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Knottingley Carnival Facts, Page 2
RADIO AND TELEVISION CELEBRITIES
1962 witnessed the beginning of almost a decade in which
celebrities of radio and television, or in two cases, local
personalities, were engaged as star guests to attend the
Carnival and crown the Queen. The driving force behind this
development was the late Mr. Charles (Charlie) Tate, a local
businessman of imagination and flair with unbounded enthusiasm
and energy.
PETER ADAMSON 1962
When the 1962 Queen, Miss Pamela Brown, was crowned by the
retiring Queen, actor Peter Adamson, who portrayed a character
named ‘Len Fairclough’ in the television soap opera, ‘Coronation Street’, was there
to assist, to the delight of 5,000 spectators. ‘Len’ tried on the crown
first “just for size” and after the coronation went on to sell
signed photographs for Carnival funds.
HARRY AND 'CONCEPTA' HEWITT 1963
Two more stalwarts of Coronation Street appeared at the Carnival
in Knottingley Playing Fields in 1963. Ivan Beavis, who played
‘Harry Hewitt’, together with his stage wife ‘Concepta’ (Doreen
Keogh) belatedly opened the Carnival 20 minutes late having got
lost en route. The guest couple then emulated the previous years
celebrity by selling signed photographs for the Carnival
Committee’s designated charities.
LANDLADY AT COMMERCIAL HOTEL
The winning tableau at the 1963 Carnival was based upon an
episode of the popular television series, ‘Steptoe & Son’,
entered by the Commercial Hotel, Hill Top. The landlady of that
establishment was Margaret Waller who in 1951, under her maiden
name of Margaret Finney, had been crowned as the Road Safety
Queen and was one of the three Queens of Festival Year.
LUSCIOUSLY PNEUMATIC 'SABRINA', 1964
On the 4th July 1964 the Carnival Queen Joan Tunningley was crowned by lusciously ‘pneumatic’
Sabrina, who opened the event and also presented cups to the Queen’s
attendants and gave a kiss to lucky page boy, Kevin Eades.
PYAMA GAME COLLAPSE, 1964
Undoubtedly, the humorous highlight of the 1964 Carnival
occurred when a float entitled ‘Pyjama Game’, devised by the
Commercial Hotel, in which a bed formed the main prop of the
display, collapsed just as the tableau entered the Playing
Fields, to the huge delight of the onlookers.
RENOWN GUITARIST 'BERT WEEDON', 1965
The celebrity guest introduced by Mr. S. Burton, Chairman of the Carnival
Committee, in 1965 was the renown guitar player, Bert Weedon. Opening the
event before 4,000 spectators, Weedon then assisted with crowning the new
Queen, Miss June Smith, and on behalf of the Committee presented
her with a gold wrist watch, a bus pass and free passes for the
Crescent Cinema, Pontefract and the Star Cinema, Castleford.
MISS SONYA SHAY - BEAUTY CONTESTANT, 1966
Owing to the restructuring of the Playing Fields, the 1966 Carnival was
held in the Playing Field at Ferrybridge. An abiding memory of the
event was captured on the photograph showing that year’s Queen, Miss
Jennifer Whitwell, mopping her brow due to the intensity of the hot sunny
weather. The Queen was crowned by Miss Sonya Shay of Glasshoughton, who
had gained celebrity status by winning a number of regional and national
beauty contests about that time.
DOG SHOW, 1966
An innovative feature of the 1966 Carnival was a Dog Show organised by
Pollard Bearings & Philidas Canine Club. The show was a popular event for
a number of years thereafter and continued to be sponsored by Ransome,
Hoffman, Pollard, following the reconstitution of the companies. An
exception was the year 1970 when because the Club was committed to a show
at Horbury, the Carnival Show did not occur.
SECOND QUEEN, 1966
A second Queen was proclaimed in 1966 when 81 year old Mrs
Minnie Bailey was chosen from 66 old people as the first Darby &
Joan Queen at a function in the Town Hall where Mrs Bailey was
crowned by Councillor Mrs H. Fox of Featherstone and received a
brooch from the Knottingley Womens’ Voluntary Service together
with Ł10 presented by Councillor William Sarvant, Chairman of
the K.U.D.C. Mrs Bailey’s successor, Mrs Sarah
Asquith, featured as a guest at the Knottingley Carnival in 1967 when Miss
Carol Middleton was Carnival Queen.
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