Morley Clarke - by Jo Somerset

H. Morley Clarke (1916-2010) was a tailor in Leicester 1930s -1970s. By day he made men’s suits, by night he made ball gowns for his ‘homosexual’ friends. His partner, Roland Spence, ran a bookshop a few doors away from Morley’s shop. As Morley lived with his mother, they couldn’t live together until she died. This is a local history story, about hidden lives and very private resistance.  It’s a love story that ended in tragedy when Roland died unexpectedly aged 65, and his family swooped, taking what they liked from Morley and Roland’s home - totally ignoring their relationship. Morley was finally outed posthumously at his funeral tea in the hotel where the ‘homosexuals’ used to gather, and the collection was in aid of Stonewall. “Morley would have been mortified,” says his second cousin who organised the funeral.