Diamond Lil and Maisie, performers.

Lil, who lived en femme, and Maisie, who dressed for the stage, were a gay couple who lived in Hackney, London, and performed as a drag duo at various East End venues, particularly the Royal Oak in Columbia Rd, Hackney, from the Second World War and into the 1960s.

Their story was turned into a radio play, Diamond, 2006, by Linda Wilkinson, chair of Amnesty International UK, which was in turn adapted as a stage play, with Dave Lynn as Lil.

• Linda Wilkinson. Watercress but no Sandwiches: 300 Years of the Columbia Road Area. London: Jesus Hospital Estate Residents Association, 2001.
• Christopher Sandford (dir). Diamond. Scr: Linda Wilkinson, with Dave Lynn as Diamond Lil, and John Barr as Maisie. The Kings Head Theatre 2006.