that time, he was arrested and faced charges of gross indecency which could result in a prison sentence. At his trial, he pled guilty, was placed on probation, and made to undergo chemical castration which would reduce his capacity to be sexually aroused. The hormonal treatment was gruelling and the side effects severe.

The Detectives who arrested Alan had taken his fingerprints and his photograph but were unaware of the monumental impact he had on Britain during world war two. On the high end, some estimate the lives he saved at fourteen million, and his efforts were said to have shortened the war by two years.

But two years after his conviction Alan would be dead.

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