On the Train with HHimbos

1

 

Train imagery is all the rage these days, it's hardly surprising when so many of us spend hours a week gazing at our fellow travellers in confined spaces that impose an unusual level of closeness. It's a sensitive environment and people who offend against the rules, like not smoking, may provoke a response. 

 

The fashion for tighter trousers has restored this garment to the top ten of homoerotic iconography. Normally, the subject of office torments by their seniors, this more democratic sanctioning for the wearer is refreshing.  

 

2

Smoking is a cut and dried legal offence, but there's a long list of rules of unspoken etiquette that can ruffle feathers and in extreme cases, provoke a response - in imaginations if not reality. It's not clear what this workman has done, perhaps he brought smelly food on board. Older travellers are less likely to be tolerant of such modern practices - and this one has probably already had a bad day at the office. 

*Have you noticed how burgers on trains stink like they've just been retrieved from a garbage bin? Yes, I am an older traveller!

 

3

This young man, Mark, has had the misfortune of joining a company that insists on their office trainees wearing short trousers (it's called make-men-wear-shorts syndrome). This exposes him to a good deal of inappropriate contacts as he makes his rounds, carrying documents from one department to another. So it's understandable that he wants to grab a seat on the train home so no-one can get at him. Unfortunately, tonight there was only one seat left, the one reserved for older and disabled people. 

Mark did his best to ignore all the new travellers as the train filled up, but unfortunately, his short pants made him the least likely person on the train to get away with it. Particularly, when a retired military officer with a war wound got on. Not only was he hot on obedience and discipline, his war wound didn't seem to impair him at all when he was seated with Mark on his lap.
 

It would be easy to label HHimbos as a spanking artist, but there's more to his work than that. For example, in image 2 above, the main interest derives from the obvious maturity and manliness of the workman and the remarkable enormity of his come-uppance, partly because it's so difficult to believe. In the remaining images, he branches out into other ways of tormenting men.

4

Jim here, has a similar, shorts-only, work environment to Mark, but he has more congenial hours, so he always gets a seat on the train. Fending off unwanted advances in the office makes his working day extremely draining, but he can safely snooze off on the empty train. At least, he used to be able to, until his generous thighs were spotted by another passenger.  

 

As with Image 2, I particularly like this picture because of the characterisation of 'Jim'. He's good-looking and clearly too old for the outfit he's obliged to wear by his boss. Grown men are so much more interesting than lads. 

 

Unfortunately, Jim's admirer is one of dubious character and a regular on the same train. He's now spent weeks secretly feeling out his target, trying to coax out a response without being detected. Now, at last Jim seems to have absorbed his furtive handling into his dreams. It's bound to end in tears - of one sort or another.

 

 

5

And so it proves as Jim awakes to an embarrassing mess. The predator is quick-witted enough to disengage before Jim realises what has happened. He scolds him and tells him that the Ticket Inspector has just entered the carriage. Jim is so used to being downtrodden that he readily agrees to the stranger's suggestion for hiding his 'slip' which should avoid him being thrown off the train. He succumbs to the very experience he sought to avoid by catching the early service.

 

This purports to be a spanking image at first sight, but AI is not very good at understanding the mechanics of the ancient custom and has raised the wrong hand. It doesn't really matter because the groping of Jim's shapely rear sustains ample interest on its own. By the same token, the dematerialisation of the predator's lower body, if you spot it, is immaterial anyway. 

 

With these two images I have taken the liberty of trimming the top and bottom to create a squarer image and have made the tops of Jim's socks grey instead of red, so it looks more like work clothing. Apologies to HHimbos. You can find his originals via the link at the end of the article.

 

6

 

This slumbering worker's maturity is more apparent in his physique than his face, but apart from that, he's the epitome of the benighted grey-short-trouser worker (as opposed to a white-collar worker). At his new employers' behest, he's shoehorned himself back into an outfit that he'd outgrown and thought was behind him when he left school and went to college. To his relief, everyone seemed quite OK with him wearing an outfit that was too small for him. 

 

 Unlike Jim, he's laddish enough to enjoy the attention he gets from his fellow workers, but coupled with the longer hours compared with being a student, it makes for an exhausting day. So, like Jim, he's glad to take a kip on the train home. So glad in fact that he's thrown himself into his seat is now sprawling into the passageway. 

 

A merchant banker riding on the train and on his way to the first class carriage found the scantily clad legs blocking his way. Embarrassment quickly turned into annoyance, and he decided to give the offender the rough edge of his tongue. Howeve, once he got a better sight of the young man he decided that it might be possible to apply his tongue treatment more sympathetically. It depended on just how deeply he was asleep. How hard it would be .....erm, to get him at attention.....

 

 

7

As the rush hour begins, the regular shorts wearers begin to turn up, some of them fresh from relieving their tensions with a workout at the gym. On a busy train, it is a much cherished prize to get a seat next to one, especially one as cute as the one Norman discovered as he slipped into one of the vacant seats. He didn't mind the smell of sweat in the least, he leaned closer to savour it. He was doubly lucky tonight because there was no-one opposite. It was a great opportunity to relieve some tensions of his own, but he would have to work fast.

 

Men spreading their legs into the adjoining seat space is another offence against train traveller's etiquette, sometimes inflicted on women who may be prevented by their skirts from fighting back and are reluctant to complain. Of course, our predators don't mind. they can use it against their targets if they wake, pretending they were trying to waken them to ask them to sit properly.

 

 

8

 

With night falling, workers who have lingered to have an after-work drink start boarding the train. Some of them are the worse for wear. Sam has just been promoted and wanted to celebrate no longer having to wear short trousers. He can't quite bring himself to give up tight pants, though. He finds them comforting in poly cotton and in the pub they attracted much interest from his section leader. 

 

The recollection of that flirtation and the warmth of the carriage soon calls for some loosening of clothing and alcohol does the rest carrying him off into the land of nod and racy dreams. 

 

Tonight a prowling opportunist spots his arousal and swiftly bags the seat next to him. It's over an hour to the end of the line but only 15 minutes to the next stop so he works fast, gently feeling his way. A groan from the slumberer makes him pause, but it's OK, he's out of it. He won't be getting off at the next station, but it's looking good for getting him off before the end of the line.

 

Notice the plaque on the seat between the sleeper's legs  

 

8

The last train sees a different class of customer, one who hasn't even been to work and having caroused most of the evening is blotto. They can be objectionable but soon succumb to Morpheus and then, if they are alone, the predator can slip in beside them. 

 

This school disco outfit in combination with a burly physique draws a different class of 'customer', one who would dearly love to end his evening with a well-deserved dose of the cane but will have to content himself with evaluating his wood instead. It's an open book.

More Tomorrow 

Sexy Cyclist

 

Mitchmen Royal Park

Our code for cyclists

1. Tight shorts must be worn at all times

2. Helmets must be used as much as possible

3. Show consideration for joggers, when mounted 

Spot checks of equipment will be made

AI image by Stompskin in gay-ai-hunks @tumblr

click on labels below for similar posts 
including the 'Make Men Wear Shorts' series

Art by FranklynIE

FranklynIE - Coach Lost it at Practice

The accidental turned into something more intentional. This amazing picture shows just how much AI can do in the hands of an accomplished technician. The athlete's rosy cheeks and some tweaking of the tackler's age complete the transformation of a normal on-field tackle. The athlete's physique is amazing.

 

FranklynIE - Game On

This is another, cleverly ambiguous image in much the same vein. AI tends to have a mind of its own and doesn't yet understand how important eyes are in establishing what's going on. The artist here has got it just right, but we have to decide for ourselves whether the naughty Coach is walking into receptive arms - or a trap. 

FranklynIE - Unexpected House Call

A man in the hands of a Doctor is regular homoerotic scenario, when they are usually keen to get to the bottom of the problem. This is part of a series of 'bed' images, mainly about a man who is a malingerer, hence the title. Various efforts to persuade him to reform seem to centre on that same, particular area of the body. It's another startlingly bold image. The other variations are at the artist's website (link at foot of post).

FranklynIE - More Than One Way To Unmask A Superhero

I'm not a fan of masks, but I do enjoy a superhero takedown. Have you noticed how video captors nearly always have to resort to scissors to finish the job when they're supposed to be ripping the clothes off their prey? It spoils the macho imagery somewhat. There's a sequel to this image at the artist's website (see below) which is too close to the knuckle to post here.

 

 

FranklynIE - Punished At Work

I like the idea of this scenario, but the nature of the employee's offence seems to be a key, missing ingredient for this image. Has he been stealing the stock of lingerie and been caught red cheeked? Is exposure the sum total of his penance, or something more stinging? We need to know!

 

FranklynIE - Mr Caruso's Very Good Day

The tailor's inside-leg measurement is a hoary, old joke for gays, it turns up in my posts regularly, in art dating back to the 1960s. But I wonder, do young people, who've probably never had the pleasure, really understand it? (Answers in comments, please!). The retro briefs here recapture beautifully that sense of exposure when the pants were down. As I recall, the professional technique was to use strong hands. Oh, how our legs quivered!

 

FranklynIE - A Proper Apology

It's a nice image, but Franklyn flirts with some tricky, age-related scenarios in order to find a reason to expose this young miscreant. I think I prefer something like the straightforward, underwear shoplifter scenario. They're not yours, so take 'em off lad! 

 

FranklynIE - Another Helpless Victim of Aggressive Policing

He's on safer ground with this one. Gays have an interesting love-hate relationship with cops, something like Stockholm Syndrome. The artist leaves it up to us to imagine what this guy's offence was, but the open flies suggest he was involved in a bit of a scrap or else was caught exposing himself. 

 

FranklynIE - Good Ol' Country Boy In The City

I confess I haven't a clue what the title of this means, but the image is irresistible, not least because of the subject's maturity. Teasing callow youths is best left to their peers, imo, but grown-up men are fair game and much more interesting! 

 

FranklynIE majors on embarrassment, but I think anyone who gets in a wrestling ring must be beyond that emotion, otherwise they wouldn't be able to ham it up so badly. I take my hat off to their athleticism though.

 

FranklynIE - New Roomie Ritual

Well, OK. In an all-male household it's a rare creature that would be embarrassed as easily as this, so it doesn't quite work for me, but nevertheless I like the imagery. Psycho was never like this!

 

 

FranklynIE - 'Rough Night, Old Chap?'

This hunk has experienced gay sex the night before his wedding. The artist doesn't explain whether it was by seduction of his natural impulses or a rather cruel, stag night prank. Either way he's obviously got some thinking to do. He's going to feel a bit awkward walking down the aisle with the tingling aftereffects. All those people looking at him from behind. Possibly including the perpetrator.

 

Original

FranklynIE - The Need

This is rather powerful and meaningful articulation of inner gay feelings, even if we might not choose to express ourselves in quite this way in real life.

 

FranklynIE - Speechless

I just like this one. The zip is genius. 

~

 

FranklynIE posts at Deviant Art 

'Royale Studio Revisited' by DaveAlan01

 

Royal Marine Stevens - by DaveAlan01

 This video is a sample of the AI Art produced by DaveAlan01. He's trying to visualise how Royale Studio images might have looked if they were produced now. This example has the right ingredients - British military uniforms contrasted with underwear in a disciplinary situation. I think Basil Clavering would have enjoyed the double underwear joke in this videoette. In his day it would have ridiculed the restrictions on depicting nudity rather incisively. In the modern context, it makes fun of our obsession with it.

Subscribers to the blog feed can view this video by visiting mitchmen
or by using this direct link:Royale Marine Stevens - double underwear 

I'm not sure this video would have passed muster in the 60s, but there's an even funnier and sexier variant at the artist's site which definitely wouldn't! 

View Royale Marine Stevens - lubed underwear

 

Para Tom Taken To The Corrective Training Centre
by DaveAlan01

 Basil Clavering seemed to favour shorts rather than underwear as punishment kit. I don't know if that was simply because of his personal taste or the taboo on visible underwear in society as a whole, which was more aggressively conservative back them. 

 

He attempted to make sexy, tight shorts out of the baggy, non-elasticated products which were the only thing available at the time. His efforts generally resulted in something like the image above, with an impression of bulk at the front, but a much tighter fit at the rear. He used clever lighting to hint at frontal shapes, but they had to be very subtle to escape censure. 

 

Unfortunately modern AI seems to be incapable of producing anything sexier than this and thinks military = medals. It has no understanding of British uniforms. Nevertheless, the shortness of the escorts' shorts in the image above is a good simulation of Royale Studios' take on 'dress' kit, perhaps seen to best advantage in the Soldier-Sailor storyette.

 

Clavering did have a para on his roster - Ron Wiltshire, but he never photographed the model in his own uniform, only as a Horse Guard in breeches. I don't think there's a single example of a beret in his output, but exposure to modern day Royal Marines might have changed his mind!

 

 

Bad Lads Army,1961 - by DaveAlan01 

This disciplinary scenario (snipped from a video) fits the Royale style too, apart perhaps for the Guards wearing underwear. I think Clavering would have kept them in a uniform of some sorts. 

 

see the full videoette at Bad Lads Army,1961 by DaveAlan01.

 

 

Para Tom is handed over - by Dave Alan01

DaveAlan01 has also produced some police custody scenes. This is a scenario Clavering never covered, probably because it would have invited reprisals from the real force. In any case, the Police were so disliked by gay men in that era, because of the heavy-handed repression, that it was a perverse individual indeed that would find them sexually attractive. Clavering did do a storyette with Military Police which involved Tibor Urgay undressing in public.

 

I'm certain too, that Clavering would have loathed jogging bottoms, but the common association (in the UK) with the so-called underclass and thuggery would have certainly interested him. That connection makes this 'put in his place' image delicious indeed. 

 

~ 

 

Great stuff! These video scenes make you wonder how Royale's work would have looked if they had used this medium. Would it have just looked like all the other modern porn? His amateur models would have struggled, I suspect. Especially if they had to speak! AI would have got him off that hook, but AI speech is very primitive currently, usually with caricatured American accents. Let's hope Brits get a look-in soon, but I'm not counting on it.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing a naval scenario in this vein, sailors were Clavering's inspiration and his bread and butter, after all.

 

For more visit DaveAlan01 

 

See also Royale Studio Revival 

 

For related articles, click on the labels at the foot of the post 

Guys In Uniform 2 - Caning By Numbers

Read the first post in this series

The second post in this series continues the sequence of 'Guys In Uniform' images immortalised for collectors by the tag 'Numbers'. These were assigned to the pictures by the publisher of the so-called 'British Photographers Collection' (see Royale Sources Nos 1 & 2). 

This particular set seems to recreate, almost exactly, the action of the (fragmented) Royale Studio set, 'Tough Schoolmaster', which is being posted at the Royale blog in parallel with this article. I will reference the similarities in the text. 

The set is also significant, historically, in that it resulted in a full-blown public scandal in 1976, after it was published. The use of serving Guardsmen to pose for the pictures was uncovered by the Daily Mirror tabloid and their sensational articles led to allegations of 'vice rings', police raids, questions in Parliament and discharge from the Army for some of the unfortunate models. 

This set was originally reviewed at this blog in 2010, that article is significantly expanded here with some images rarely seen before. I have reconstructed it from various internet sources including copies of British, gay magazines of the 70s. In the absence of a thumbnail sheet or catalogue information, I have sequenced them using clothing continuity and an imagined storyline, matching that of 'Tough Schoolmaster'.

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 01

This is the nearest I can find to a starting image for this set. It shows a military student in gym kit, standing 'at ease', but rigidly correct, as he would on the parade ground. He's clearly under the control of the Officer-like gentleman at his side, who I take to be the Instructor. 

This image (recovered from a GIU Studio advertisement in 'Him Exclusive' No 8, 1975) seems to be a fragment of a bigger scene, there is another 'student' in this series, and it's likely he appears at the right in the full picture. It looks as if it might be a disciplinary situation.

The original of this picture was printed in black and white, I have colourised it using AI.

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 02

 This picture shows both athletes. We don't have much information about the names of GIU's models, so, for simplicity, I refer to the two students in this article as No 3 and No 4.

 

The Instructor is preparing to punish them, a prospect that is filling No 3 with dismay. Presumably he's first up. The flimsy shorts they are both wearing amplify the threat. 

 

No 4 is wearing a dunce's cap, an archaic punishment for failing to learn to the teacher's satisfaction. It's possible the missing half of image-1 might have shown him wearing it, with the other two men witnessing his discomfort. The dunce's cap immediately makes a connection with Royale's 'Tough Schoolmaster' storyette, specifically image 03 of that set, where a similar scene is enacted.

~

The original of this picture was printed in black and white, I have colourised it using AI. There also exists a version where the students aren't wearing any shorts at all, it's an ingenious, later tweak that is very sexy, but the clothing combination doesn't fit into the storyline. See it here.

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 03

There's a jump in continuity here. Athlete No 3 has clearly just had his taste of the cane. We don't have an image of that, but there are lots more like it to come. The Officer is signalling a glum-looking No 4 to come forward and take his place. Notice the strange shadow falling on his lower body, it surely can't be an accident!

 

A clip board can be seen standing on the table which says "Set 3, Test 4". It might simply be the equivalent of a clapper board, indicating that this is the fourth scene of the third GIU photo set. Alternatively it might mean that these two men are members of Set (or Class) 3, and have either just failed Test 4, or are in the process of being subjected to it.

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 04

The two athletes swap places (and hats) and No 4's punishment (or test?) commences. The erotic quality and authenticity makes for an interesting comparison with the Royale equivalent. The GIU picture benefits from sexier shorts and colour, but Royale's tighter composition scores for dramatic effect. 

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 05

The underlings rebel and the sadistic Officer is brought to his knees to receive a dose of his own punishment. No 3 has somehow lost his vest in the struggle, we see it lying on the floor. There's an intriguing ambiguity about his position, squatting, equally exposed, astride the Instructor. The dunce's cap is symbolically set aside. It's edited out altogether in some circulating copies of this image. 

 

Compare this image with Tough Schoolmaster, image No 4. It's compelling evidence of the Royale inspiration behind this series. (Which is not to disparage the GIU versions as mere copies. They stand up as pictures in their own right). In Royale's version the cap is more realistically lying discarded on the floor.

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 06

The target is clarified in this variation. Royale too liked to dwell on the mechanics of this form of punishment.  

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 07

 

Somehow, the Instructor regains control and here seems to be singling out No 3 (on the floor) as his attacker.  That seems borne out by the grappling between them in images 5 and 6. In Royale's storyline the rebel is more obvious (image 03), but we don't have that moment from this story. No 4 seems to have changed sides and is holding his colleague. A 'collaborator' sub-text also runs through Royale's storyline (e.g. image 01).

 

This image defied all my attempts to satisfactorily clarify or colourise it.

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 08

 In the final sequence of images, both athletes have shed their numbered singlets. Fortunately, they have different coloured shoes to provide continued identification. The Instructor takes his revenge, using restraints to ensure this student at least can't escape retribution.

Surprisingly it's No 4 in the firing line, whose role appears quite passive in the other images we have.  His apparent collaboration in image 7 hasn't got him off the hook. This development is different to the Royale story where it's the rebel who is strung up. In this case, the rebel, his classmate, watches with an inscrutable expression. In these final images we can see he's wearing spiked track shoes, which might have made the rebellion clashes interesting!

 

This image makes a further telling link with 'Tough Schoolmaster' which features an identical, restraint arrangement (image 05). That image gives a clue to what happens next in this set.

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 09

 As in the Royale image, the 'collaborator' helps to lower the offender's shorts. It's a great moment. 

 

Notice how the Instructor turns away from the camera to hide his face in these more sensitive images. We now know that these were serving Guardsmen, so it's an understandable precaution. He is identifiable in the earlier, more innocuous images.

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 10

 The instructor tells his assistant to step aside, so his aim will be unobstructed. No 3 looks glum, perhaps having experienced it himself already, or expecting to be next. 

 

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 11

 The Instructor seems to be indulging in some sadistic teasing here, which is something of a tradition in this genre. The visual effect is impressive, No 3 looks fascinated. The photographer has cropped this image more tightly than the rest of the set to emphasise the drama.

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 12

 The coup de grâce produces a very good image indeed. We can only speculate whether it's good acting or a real reaction. The sagging shorts provide a final discomforting twist.

 

Guys In Uniform - Caning by Numbers 13

In this image, it appears that No 3 gets his reward for betraying his classmate. There's an item in the top corner which might tell us more if we could see it properly. 

 

In this image we can see more clearly, the flimsy, lingerie-like nature of the student's shorts. It seems a less masculine look than Royale's, very traditional styles which had plain fronts and gathered waistbands. Scott, who was renowned for his tight shorts in Royale's time, sometimes tucked the waistband inside the shorts to produce a lower top-line something like this.

   

~

 

*Sequencing most GIU sets is very difficult, because we don't have any catalogue information and the usual method of tracking continuity of clothing and the action generally runs into contradictions that can't be resolved except by conjecturing a storyline that has no supporting evidence. This was the case with Set 1 in this series, which I eventually split into two. I've managed to come up with a sequence that works for this one, helped by cross-referencing the Royale storyette

 

In truth, there's evidence that some of the sets were not even conceived as stories. The Guys In Uniform house magazine, 'Uniform', grouped many of the images under non-descriptive headings like 'The Barrack Room', 'Attack' and 'Authority' although 'The Sneak' and 'The Card Sharp' do suggest a narrative was intended. Set No 1 was called 'The School Prefect' in Uniform magazine, but I've skated over that connection for obvious reasons. In any case it doesn't help with sequencing them.

 

~

 

Preview the next Guys in Uniform set 

You can read the original articles that followed on from this one,  

No 3 onwards are still pending revision at the moment, 

which for No 3, will be substantial. 

 More about Guys In Uniform Studio