IT WAS a night when these girls could feel proud.

They had been invited to Oxford Town Hall as guests of Lord Mayors to receive their gold medals under the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.

The top picture was taken at the ceremony in 1965 when nine girls were handed their awards by Alderman J N L Baker in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour.

They were Carol Allpress, Valerie Brain, Joy Bushnell, Lilian Charlett, policewoman Gillian Douglas, Susan Smith, Sheila Townsend, June Wheeler and Margaret Young. WPc Douglas, of Coverley Road, Headington, learned the Braille alphabet to help the blind as part of the scheme.

She saluted smartly when she stepped forward to receive her award.

Among those present were the chief constable of Oxford, Clement Burrows, and Sir Basil Blackwell, head of the famous Oxford book-selling firm, which employed four of the nine girls.

The Oxford Mail reported: “Courses chosen by the girls in the award scheme in Oxford are many and varied. Valerie Brain, for example, learned how to ring church bells and how to play the trombone.

Oxford Mail:

  • The nine girls who received their Duke of Edinburgh gold awards from the Lord Mayor, Alderman, J N L Baker in 1965

"Joy Bushnell took public speaking and astronomy.”

At the same ceremony, Lady Ogilvie, principal of St Anne’s College, Oxford, presented silver awards to 19 girls and bronze awards to 35 girls.

Two years later, the Lord Mayor, Air Vice-Marshal WF MacNeece Foster, handed gold awards to a record 19 Oxford girls.

The winners that year included Rennie Barnes, Nola Batty, Claire Black, Susan Boswell, Pauline Crawshaw, Lindsay Dunkley, Clare Franks, Rosemary French, Susan Hale, Ruth Harris, Susan Heaton, Rosalyn Hedges, Wendy Howard, Winifred Johnston, Anne Milne, Maureen Parker, Christina Stocking and Jane Willets.

Some of them are seen in the picture, above. Oxford had been one of the pilot areas for the Duke’s scheme and had been giving awards to girls since 1958. Twenty-five girls had taken part then and, by 1967, 400 girls were going through courses.

They started at the age of 14 and took three or four years to achieve bronze, silver, the gold awards – and most of them passed, according to Miss AM Layng, secretary of the Oxford award committee.

That year, 24 silver awards and 64 bronze awards were handed to Oxford girls – again a record number.

Boys received their awards at separate ceremonies at that time.