SIXTEEN attractive young ladies battled it out at Southampton’s Royal Pier Pavilion Ballroom, each with high hopes of achieving the sort of fame that would have them travelling the world in fancy clothes while substantially boosting their bank balance.

Manager Len Canham rolled out the red carpet at the special event on the night of February 10, 1965, which saw the largest number of contestants that the local heat for Miss England had ever seen.

The judges on the evening were Mr C P Eastburn (general manager and clerk of the Harbour Board), Miss Pat Smith (Echo woman’s page) and Peter Clark (Southern ITV), each with a hard decision to make.

But in the end, after much thought and discussion, it was decided that Janice Whiteman, a cashier from Totton would take first place, Linda Ellis from Bournemouth was second and Susan Eade from Southampton was third.

Winner Janice, who wanted to be a model at the time, was incredibly nervous on the night. After her triumph though, she had every bit of faith in her lucky sprig of heather.