When Southport refused to turn away 'lovely girls' from its seaside beauty pageant

SOUTHPORT’S English Rose beauty contest was recently featured in LookBack.
The annual pageant, which was held for the last time at the Floral Hall in the late 1990s, raised plenty of passions during its existence.
A delve into the Southport Visiter archives reveals the tale of one spat surrounding the contest, dating from 1952.
Our edition from Tuesday, September 16, that year, carried the tabloid-style headline: ‘Southport Won’t Ban Lovely Girls’.
At stake in the row was whether professional models should be permitted to be crowned English Rose, and the debate featured some attitudes and language likely to be frowned upon now.
The call for a ban on “professional beauty queens� came from Charles Carlton-Smith, entertainments manager of the fellow seaside town of Fleetwood.
“The original purpose of the contest is being lost,� he said, expressing a view shared by some correspondents to the Visiter.
“When professional models and mannequins compete, the average girl doesn’t stand a chance.�
Yet Councillor Mrs Mae Bamber, a member of Southport Council’s publicity and attractions committee, disagreed, warning the “good of the town� could suffer.
She said: “If you start banning girls the event will lose some of its attraction.
“Because a competitor has won at another town’s music festival you do not ban him or her from yours.�
Another committee member agreed, albeit in a less graceful terms.
The unnamed councillor said: “A system could be introduced where models receive a handicap.
“But why should such a restriction be imposed?
“Why should a girl be penalised because she has been taught how to walk and how to stand properly?�