Gransnet forums

TV, radio, film, Arts

Do you remember April Ashley?

(24 Posts)
Maggierose Sun 28-Apr-24 11:18:23

And I met Georgie - Lady Colin Campbell in the 70’s. She looked fine and I remember being surprised by her deep Jamaican accent.

Maggierose Sun 28-Apr-24 11:14:00

Yes, I remember seeing April Ashley in a cafe in Chelsea in the 1960s. She looked very striking but not girly girly.

RosiesMaw Sun 28-Apr-24 05:41:03

Annealise

What relevance is the orthopaedic surgeon to April Ashley?

Formerly William Muirhead Allwood

Annealise Sun 28-Apr-24 01:06:32

What relevance is the orthopaedic surgeon to April Ashley?

Callistemon21 Tue 18-Jul-23 22:38:28

Charleygirl5

Yes, I remember her- she was really beautiful.

The person I take my hat off to is Sarah Muirhead-Allwood who is an orthopaedic surgeon and operated on Prince Phillip and I think Andy Murray. Possibly Craig Revel- Horwood but I am not 100% certain with that one.

Craig Revel-Horwood says he is a man who is bisexual; he was married to a woman for a while, is now in a gay relationship.

Luckygirl3 Tue 18-Jul-23 22:33:10

I remember her - she lived round here.

gulligranny Tue 18-Jul-23 22:23:29

I remember April Ashley; personification of dignity, elegance and charm, a truly beautiful soul.

Nanatoone Tue 18-Jul-23 19:02:54

I remembered reading about her in the late 70s, she was showing girlie signs very early on and from what I have read, this is common in true transgenderism. I admired her greatly for her resilience and beauty. She was somone who I could happily share my personal space with, she simply looked, sounded and acted like a woman. I felt desperately sorry for her as it cannot have been an easy life.

Daddima Tue 27-Jun-23 12:18:56

MaizieD

And I do remember April Ashley, primarily from the publicity about her.
Was she oppressed or lacking in 'rights'?

According to the documentary, her husband tried to have the marriage annulled, because she was biologically a man. Doctors testified that her vagina appeared normal, but the judge asked for a further examination, which said it was artificial, and therefore she was a man, so the marriage was annulled. Folk on the documentary seemed to think she was treated unfairly and without empathy.

MaizieD Mon 26-Jun-23 10:08:54

And I do remember April Ashley, primarily from the publicity about her.
Was she oppressed or lacking in 'rights'?

MaizieD Mon 26-Jun-23 10:07:02

Jan Morris didn't 'become' a famous travel writer. She was a historian and travel writer well before she transitioned. I have James Morrises books on the history of the British Empire...

FannyCornforth Mon 26-Jun-23 10:04:59

Here we are!
www.gransnet.com/forums/chat/1318828-Times-article-by-Jan-Morris-daughter-Suki-Morys

FannyCornforth Mon 26-Jun-23 10:00:16

Sparklefizz if I remember correctly we had a thread on here about Jan Morris and the article that her daughter wrote about them

Sparklefizz Mon 26-Jun-23 09:49:34

FannyCornforth

NanKate yes, Jan Morris was a writer, and according to their own daughter , a rather nasty piece of work

Yes, Fanny, I read that too.

FannyCornforth Mon 26-Jun-23 05:44:15

NanKate yes, Jan Morris was a writer, and according to their own daughter , a rather nasty piece of work

Charleygirl5 Sun 25-Jun-23 15:27:05

Yes, I remember her- she was really beautiful.

The person I take my hat off to is Sarah Muirhead-Allwood who is an orthopaedic surgeon and operated on Prince Phillip and I think Andy Murray. Possibly Craig Revel- Horwood but I am not 100% certain with that one.

NanKate Sun 25-Jun-23 14:26:07

Imo she was dignified and not aggressive like ‘some’ of today’s transwomen.

Who was the other transwoman who became a famous travel writer ? 🤔 I’ve remembered Jan Morris

Daddima Sun 25-Jun-23 13:59:08

lemsip

yes I remember . i shall look for the documentary. thanks

Seen 'The Extraordinary Life of April Ashley'? Watch it here on Channel 4:

www.channel4.com/programmes/the-extraordinary-life-of-april-ashley?cntsrc=social_share_ios_the_extraordinary_life_of_april_ashley

nanna8 Sun 25-Jun-23 13:57:02

She was lovely, wasn’t she ? There was some nasty press in those days.

eazybee Sun 25-Jun-23 13:46:33

Yes, I remember her and I saw her once in London in Kew Gardens, I think. She was very attractive , very feminine and very tall.

lemsip Sun 25-Jun-23 13:44:02

yes I remember . i shall look for the documentary. thanks

Aldom Sun 25-Jun-23 13:36:31

Yes I remember her. She was very beautiful. Thank you for mentioning the documentary on channel 4. I will try to find it.

FannyCornforth Sun 25-Jun-23 13:33:55

Here she is. April was born in 1935 and died in 2021.
She was ‘outed’ as transgender by The News of The World in 1961

Daddima Sun 25-Jun-23 13:29:06

I came upon a documentary about her on C4, and I’d forgotten about her. What a time she had in her quest to become a woman. From what was said, I took it that she had developed some female characteristics at puberty, and had surgery in Casablanca to create a vagina. This made me think she may genuinely have had a genetic issue rather than the gender dysmorphia we hear about today. I didn’t know she had received an MBE for her services to the transgender community, and seems to have been held in high regard by the LGBTQ community.
I was struck by how ‘female’ she looked, especially compared to the trans women who were on the programme.