?Miss Scarborough in the 1960's and 70's

Nowadays beauty pageants are seen as politically incorrect. The world has moved on from these ghastly shows. But back in the 1960's and 70's these were highly popular. A popular venue was Wallis's in Cayton Bay with as many as 700 people attending.

The judges were often highly respectable people. In 1968 councillor David Jenkinson was a judge as well a Director of Scarborough Football club and the manager of the Floral Hall. In 1968 the Mayoress (Mrs Mary Fuller) and Ted Winpenny (President of Scarborough Lions) were both judges. Contests even attracted famous people. In 1974 the world famous footballer Jack Charlton crowned the winner Miss Diane Sellars. In 1974 a fez was auctioned for £12 owned by Tommy Cooper (a national personality) and a tie for £8 owned by Tory Party leader Ted Heath.

Beauty contests were seen as quite acceptable. Mothers often encouraged or even entered their daughters. Wendy Robinson of Filey was entered for the 1971 Miss Scarborough by her mother. Her daughter was not too pleased and this was not the first time that this had happened. Miss Robinson had been first entered for a competition when she was a baby. She was third that time losing out to her cousin. When she was seven she won Fileys "Rosebud Princess" organised by Filey swimming baths Association. She worked in the display Department of a Scarborough store. Her hobbies included painting and designing.

Julie Anne Rowley was another winner in 1972. She lived at Cavendish Hotel, Esplanade Road, Scarborough. Her vital statistics were 36-24-36. Vital statistics were once a regular feature of newspaper articles. They were mentioned with great frequency like a persons age. The vital statistics were a womans breast, waist and hip widths measured in inches. These vital statistics helped everyone compare and contrast the various contestants.

Both women and men watched these contests eagerly. The women would often say "you see better looking girls in the streets".

Now these competitions have gone out of fashion in this country. They struggle to get TV coverage. Of course images of beautiful women are everywhere and women feel pressurized to look good. But, contests where women are compared and selected merely for beauty do not receive the coverage and prominence they once had. Source The Prescott books in Scarborough Library, Vernon Road.