Life of trans trailblazer April Ashley celebrated in show of her possessions

A new collection featuring a range of everyday belongings of the “pioneering” transgender activist April Ashley aims to tell the “lesser known stories” of her life, its curator has said.

Only the second Briton to undergo male-to-female gender reassignment surgery in 1960, Ashley, born in the Norris Green area of Liverpool in 1935, was well known as a Vogue model and actress.

Some 47 of her possessions have gone on display at Liverpool Museum, from glamorous jewellery, keepsakes she acquired while living in Wales and souvenirs from her time in San Diego, California.

Lead curator Kay Jones said it was “really nice to think about the different facets of someone and to see them as a more rounded individual”.

She added: “There’s the everyday persona and life and objects that she’s kept and cherished that really reflect that, but then there’s also the lovely glittery jewellery which we all love and she is synonymous with.”