Pride 2025

 

 

The Mystery of the 1957 Gay Wedding Photos

What do you see in the photos? Who do you think they are and what do you think they are doing? When do you think the photos were taken?

A few years ago, a museum in Los Angeles appealed for help to identify people that were photographed in 1957. The photos show a wedding between two men. There are photos of the men cutting a cake, exchanging rings, opening gifts and dancing. 

Why do you think the museum was interested in these wedding photos?

Where are the men getting married? Why are there only a few people, why isn't it in a church or a hall?

In 1957 being gay was illegal in the US and all over the world. So the two men in these photos were breaking the law. Everyone else at the wedding was also breaking the law and could have been arrested if the police found out it was happening.

Why do you think being gay was illegal in 1957?

Why are things different today?

If the law says you can't get married, do you think the men are doing the wrong thing here?

Taking photos was very different in 1957.

How were photos different in 1957?

How would the two men have got these photos?

You couldn’t make photos yourself in 1957; there were no phones. You had to take the photo on a camera and then take the film out of the camera and send it to a photo shop. The shop would develop the photos for you, and you would pick them up when they were ready about a week later. Each photo had to be developed individually meaning the person in charge would see them. 

What is the problem here for the two men in the photos?

What do you think happened to the photos?

The person in the shop who developed these photos would not give them back. The couple never saw their wedding photos. 

How / why could the person in the shop do that?

Imagine how you would feel to never see your wedding photos..

Why didn't the two men complain, demanding the photos were returned?

What might the person in the shop be worried about if they were seen to develop the photos and give them back?

The photos sat in the store room at the back of the shop for 50 years and were forgotten. Los Angeles museum hoped by sharing the pictures they could return the wedding photos to the couple, who will now be 80 or 90 years old. 

We don't know if the men were found. Do you think it is likely?

It's interesting that the person at the shop kept the photos and didn't throw them away - can you come up with an explanation for this?

What do you see in this photo, taken last weekend in the UK? 

Today things have changed for gay people compared to 60 years ago. Today many countries, including the UK have laws to protect LGBT people. 

What is the law in the UK protecting LGBT+ people? (the equality act 2010)

Who else is protected in that law?

The photo shows Birmingham Pride which was held on bank holiday weekend. Today, Pride events are held every year in cities all over the world.

Why do so many cities hold Pride events today, what is Pride for?

Do you think Pride is needed?

If we showed the Birmingham Pride photo to the men at the wedding in 1957, what would they think? How would you explain to the couple in 1957 what is happening in this photo, why it is happening and how has life has changed for LGBT people in 60 years?

Today there is a huge Pride event in Los Angeles every year. Do you think the two men in the photo are on the parade today? How do you think they feel about it? 

Why is this about No Outsiders? 

Which British value is this about?

KS1 version of this assembly here

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

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Osprey

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj42e5rrve0o

What do you see in the picture, what do you think the story is about?

Three ospreys have been caught on a livestream camera on the Scottish borders nesting together. The three birds, two females and one male, are hatching four eggs together.

Why do you think people are surprised about this?

What would people normally expect to find in a nest?

Forestry and Land Scotland are monitoring the next using cameras. Previously, one of the females, who they called Mrs O, nested there, and this year she has been joined by another female.

Why do you think the other female osprey joined Mrs O?

Mrs O flies off to find food and when she returns, she shares the food with the other female. The male osprey also hunts for food and shares it with the two females when he returns.

Researchers saw Mrs O sitting on the eggs when the other female flew in and nestled beside her and offered her food from her beak.

What does that suggest about the relationship between the three birds?

How would you describe the relationship?

Researchers are watching the three birds work together to incubate the eggs.

What does incubate mean?

The nest behaviour with three birds together has not been caught on camera before now and researchers are excitedly watching to see what happens.

The eggs are expected to hatch within a few weeks.

Who do you think will look after the chicks?

Why do you think researchers are excited? Are different families exciting?

What does this suggest about people and their stereotypes around families? 

Would you be excited at our school just because someone had a different family to you?

What is a family?

What would you say to the researchers about their excitement - what are the two sides to this question?

What do we say about families at our school?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about?

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

Statue

 

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/16/anger-male-sculptor-commissioned-statue-suffragist-edinburgh-elsie-inglis

What do you see in the picture, where do you think this is, what do you think the story is?

Edinburgh in Scotland has many statues; monuments to famous people from history. Like this one of Adam Smith, a famous Scottish economist and philosopher who lived from 1723 to 1790. 

A group of campaigners say there is something missing from the collection of statues.

What do you think is missing?

There are no statues of women in Edinburgh.

Why do you think that is?

In 2017 a fundraiser was launched to create a statue of Scottish Suffragist Elsie Inglis. Elise was one of the first women to graduate from Edinburgh University and founded a free hospital and milk bank for Edinburgh's poorest women. During the war, she served as a medic and established a fleet of women-run hospitals. The picture at the top of this page shows the planned statue was unveiled earlier this year. But now there is disagreement about the statue because the campaigners are unhappy.

Can you guess what campaigners are unhappy about?

The sculpture has been named as Alexander Stoddart. Alexander is very experienced and has been commissioned to sculpt the statue. He already has 5 statues in Edinburgh including the one of Adam Smith.

Why do you think the campaigners are unhappy about Alexander creating a statue of Elise Inglis?

Natasha Phoenix is one of the campaigners and also a sculptor. She says the commission is a "cultural embarrassment" and should have been given to a woman.

What is a cultural embarrassment\?

Why do you think campaigners say a woman should have been commissioned?

What are the two sides of this debate? 

Natasha says, "It's incredibly important that women's stories are told through the female gaze."

What do you think Natasha means by "the female gaze"?

Do you agree?

The proposed statue shows Elise in a military uniform standing upright and alone on a pedestal. Natasha says this design lacks Elise's qualities - warmth, compassion and spirit. Natasha thinks Elise should be shown in a more caring stance, perhaps with another woman and a baby.

What do you think of these two ideas? Why do you think Alexander chose to put Elise in a miltary uniform?

What are statues normally wearing? Why is that?

What is your opinion, who do you agree with?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British value is this about? 

To join the free mailing list and receive these assemblies as power points every Friday, email me on a.moffat@excelsiormat.org

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging

VE day

                                            

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-war/ve-day

What do you see in this picture? What is happening, when do you think it was taken? Why are they so happy?

The photo was taken in London on 8th May 1945 which was VE day.

What is VE day about?

VE days stands for Victory in Europe day. 8th May 1945 was the end of World War 2; the end of 6 years of war that bought suffering to whole populations and countries; millions of people had their homes and families destroyed, millions died.

When news broke of the end of the war, tens of thousands of people flooded on to the streets and rejoiced.

                                                   

The photo below shows Prime Minister below addressing crowds at Whitehall, London. 

What do you notice about the sign he makes?

Winston Churchill made a radio broadcast to the nation to welcome the news that War had ended, but he also warned the people, "We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing, but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead."

Why did he say that? What did he mean?

                                                            

Consider this art work, created in 2025. What do you see in the picture? Look closely, is there a message in this piece of art, what is the artist thinking about, what are the themes?

The art is created by Cristina Daura and commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE day. 

Why do you think Cristina has chosen to depict seeds and flowers? Why a hand picking up a seed with V on it?

Cristina explains:

"Victory is both a strong and fragile concept."

How can something be both strong and fragile at the same time?

Cristina is showing victory at the end of conflict, " as if it were a seed that must be nurtured in order to thrive."

What does this mean? How can victory be like a seed?

"Like a flower, victory must be taken care of in order to be re-gifted to future generations."

How can you re-gift victory?

VE day happened 80 years ago and Cristina says at first she didn't think she had a close personal connection to the event, But she has changed her mind; she says today everyone has a connection.

How can we have a connection to something that happened 80 years ago?

"What we are living now is a result, in part, of that day. The Europe that we know, the way we live."

What do you think Cristina means by "The Europe that we know"?

What was Europe like at the end of WW2? How is it different today?

Some people still say that people from different countries are too different to get along, cannot help each other, cannot work together... what do you think Cristina is saying with her art?

What do you think the people celebrating VE day in 1945 would hope for the world 80 years later - what do you think they wanted the future to hold?

Can we learn lessons from history?

What do we say in our school about people who are from different countries working together and helping each other?

Why is this about No Outsiders?

Which British Value is this about?

Thank you to the Imperial War Museum website for the brilliant resources on their website (link at top of page) 

I provide power point versions of these assemblies every Friday for schools - message me on the contact website contact form to join the free mailing list.

No Outsiders: We belong here by Andrew Moffat  (scheme of work for primary schools) 

Register to be a No Outsiders school  (get access to members page with additional resources)

Watch CPD films showing schools teaching belonging