Harry Daley

Sergeant Harry Daley (14 November 1901 – 1971) was the first openly gay British policeman. Born in Lowestoft he later moved to Dorking and, in 1925, to London where he joined the Metropolitan Police. Soon after joining the police, he met gay writer J. R. Ackerley and, through him, a number of other literary and artistic figures. Daley became the lover of writer E. M. Forster at the age of 25, a relationship that lasted seven years. After retiring from the police in 1950 he returned to Dorking where he lived with his brother and his partner. Daley wrote an autobiography that was published posthumously in 1986.