THE grand floral fete in Oxford was indeed a grand affair, with something for everyone.

Posters for the event at Botley Road recreation ground in 1948 listed an impressive line-up of attractions.

The afternoon began with a procession through the city, starting at Magdalen Bridge and including the Dagenham Girl Pipers and the Floral Queen, Sheila Palmer, and her attendants.

After the Floral Queen was crowned, everyone was free to walk around and enjoy the various sideshows and stalls.

Visitors were also encouraged to take part in competitions – there was a baby show, ladies’ beauty competition, ladies’ ankle competition and the search for Oxford’s best-looking man.

The poster, right, belongs to Jean Sansom, of Oatlands Road, West Oxford, who, as Jean Kilby, was one of the Floral Queen’s eight maids of honour.

The others were Hilda Marriott, Sheila Peart, June Rawlings, Pamela White, Hazel Shooter, June Dunsby and Beryl Jackman.

They all rode in the floral procession in a decorated wagon.

Mrs Sansom, who was 14 at the time, recalls: “It was a lovely day. We were hoping it wouldn’t rain because we had our long frocks on.”

The event, organised by the British Railways’ Western Region Staff Association, attracted a huge crowd that year.

The Oxford Mail reported: “Hours after the official opening, there were long queues waiting to gain admission.

“So large was the crowd later in the afternoon that hundreds round the main arena saw little or nothing of the entertainment.”

Twenty youngsters had a narrow escape when the roof of a tin shed, on which they had climbed to watch the artists, collapsed. One boy suffered cuts to his leg.

The women’s ankle competition was won by Mrs M Donalds, of Essex Street, Oxford, the women’s beauty competition by Beryl Jackman, of Stone Street, Oxford, and the best-looking man was John Bishop, of the Royal Naval Air Station at Culham.

The Oxford Mail’s Alan Course produced one of his topical cartoons, ending with the words: “If they run our railways as well as they ran their fete, we’ll be satisfied.”