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'.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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*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.
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Preview the next Guys in Uniform set
You can read the original articles that followed on from this one,
which for No 3, will be substantial.
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