The Best of British Beauty

Sally-Ann Fawcett looks back at 80 years of Miss Great Britain, the UK's oldest national beauty pageant

- By Sally-Ann Fawcett

When the Sunday Dispatch newspaper joined forces with Morecambe & Heysham Corporation to create a new tourist attraction for the town, few would have bet more than a shilling that it would still be going strong 80 years later.

But the Miss Great Britain pageant celebrates its big anniversary this year, with the national final taking place on Friday 17 October at the Athena, Leicester and has cemented its status as the country's longest-running beauty contest.

When recalling its history, it is little mentioned that Eric Morley, the creator of the Miss World contest, was instrumental in the origins of Miss Great Britain. As publicity officer for Mecca, the huge dance hall and bingo entertainment group, he agreed that some of the weekly heats could be held in his ballrooms, thus bringing new audiences to his venues, and instant prestige to the pageant.

But, on 29 August 1945, there were no such luxurious surroundings for the contestants in the very first National Bathing Beauty Contest, as it was originally named. Watched by a crowd of 4,300 people, the finalists paraded round the windswept lido in a continuous downpour.

Morecambe's Super Swimming Stadium had opened in 1936 and was said to be the largest outdoor pool in Europe. Built to rival Blackpool's South Shore Swimming Coliseum, it provided the perfect backdrop for the weekly heats and grand final of Miss Great Britain until the site's closure, and subsequent demolition, in 1975

As Charles Eade, then editor of the Sunday Dispatch, explained: “Britain was still at war at the time and many of her loveliest girls were in the services, but we decided to run a contest that year on modest lines and test the public's reaction. Male members of the forces were known to have more than passing interest in pinup girls, so it was agreed to let them judge the preliminary heats.”