Stephen Gough

For the footballer of the same name, see Stephen Gough (footballer).

Stephen Gough (born c. 1959), also known as Steve Gough and the Naked Rambler, is a British former Royal Marine^[1] turned activist from Eastleigh, Hampshire, famous for walking the length of Great Britain from Land's End to John o' Groats in 2003–2004 with nothing on except boots, socks, rucksack and sometimes a hat, after having quit his job as a lorry driver. He has been arrested and imprisoned numerous times during the course of his ramble, and subsequently.

His second Land's End to John o' Groats ramble was in 2005–2006 and accompanied by his girlfriend Melanie Roberts. He was arrested twice in England but almost immediately released. The legal system and many laws are different in Scotland and after crossing the border there were further arrests — the current total being over 20 including contempt of court after he appeared naked before a judge. He served a three-month sentence in HMP Edinburgh. The walk was resumed on 12 February 2006, and completed shortly after on Monday 20 February the same year.

His website claims that ordering him to wear clothes for his court appearance "breached Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights" - Right to a Fair Trial. He claimed that Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 have been repeatedly breached by the authorities since he and Melanie arrived in Scotland.

He was involved with the public nudity advocacy group The Freedom to be Yourself.

Gough was arrested again on 19 May 2006 at Edinburgh airport after removing his clothes during a flight from Southampton to Edinburgh and refusing to get dressed.^[2] On 25 August 2006 he was given a seven month jail sentence.^[3]

On 9 April 2007 Gough was cleared of charges related to his refusal to dress upon being released into Saughton Prison car park in Edinburgh. The ruling judge, Isobel Poole, found that there was no evidence of "actual alarm or disturbance", adding "I can understand this conduct could be considered unpleasant to passers-by had there been any but there is a lack of evidence to that effect." Gough lost his appeal against contempt of court convictions for refusing to wear clothes during his trial.^[4]

On 18 December 2008 he was convicted of a breach of the peace and jailed for 12 months.^[5] In July 2009, Gough, standing in the dock naked, was jailed at Perth for a further 12 months for breach of the peace. Sheriff MacFarlane was told that the bill for dealing with Gough had cost the public an estimated several hundred thousand pounds. The court heard how Gough had finished a previous jail term at Perth Prison and was released to enjoy freedom for the first time in several months. However, his freedom lasted less than 30 seconds after he walked naked from the prison door to Edinburgh Road. Gough was also sentenced to four months for refusing to dress before the trial.^[6]

On 8 February 2010 Gough was convicted of breach of the peace and contempt of court, charges relating to walking naked in Perth and appearing naked in court. He was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, his longest sentence to date.^[7]

On 25 November 2010 he was found guilty of: On 26 October 2010, conducting himself in a disorderly manner, standing naked at the gates of Perth Prison, refusing to wear any clothing or otherwise cover his private parts and committing a breach of the peace. He was sentenced to 15 months and 26 days. He is understood to spend his time in prison in solitary confinement.^[8] On 24 August 2011, Gough was sentenced to 657 days in prison after having been arrested less that a minute after being released from Perth Prison, Scotland.^[9]

See also

• Clothes free organizations
• Naked hiking
• Naturism and Nudism
• Public nudity
• Russell Shaw Higgs
• Streaking
• Terri Sue Webb
• Timeline of significant non-sexualized public nudity activities
• Vincent Bethell

References

1. ^ "Get your trousers on or face life behind bars: Naked rambler warned he will be re-arrested each time sentence ends", Daily Mail, 13 January 2010
2. ^ "Rambler held over mid-air strip", BBC News, 18 May 2006
3. ^ "Nude rambler won't dress despite latest prison term", The Scotsman, 26 August 2006
4. ^ "Naked rambler cleared by sheriff", BBC News, 10 April 2007
5. ^ "More jail time for naked rambler", BBC News, 18 December 2008
6. ^ "Naked rambler is back behind bars", BBC News, 16 July 2009
7. ^ "Naked rambler's longest sentence", BBC News, 8 February 2010
8. ^ "'Naked rambler' Stephen Gough sent back to prison", Dundee Courier, 26/11/2010
9. ^ 'Naked rambler' Steven Gough jailed again

External links

• Steve Gough's official site
• BBC article about Steve Gough, following his first successful walk.
• BBC article about Steve Gough, following his second successful walk.
• Criticism of Steve Gough by Vincent Bethell founder of The Freedom To Be Yourself
• The naked rambler is making us look silly | Andrew Anthony | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

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Name	Gough, Stephen
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This biographical article about a United Kingdom activist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1950s births 21st-century criminals English activists English prisoners and detainees Living people People from Eastleigh Prisoners and detainees of Scotland Protests in the United Kingdom Public nudity Royal Marines ranks Social nudity advocates Truck drivers Walkers of the United Kingdom British activist stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? HMCS Summerside (MM 711) DASK Look at other dictionaries: Stephen Gough (footballer) — (born 21 March 1981 in Dublin) is a Irish football player who currently plays for Longford Town F.C.He began his career at Bray Wanderers F.C. and then signed for a short spell at Monaghan United at the start of the shortened 2002/03 season.… …   Wikipedia Gough — could refer to many things.Places* Gough Island, also known historically as Diego Alvarez, a volcanic British island in the South Atlantic Ocean * Gough Street in Hong Kong * Gough Street in San Francisco, CaliforniaPeopleurnameThe surname… …   Wikipedia Stephen Goffe —     Stephen Goffe     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Stephen Goffe     (Or Gough)     Oratorian; b. 1605; d. at Paris, Christmas Day, 1681. He was the son of Stephen Goffe, Protestant (Protestantism) rector of Stanmer in Sussex, and was educated at… …   Catholic encyclopedia Stephen Goffe — (Gough) (b. 1605; d. at Paris, Christmas Day, 1681) was a Royalist agent of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and later an Oratorian priest.LifeHe was educated at Merton College, Oxford, becoming M.A. in 1627. He took orders and became chaplain to… …   Wikipedia Gough Whitlam — Infobox Prime Minister honorific prefix = The Honourable name= Gough Whitlam honorific suffix = AC QC order=21st Prime Minister of Australia Elections: 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 term start =5 December 1972 term end =11 November 1975 deputy… …   Wikipedia Michael Gough — For other people named Michael Gough, see Michael Gough (disambiguation). For the American voice actor, see Michael Gough (voice actor). Michael Gough Gough as Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Born 23 November 1916( …   Wikipedia Adeline Virginia Stephen — Porträt Virginia Woolf, 1902. Fotografie von George Charles Beresford Virginia Woolf [vəˈdʒɪnjə wʊlf] (* 25. Januar 1882 in London als Adeline Virginia Stephen; † 28. März 1941 bei L …   Deutsch Wikipedia Edward Gough Whitlam — Edward Gough Whitlam, 1955 Edward Gough Whitlam (Aussprache: [ˈedwəd ɡɒf ˈwɪtləm]; * 11. Juli 1916 in Melbourne, Victoria) war der 21. Premierminister Australiens. Seine Amtszeit dauerte vom 5. Dezember 1972 bis zum 11. November 1975. Vom 8.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia William Stephen Raikes Hodson — William Hodson, engraving printed as frontispiece to his biography Rider on a Grey Horse, by B.J. Cork, 1958 Born 10 March 1821 Maisemore Court, near Gloucester …   Wikipedia Nude recreation — A nude woman horseback riding Nude recreation refers to recreational activities which some people engage in the nude. Such activities can take place in private spaces, such as in a person s own property or in a naturist context, but also in… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”