Gay Community Organisation

The Gay Community Organisation was formed in 1982, following the establishment of a Special Commission investigating the future of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), which recommended a restructuring. The minority report noted a failure to meet the needs of most gay people and suggested that CHE should become two interlinked organisations devoted to campaigning and social activities. A working party suggested the establishment of local gay co-operatives working under the Industrial and Providential Societies Act. These groups would organise local activities and support, and would in turn purchase shares in the national Gay Community Organisation, which would act as a central fund holder and co-ordinator. The decision to establish the Gay Community Organisation was taken in June 1982 at Hastings National Council, and the scheme was launched at the Sheffield Gayfest the same August. GCO officially came into existence on 1 September 1982, with a National Council and a General Management Committee at the centre and 24 groups throughout the country, mostly former CHE groups. By April 1983 it was clear that there were problems with the development of the local groups and their relation to the central organisation. The central body of the GCO ceased to exist in 1984, though some local groups continued an independent existence.