sentences:  After the Second World War there had been an increase in arrests and prosecutions, and by the end of 1954, in England and Wales, there were 1,069 men in prison for homosexual acts, with a mean age of 37 years.During a time of several significant trials, notably that of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the Conservative government set up a departmental committee under Sir John Wolfenden to consider both homosexual offences and prostitution.The committee of 15 (4 women and 11 men) was led by Sir John Wolfenden (1906–1985) who had previously been headmaster of Uppingham and Shrewsbury and in 1950 became Vice Chancellor of the University of Reading.