The GIRES Archive

You can access the GIRES Archive collection both online and in person at Bishopsgate Institute, London.

Here is the link: www.bishopsgate.org.uk/collections/gires-archive

The GIRES Archive is compiled from diverse materials collected by the charity since its inception, as well as outputs from the ‘a Legacy of Kindness’ (LoK) project.

The LoK project (2022-2023) documents and showcases the rich history of the UK transgender and gender diverse charity GIRES, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society.

Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the project captured the voices of trans and gender diverse people and their supporters, uncovering the memories through generations of past, present and new members; trans activists and pioneers, who helped to establish the charity. GIRES was established in 1997 when Bernard Reed, OBE, and Terry Reed, OBE helped their transgender daughter win a landmark sex discrimination case. The charity has been instrumental in several positive changes to trans rights in the UK.

The depository was put together through months of collaborative effort and community research – by GIRES staff and team members, LoK project stakeholders, volunteer community curators, and senior archivists.

Scope and content

Digital and physical items, including publications, press clippings, photographs, audio and video recordings, administrative documents, legal documents, handwritten notes, education resources, publicity materials including posters, flyers, artwork, event photographs, press cuttings, marketing materials, and printed programmes, compiled or created by GIRES (1993-2022).

NOTE from Bishopsgate: Digital Archives material is awaiting cataloguing.