Training as a nurse in the highly regarded Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Elaine was deployed to Cold War Germany. However in 1987, Elaine was suddenly dismissed from her dream job after an investigation into her sexuality. In fact, she was one of thousands whose careers were cut short as at the time LGBTQ+ people were legally banned from serving in the British armed forces. Elaine had a huge role to play in overturning the injustice, co-founding the activist and support group Rank Outsiders. After almost a decade of campaigning, the law was finally overturned on 12^th January 2000, allowing future generations to serve openly.

Content warnings: institutional homophobia