As April Ashley sits down on the specially provided chair next to Radio Merseyside legendary presenter Roger Philips at the Museum of Liverpool, the audience that had made their way to the city specifically to see Ms. Ashley rose almost as one and gave a standing ovation that would normally be reserved for an actor or musician giving a rare solo performance to an adoring crowd.

To many in the audience and to thousands, if not millions round the world, April Ashley is a heroine, a heroine of the highest order, someone that without whom the dark ages, the misguided and in some cases repugnant behaviour of others towards transgendered issues, would have carried on perhaps well into the 21^st Century.