The Caravan Club (Endell Street)

Following a police raid, the club's owners were accused of "exhibiting to the view of any person willing to pay for admission lewd and scandalous performances".

[2] It advertised itself as "London's Greatest Bohemian Rendezvous said to be the most unconventional spot in town" – a code phrase for being gay-friendly – and promised "All night gaiety" and "Dancing to Charlie".

Neave had previously run the Jamset and the Cosmopolitan[5] (Wardour Street) in the early 1930s and was a former escapologist and "strongman", later described in court as a phrenologist.

According to the account of a policeman, the walls and ceilings were decorated with material featuring stars and dragons and the entertainment included a man stripped to the waist who passed burning papers over his upper body.

[4] The Daily Mirror reported that reading the names of the defendants took ten minutes, "many of the girls giggling as they answered", and there were nine barristers and three solicitors present.

"[7] Neave and Reynolds were accused of "maintaining a place at Endell-street for exhibiting to the view of any person willing to pay for admission lewd and scandalous performances".

Miss Carmen Fernandez, a professional dancer, called as an "expert witness" by the defence, stated that the Rumba and the Carioca might be thought indecent by those who saw them for the first time by that they were danced at well known West End halls.

She was asked by the defence to demonstrate the Rumba in front of the dock but was prevented from doing so by judge Holman Gregory, who commented "there will be nothing of the sort in this court.

They were mostly in their early twenties and the occupations included: artist, window dresser, waiter, messenger, dancing partner, painter, school master, traveller, milliner, clerk and salesman.

In his final comments, the judge described the club as "A foul den of iniquity which was corrupting the youth of London"[6] The Daily Express described Neave as a man of striking appearance, "He has black hair, which hangs over his shoulders.

[6] The Caravan was one of a number of similar clubs in London's West End in the inter-war years that were among the principal gathering places of gay men and often included an element of female prostitution and low-level criminality.

The Ministry of Defence in particular was concerned to prevent servicemen visiting such establishments and certain venues were patrolled by the Military Police and known to be off-limits but while registered pubs, restaurants and cafes could be entered freely by the police and their owners were approved before a licence was given, private clubs were harder to monitor as a senior officer's permission was required to place them under surveillance and a magistrate's warrant was needed in order to conduct a raid.

[5] In July 2024, a property developer proposed that a rainbow plaque be added to the Endell Street site, now known as The Sail Loft.