THESE were the downtrodden men who objected to being tied to the kitchen sink.

They staged a protest as their womenfolk prepared to head off on a coach outing to London.

The women had made it clear – it’s a women-only trip, men are not allowed!

As the women boarded the coach in May 1970, the men left them in no doubt how they felt, displaying a series of saucy posters.

When we published a picture of the women (Memory Lane, June 8), we were uncertain whether it was a serious protest – or just a bit of fun.

“It was a joke,” Florence Price, one of the daytrippers, tells me.

The women – and men – were members of the British Legion club at Headington, Oxford.

Mrs Price, of Edinburgh Drive, Kidlington, recognised herself, her mother Beatrice Price, and two aunts Elsie and Hilda Price in the earlier picture we published. She tells me: “We went to London to see a matinee performance of the musical Hello, Dolly! I think it was at the London Palladium.

“It was a really good show and we all enjoyed it.”

As we recalled, the men staged their “protest” with posters saying “We demand equality with women”, “We’re just sink bashers”, “We’re all washed up washing up” and a few slightly ruder ones.

To drive home their point two men wore aprons, one had a headscarf and one carried a broom!

The pictures of the protest were found in the Oxford Mail archives and this is the first time they have been published.

Although the pictures were taken by a Mail photographer, they were not published at the time – it was a busy weekend of protests and this one was not considered as newsworthy as others.

What kind of reception did the men get when the women arrived home?

Mrs Price, whose late husband John was entertainments secretary of the club, recalls: “When we got back, the men had been drinking in the club for some time. I don’t think they would have noticed if we hadn’t come back!”