FOUND in the Adver archives during a recent search for something else was the story of a beauty competition nearly eight decades ago – and a charming queen called Nellie.

Early in 1934 the Swindon Advertiser put out a call for nominations in its forthcoming Advertiser Beauty Competition, to be held at the Victoria Hospital during June’s Swindon Carnival Week.

Each nominee was asked to send in a photograph and on Friday, June 8 we published an eight-page supplement with the photographs of 61 young women.

In contrast to the beauty pageant shots of today, these photographs were modest head-and-shoulders affairs.

Judging by those images, 1934 was the year of a major perm craze in Swindon, as almost all of the women were sporting an example of the style.

Readers were asked: “Which of these 61 girls do you think should be Swindon’s Carnival Queen?

“You are asked to record your vote on the special Balllot Form on page 7 of this week’s paper, and send it to Newspaper House not later than first post on Monday next, 11th June.”

The six contestants with the most votes were to assemble at the Drill Hall on June 18, and readers were promised that the final choice would be made by a judge whose identity was yet to be revealed.

That judge turned out to be a 19-year-old Buckinghamshire-born film star called Joan Gardner, who travelled to Swindon during a break in filming The Private Life of Don Juan with Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.

The finalists were Doris Loveday, Rae Andrews, Dorothy Cull, Nellie Newman, Vera Clark and Molly Robson.

And the winner? An unnamed Adver reporter wrote of Miss Gardner: “She lined them up, examined them full face and profile, and without any hesitation took the hand of Miss Nellie Newman, and drew her out to the front. The applause nearly lifted the Drill Hall Roof.

“Then they all went off again, the chosen Queen to change into her royal robes. When she came back on to the stage, Miss Joan Gardner took the jewelled crown from the head of the retiring queen, Miss Helen Mildenhall, and placed it on the head of Queen Nellie.

“The new monarch looked charming in her magnificent period dress of turquoise blue velvet, trimmed with old English lace and pearls, and her cloak of a deeper shade of blue velvet, edged with white fur.”

Of all the people present that day, only the story of Joan Gardner is known for certain. Retiring from acting in the late 1930s, she married filmmaker Zoltan Korda, brother of the more famous filmmaker Alexander. The couple’s son, David, became a film producer, and Joan died in Hollywood in 1999, aged 84.

But what became of Queen Nellie Newman and her ladies in waiting?

If anybody reading this knows, we’d love to hear from you. Call Barrie Hudson on 01793 501821 or email bhudson@swindonadvertiser.co.uk