Dale Wakefield, LGBTQ+ activist and founder of the Bristol Gay Switchboard, has been pronounced dead at 78.
The Bristol Gay Switchboard was one of the earliest LGBTQ+ support networks in the UK. She was also one of the founders of Bristol Pride in 1977 and campaigned for LGBTQ+ rights her entire life.
Her funeral will take place on Monday, September 21 and the cause of Wakefield’s death has not yet been made public.Since her death, tributes have poured in.
Her friend, Tim Manning, told the BBC that Wakefield was one of the ‘quiet heroes’ of Bristol’s queer community.