Cecil Belfield Clarke
Cecil Belfield Clarke (St. Catherine’s, 1914) is a forgotten hero. A black, gay doctor in an era of intense racial discrimination and homophobia, Cecil served his south London community for 50 years until his death in 1970.​
Cecil Belfield Clarke was a passionate civil rights activist, a committed pan-Africanist and a prominent advocate for the UK civil rights movement. He co-founded the League of Coloured Peoples in 1931, tended his patients through the Blitz of 1940-41, and lived happily with his long-term partner Edward Walter at a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment (and, as Alan Turing experienced, much worse).
The home that Cecil and Edward shared was bequeathed to Catz on their deaths.
The photograph shows St. Catherine’s College’s matriculants in 1914. Cecil is on the far left of the middle row.
