Sex Change Spitfire Ace: Secret History

Sex Change Spitfire Ace charts the extraordinary story of the unique relationship between two of the most remarkable pioneers of the twentieth century: Roberta Cowell, former Spitfire ace and Britain’s first man to become a woman, and Michael Dillon, the world’s first woman to transition to a man. 

The sex changes caused a press sensation in 1950s Britain when the story broke, but were ultimately to end in tragedy. 

As a man, Roberta Cowell had been a married father of two, a celebrated racing driver competing at the Belgian Grand Prix and a fighter pilot during the war.  As a woman, Michael  Dillon, the niece of Sir John Dillon, 7th Baronet of Lismullen, was educated at an exclusive girls’ school and had been President of the Oxford Women’s University Boat Club.

But both Roberta Cowell and Michael Dillon were profoundly unhappy and desperate to do whatever was necessary to release them from bodies which did not feel their own. 

The documentary also tells the story of Sir Harold Gillies, one of the world’s most daring plastic surgeons, who carried out the  pioneering sex change operations on the two individuals.

The surgery was especially traumatic for Michael Dillon who had to undergo seventeen surgical procedures in order for Sir Harold to construct him a penis. 

The film includes never before seen correspondence between Cowell and Dillon, discovered by journalist Liz Hodgkinson which revealed a sensational twist in this extraordinary story.