History of Sorts

Gilbert Bradley was a British man who became known through his poignant love letters from World War II. Drafted into the army in 1939, he met and fell in love with Gordon Bowsher, a wealthy man who worked for his father’s shipping business. Their relationship flourished in secrecy, as homosexuality was illegal in Britain at the time.

As Gilbert went off to war, the two maintained a deep, emotional connection through a series of letters. Despite the risks involved—both men could have faced severe punishment if their relationship had been discovered—the letters vividly document their affection and hopes for a future together. They even dreamed of a time when they could live openly, away from the constraints of wartime secrecy.

However, their love was ultimately not to have a fairy-tale ending. After the war, despite plans to reunite in California, Gilbert was caught in a scandal involving a relationship with another man and was court-martialed. Gordon eventually moved to California alone and became successful in business, while Gilbert continued to have relationships within the military. Their correspondence stopped after the war, though their letters, which number in the hundreds, survived and were rediscovered in the 2010s.

-Wednesday January 24th 1939

My darling,

… I lie awake all night waiting for the postman in the early morning, and then when he does not bring anything from you I just exist, a mass of nerves…

All my love forever,

G
______

February 12 1940, Park Grange

My own darling boy,

There is nothing more than I desire in life but to have you with me constantly…

…I can see or I imagine I can see, what your mother and father’s reaction would be… the rest of the world have no conception of what our love is – they do not know that it is love…”

February 1st, 1941 K . C. Gloucester Regiment, Priors Road, Cheltenham

“My darling boy,

For years I had it drummed into me that no love could last for life…

I want you darling seriously to delve into your own mind, and to look for once in to the future.

Imagine the time when the war is over and we are living together… would it not be better to live on from now on the memory of our life together when it was at its most golden pitch.

Your own G.
________

Their love story did not have a happy ending.

It might seem improbable, but at one point, Mr. Bradley was dispatched to Scotland on a mission to defend the Forth Bridge. While there, he found himself caught up in an unexpected romance with two men. What truly astonishes, however, is that he wrote to Mr. Bowsher, candidly sharing all the details of his love affairs north of the border. Perhaps even more surprising, Mr. Bowsher took it all in stride, responding with a rather surprising understanding: “I see why they fell in love with you. After all, so did I.”

Throughout the war, the two men exchanged letters, but the correspondence abruptly ceased in 1945. Still, both men went on to lead lives brimming with intrigue.

Mr. Bowsher, for one, relocated to California, where he became a prominent horse trainer. In a strange twist of fate, he would later employ Sirhan Sirhan a Palestinian terrorist man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bradley found himself briefly tangled in the scandalous life of MP Sir Paul Latham. The British politician had been court-martialed in 1941 for “improper conduct” with three gunners and a civilian, after a cache of “indiscreet letters” surfaced. It was a story that stirred the gossip mill in its time.

Ultimately, Mr. Bradley settled in Brighton, where he passed away in 2008. His letters—long forgotten—were discovered by a house clearance company, who sold them to a dealer specializing in military correspondence, adding yet another chapter to the curious history of these men and their unforgettable lives.

Sources

https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/stories/the-secret-ww2-love-letters-between-two-men

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-38932955

https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/resource/your-ever-loving-g.html