But For The Grace: Robert Allen

Robert Allen was born Joyce Allen and registered as a girl in August 1914; was married to a man at the age of 19, served in the forces during the war and for thirty years lived ostensibly as a woman. In 1944 he petitioned the British Government to be gender-reassigned as a man. A change of identity was officially recognised; he legally married a woman and states that he did not take hormones or have surgery. First published in 1954, this truly remarkable autobiography must have been extremely controversial. Illustrated with photographs.