Beaumont Society Journals
About this Archive
Founded in 1966, the Beaumont Society is the longest-established transgender support group in the UK. It evolved from the American "Full Personality Expression" (FPE) group, originally acting as a secretive social network for transvestite and transgender people, before expanding its mission to include public education and advocacy. The society was named after the Chevalier d’Éon de Beaumont, an 18th-century French diplomat and spy who lived openly as a woman for the latter part of her life.
The first official meeting of the society took place in Southampton in 1966 with just 12 attendees. Co-founded by Alice Purnell (who later received an OBE for her services to the transgender community) and Alga Campbell, the society provided a desperately needed safe haven at a time of severe legal and social prejudice. In 1968, the society began publishing the Beaumont Bulletin to share news and meeting notices. By 1982, it established WOBS (Women of the Beaumont Society) specifically to provide community and support for partners and wives.
In 1975, members co-founded the Beaumont Trust, a registered charity offering educational booklets and a confidential helpline for the wider public and medical/legal practitioners. While initially a cloistered group, the Beaumont Society today is an inclusive national self-help body that welcomes the entire spectrum of the transgender community, their families, and friends.
In January 1968, the society began publishing the Beaumont Bulletin to keep its hidden members connected. The first issue was produced as an 8-page bi-monthly newsletter. It provided safe-space social event listings, practical advice, and make-up tips. By 1970, the publication expanded into a 24-page format and began featuring contributions from the wives of members.
To accommodate a growing volume of content, regular jokes and fantasy features were spun off into a companion publication called Beaumag in 1977. The bulletin eventually evolved into the current Beaumont Magazine, which is still published regularly today to support trans individuals, their families, and partners.
Scope and Content
Bishopsgate institute Special Collections and Archives holds an extensive collection of periodicals and newsletters published by the Beaumont Society and its local groups. These were bequeathed to the Institute by the Society’s long-time librarian Elizabeth Saunders after her death in 2025.
These include:
- Beaumont Bulletin (1969-1996)
- Beaumont Magazine (1993-2025)
- Beaumag (1980-1987)
- Beaumont Bon Mots (1981-1985)
- Candida : magazine of the Eastern Region of the Beaumont Society (1972-1976)
- Beaumont Society : Northern T.V. News (1972-1973)
- Femme Fatale : magazine of the Central Region of the Beaumont Society (1975-1981)
- The Tartan Skirt : magazine of the Scottish TV/TS Group (1984-1995)
- The Femmiphillist Gazette (1972)
- Gendys Journal (1998-2014)
- B.C. News: Journal of Beaumont Association Continental (1998)
