I first met Janett in 1992 after a Counsellor with the Luton and Dunstable NHS Hospital, asked me if I had ever heard of the Beaumont Society. I had not, at that time, so she dialled Janetts telephone number and I spoke to Janett there and then for the very first time. Janett suggested I catch the number 31 bus ( I think) and to stay on it until it stopped, just outside her flat. This I did and it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
Janett filled her life with trying to help others. Before she changed over to be Janett full time, she had been involved with the British Telecom Union, including organising Social events with them. The skills she learnt there she brought with her to help the Trans Community. Before I personally knew Janett, she had been a volunteer with the TV/TS Group at Upper Stree in London, and after that she became involved with the Beaumont Society.
Janett gave of her time selflessly, womaning the Beaumont Helpline, at all hours, rarely refusing a patient ear, and wise advice to those who called. She joined the Beaumont Society Executive Committee, gradually turning the Society around, and introducing such innovations as, the Fast Action Response Team (FART) for dealing with things in a more speedy and flexible manner!
Janett loved to cook, and found a willing audience, at her monthly meetings, where at, she turned her flat upside down quite literally, in order to provide a safe happy environment, one Saturday a month, for Trans people and their allies to visit. The preparation took two days before her meeting, with the tidy up taking one day. Janetts cuisine became renowned in the Trans Community and was one reason why so many people travelled so far to attend her do's.
Janett loved a party, and organised many now legendary weekends, raising the standards for Trans weekends accomodation, thro the simple method of bravely asking decent hotels if they would accept Trans guests. When she started, many Hotels did not want to know, but she soon found some great hotels, such as the Rotherham Hotel known and loved by many, and made some great friends, who helped her get thro the front doors of many other establishments.
Now of course Trans People can go almost anywhere, but back when Janett started organising, this was not the case, and prejudice was the rule and not the exception. Nowadays we all have legal protections to guarantee our access to goods and services, but when Janett started, those protections were not even a pipe dream.
Janett campaigned tirelessly to increase the acceptance of Trans People. At her weekends she insisted on Dress Codes, mainly because Wives and Partners were present, but also because non Trans guests would be present and she said, quite rightly, that we were all Ambassadors for our Community.
Janett put her self in the firing line by going on Television and Radio, whenever asked, more or less, for no fee, and outing her self, in order to put across her message about how Trans people were just normal people, whose Gender expression should not be treated as a deviance or freakish behaviour.
Janetts wise words and good humour, broke down many barriers, and she did not stop at Television, taking part in talks to Rotary Clubs, Samaritans, Police and Fire Service Training days, and many others, again for no fee. She was involved with advising many HR Departments often on the telephone, and many times, because no one else seemed to be available to talk to.
I think everyone would agree, that Janetts bravery in sticking her neck out in going Public, at a time when legal protections were not in place, and prejudice, including verbal and physical violence, were quite common, shows how much she loved the Trans Community, and how dedicated she was in her desire to gain equal rights, and acceptance for Trans people in the world.
Now we have legal protections, can change our Birth Certificates, get married, and expect goods and services to be supplied without discrimination. When Janett started out, you could still be arrested for 'Behaviour Likely To Cause A Breach of the Peace', just for being out Dressed or using a Public Toilet. There is the risk those days could return, but Janett lived to see that change for the better.
People used to say that the Trans Community was twenty years behind the Gay Community in terms of acceptance and legal rights. Well, Janett did her bit, and more, to close that gap. In fact she was so well thought of by our Local Council, that she was involved with the local senior citizens group, Older Wiser Lutonians, becoming their Chair Person for several years. Worth noting Janetts Trans status, was never mentioned or part of the groups discussions. She had their acceptance as another elderly lady.
I have spoken to many people who knew Janett since she passed away and everyone has expressed their sense of loss, and even disbelief, that someone who had been a main stay, a pillar of quite literally, of the community, could now be gone.
They all have their memories of Janett, often being inspired by her words to see their position more positively and making life changing improvements to their situations as a result. So many people are grateful to Janett for what she did and the trail she blazed.
What better legacy can anyone leave? Janett was much loved and will be sorely missed.
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