Alan, the Welsh Sailor

Back in the 1940s/50s the practice of bodybuilding really took off. Muscle magazines such as Male Model Monthly and Physique Pictorial gradually emerged to cater for this new cult of the physical. Obviously such publications were hugely popular with a homosexual audience but most of the models who appeared in the bodybuilding press were actually heterosexual. Some were enthusiasts looking to boost their bodybuilding profile, others were guys down on their luck, hoping to earn a few quid modelling. Pin-ups soon developed their own following amongst fans. These included Tibor Noszaky, a Hungarian refugee, and Alan, a tattooed sailor from Wales. If readers liked the model on view they could send off for uncensored studio shots of their idols. Two photographers in the UK who pioneered this kind of homo-erotic material were John S Barrington and Basil Clavering – both of whom used Alan, the matelot from Wales, as a model. The above photograph of Alan was taken circa 1959 by John S Barrington.