WITH Marshside residents of all ages thronging her route, the Rose Queen in this 1940s photograph must have felt like true royalty.
Her name was Muriel Ball, and she was queen of the village’s annual summertime parade in 1945 or 1946.
One of the three taller girls in Muriel’s train was Norma Clarkson, who was aged 10 or 11 and attended Churchtown school.
Now, aged 71, she has supplied this old photograph to LookBack.
Norma remembers that the Rose Queen procession led to the field on Fylde Road, where Fleetwood Hesketh social club stands.
“We used to go on horse and cart after getting picked up from the Rose Queen’s house,� she said.
Although unsure as to who its organisers were, Norma believes it may have been Emmanuel Parish Church, on Cambridge Road, where she worshipped.
The two other older girls in Muriel’s train were Phyllis Parks and Sheila Mason, Norma’s fellow pupils at Churchtown School, which educated children aged seven to 15.
Norma’s cousin Sheila now lives in Hong Kong, and Norma still sees Phyllis in Southport “from time to time�.
But she has not kept in touch with Muriel, who lived a few doors down from her in a bungalow on Lytham Road, and was a teenager during her Rose Queen reign.
Married to Geoffrey and the mother of Paul and Lisa, Norma has stayed true to her Marshside roots and now lives in nearby Caton Close.
She worked at the Co-op store in Rufford Road, Crossens, and the factory making electrical components for Philips in Balmoral Drive.
And Norma said the Rose Queen festival was only one of a number of occasions when the Marshside community gathered together.
“We used to have walking days, when everyone got dressed up in costumes – people were in their Sunday best and boys and girls used to dress up as brides and grooms.
“We walked to Emmanuel Church and then around the village.�
Do you have memories of Marshside community events of yesteryear, such as its Rose Queen festival? If so, please share them below.
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