June Gordon

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We're Off

Before we were indescribably smitten by a fair maid from afar, we were thinking of settling down before our winter fireside in a state of soporific hibernation.

Then we saw JUNE GORDON. She was just going home to Scotland. So, we cancelled the order for winter fuel and gave up all idea of hibernating. A rush of vibrant corpuscles to the head had sent us all agog and it was like Spring in the park again.

In other words, we're off.

We're either off to Scotland or off our head.

June is a secretary and the girl we'd most like to be lost in the typing pool with. What grace, what charm, what fair elegance.

As the coalman said when a hundredweight sack fell on his head, "I've gone all fragile.' It's a feeling of being far, far away.

Beautiful Britons No 144 - November 1967

Ruth Cavendish

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Caught On The Cover

You were bound to have noticed your favourite figure catching your eye on this month's cover. It's the girl you're always wanting to see more of RUTH CAVENDISH and if you don't think she's even lovelier than ever, it must be because you're going steady with a beautiful blonde, you traitor.

Span No 140 - April 1966

Susan Carroll

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Bookish

Girl who likes a good book is SUSAN CARROLL, and when Susan's deep in a good book it's no good ringing her up and suggesting a cosy date at a new Chinese restaurant because she won't be free until she's reached the end of the last chapter.

Aside from all that, Susan is a gay girl, likes fast cars and chivalrous men and going for walks around old ruins. Know any old ruins that might be worth a visit? She's been to all the castles.

Spick No 186 - May 1969

Anne Lee

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Secretarial Riposte

The guy with the confident verbosity which is another way of saying he had an over-rated line of chat- ran into a smart riposte when he tried to date Secretary ANNE LEE. Following an ambiguous conversation concerning office equipment, he first told her she sounded like a dream incarnate and then said, "I think we ought to meet how about under the clock at Victoria Station 6 p.m. tomorrow?"

“Love to,” said Anne, “can we make it a foursome?”

“Of course.”

“Good,” said Anne, “I'II be there with my mum and dad.”

Beautiful Britons No 153 - August 1968

J.B. Fullarton

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J.B. Fullarton - What Do We Actually Know?

J.B. Fullarton - The Scottish photographer who populated ToCo’s pages with some of its most popular models throughout its golden years.

James Barclay Fullarton was born in Ardrossan in 1923 to John Adam and Margaretta Black Fullarton, which would have made him 100 years old if he were still alive today. Sadly, he got nowhere near to that milestone, passing away at just 55 years old on the 23rd of August 1978, in Saltcoats. His death certificate states that he was a shop proprietor.

J.B Fullarton lived most of his life at 14a Montgomerie Crescent, Saltcoats which was, in fact, his father’s house and had originally been called Rowallan: a lovely looking property that had uninterrupted views of the Firth of Clyde. We do know that he was married to Anna Milloy and that he had a son, David Barclay Fullarton, who was born at Kilwinning in 1957. David now lives in Oxfordshire and works as a dentist.

Fullarton’s published years in glamour photography were from 1956 up until the middle of the 1960’s, which would have put him in his late 30’s to early 40’s when he was photographing for ToCo.

Fullarton, as we know, lived in Saltcoats - one of the three towns situated on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, the other two being Ardrossan and Stevenston in Ayrshire. (Threetowners) The biggest employer in the area at the time was ICI, who produced explosives at their plant situated on the Ardeer Peninsula at Stevenston. (Nobel Enterprises) At its peak, the plant employed 13,000 people. A great many of these employees were drawn from the three towns which, at that time, had an approximate population of just 32,000. The plant extended right down to the sand dunes, where we know several of the popular shoots were taken. What we certainly also know is that many of the girls that Fullarton photographed worked at that explosives factory. See earlier post. (An Update from Saltcoats)

We also know that 1956 was a good year for Fullarton, with some of his first pictures being published by ToCo as well as other titles, including Fiesta. Maureen Quail was, we think, his first published ToCo picture, rather than Janet Neill who followed just 2 months later. We also saw the first of what we must assume were his cars, with him owning a Vauxhall Velox (HHH 322) in 1956.

Janet Neill went on to make numerous other appearances, featuring in four editions of Fiesta during 1956. What is interesting is that some of those pictures are credited to J.W. Boyd, who owned a local photographic shop in Saltcoats, and then separately to Fullarton, with them obviously using the same studio. See earlier post. (An Update from Saltcoats Part 2) We do now believe that the John Fullarton talked about in this earlier post is not the one we are interested in, as we now have the evidence of a death certificate which gives an address that ties in with the photographic evidence from the magazines.

Janet, of course, went on to do a number of duo sets with Vicki Campbell, wearing some very short skirts (real miniskirts). This was all 8 years before Mary Quant - often cited as the inventor of the miniskirt, though hers were worn with tights rather than fully fashioned stockings.

The following year (1957) saw Fullarton win several prizes for his photography. Carnival magazine gave him a first prize for Maureen Quail V3 No 5 and a second prize for Betty McBride V3 No 10. In addition to this, he also won £1-1s - equivalent to about £32 today - for a picture he sent in of Hazel Anne McNemeny to Can Can V1 No 11, which was taken in Boyd’s studio. These small successes, as you can image, would have spurred Fullarton on with his photographic exploits, possibly giving him more confidence to take the pictures that we all enjoy today of the girl next door showing her stockings and suspenders (and sometimes a little more!) ToCo was a perfect outlet for these pictures that he certainly enjoyed taking. And who wouldn’t have enjoyed taking them? You can image how things snowballed a little, with the girls talking at work, encouraging others to join them in showing their underwear for a bit of extra cash on the side. Can you image seeing your pictures published by ToCo and the local boys seeing them? - it must have been a lot of fun. One thing that has always struck me about the pictures in ToCo is that the girls nearly always look like they are having fun and enjoying themselves, especially when working in pairs, which of course makes them all that more alluring.

1958 saw Sadie Milligan and Joy Carlton make their first appearances. Janet Neill featured prominently throughout 1959. She was married on 30th March that year, with some of her wedding pictures appearing in Funfare No 23 (Nov 59). Some were certainly taken in Boyd’s studio, with Fullarton, I am sure, having taken the others.

Patricia McGregor and Norma Gordon were also seen in 1959, as was another Vauxhall Velox (NVA 106).

1960 saw Molly Fleming, Sandra McPherson, Nikki St. John, Helen Candlish, Maureen Smart and Julie Scott make their first appearances.

1961 saw Janette Goodman, Diane McCall, Mary Graham, Susan McKay and Nikki Merrill.

1962 was a very busy year with Jackie Leyton, Leila Scott, Margo Stevens, Sara Scott, Marion McGregor, Liz McGregor, Maria Imlah, Rita Lees, Verna Harvey and Margaret Murray appearing on our ToCo pages, and another new car - this time a Morris Minor (OAG 11) I think I would have stuck with the Vauxhall though!

Jean Dee was, we think, his last known model, appearing in a duo with Helen Candlish in 1971, although the shoot was likely done some years previously. Many of Fullarton’s models did emigrate to Australia after getting married in the early 1960’s. This emigration would, of course, have depleted his pool, as well as girls getting married - we certainly don’t know what some of their new husbands would have thought about all this!

Fullarton though certainly had quite a cottage industry on the go from such a small population, and we must question who made some of those very short skirts that we all loved so much. It’s interesting to think what Mrs Fullarton thought about of all this, or maybe she did not even know what sort of pictures her husband was taking.

Some might say that 14a Montgomerie Crescent ought to have a blue plaque placed on the wall to celebrate James Barclay Fullarton - a photographer who brought so much enjoyment to so many.

I would just like to thank David, Chris, and Robert for their continued effort in researching and digging out all this information. They have made this post possible, allowing me to share it, so that we can all enjoy it.

Marilyn Ward and Nicola Taylor

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How Do I Look

Pretty girls are naturally camera-conscious and don't like to be caught when they've just come up from a coalmine. "No, not yet," said MARILYN WARD as NICOLA TAYLOR got her into focus, “the breeze is making me look all windswept,”

“Well, hurry up," said Nicola as Marilyn reversed the process, "I'm getting sand in my shoes, "Say cheese." said Marilyn.

"Oh, blow that," said Nicola, "every time I say cheese, I get sand in my mouth too.

"How do I look now?" asked Marilyn, sitting pretty, "As I gaze intently into the viewfinder," said Nicola, “I can now see what's in it for the photographers. No wonder they like their job."

'Yes, I see what you mean," said Marilyn a minute later, "you look ever so mini-skirted. I say, aren't they lucky, they get paid as well." “I tell you what” said Nicola, "let's go and see if there's any beefcake on the beach - we might get paid for photographing them."

Beautiful Britons No 153 - August 1968

Susan McKay

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Sandy Sue

Down among the sand dunes SUSAN McKAY found time to lie in the sun. It was a pity she'd left her bikini on the coach, for although you can brown some of yourself in a light dress, you can't cover the same amount of area as you can in a bikini. Especially the itsy-bitsy kind.

Nonetheless (as they say in those slightly archaic novels) Susan looks very attractive in a light dress and those frilly garters are just as likely to turn a head as a bikini.

"Hey, you're looking"

Yes, well - well, as a matter of fact - well, we wondered if you'd seen our dog.

"Did it have shaggy hair, just like you? And floppy ears, also like you?"

Well, no.

"Then go away or I'll call my bloodhound to bite you."

You can't mean that. Couldn't we take just one picture of you while we're here? You look divine. Smashing in fact. "Oh, you and your big blue eyes. Just half-a-dozen, then." Could we make it one over the eight?

"You've already had that I can tell from the empty bottles."

Beautiful Britons No 80 - June 1962

Eliza Brandet

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Good Luck!

Beautiful young American actress ELIZA BRANDET has departed from Hollywood to further her career in Europe, and in addition to various roles she has on in Italian films she also accepted an offer from Denmark to play the part of Mandy Rice Davies in the British movie "The Christine Keeler Story." Good luck to a girl who looks as lovely as Eliza and has come so far from her Texas home to make a name for herself.

Beautiful Britons No 110 - December 1964

Marie Fitzgerald

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Sunny Side Up

Well, it was that kind of a day, with the sun shining and all, So MARIE FITZGERALD wasn't letting it go to waste. She jumped into a car and drove into the country, where using walls and fences to perch on she arranged herself sunny side up. Marie is a Bournemouth girl and likes to get herself toasted, and if you prefer fried eggs, you must love food to the point where you're neurotic. Or perhaps some girl in your distant past broke your leg in a game of mixed hockey and you decided fried eggs were safer.

Spick No 185 - April 1969

Maria Assin

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It Wasn't For Want Of Trying

There was this rubber canoe, see.

It was a new acquisition for MARIA ASSIN. Maria works all week in an office and spends all weekends out-of-doors. That way a girl manages to keep pretty and vital.

Maria had the darnedest trouble launching the canoe and even more trying to get into it. It couldn't have been more difficult trying to get on the neck of an elephant with a rope ladder.

There's a classical method of launching and paddling a canoe, of course One, you swoosh it into the water. Two, you sling your left leg over the starboard side. Three, you sling your right leg in. Four - as Maria found out - you fall flat on your face over the port side. No one can say Maria didn't try. She did. Both classical and unclassical methods. The canoe remained obdurately determined, Maria likewise. It became a fight to the finish.

"Pardon me," called a wag from dry land, "but watch out for the torpedoes.
'Blow the torpedoes,' said Maria, "I'm in at last and now it's full steam ahead.
It's one thing to be an obdurately determined young lady, and quite another to be over-confident.
It wasn't the torpedoes.
It was the canoe.
It gave a wet cough and Maria went overboard. Not for the first time, either. "You're all wet, " called the wag from the bank.
"So are you," said Maria.

Beautiful Britons No 153 - August 1968

Lynn Joyce

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Dial "H" For Help

This wasn't a case for 999 - LYNN JOYCE had merely forgotten to order the pork chipolatas from her local store for her big party.

She'd got the sticks and the mustard and the pickles, but not the chipolatas. I’ll bring them up on my bicycle, said the manager.

"That's really very sweet of you,” said Lynn, “and you're a great help. Without my chipolatas it would be panic stations up here.”

Now What?

"It really. is panic stations,” said Lynn,

" Because my dress hasn't come back from the cleaners and I can't receive my guests like this, can I?" Honestly, we wouldn't make any fuss.

Beautiful Britons No 80 - June 1962

Sadie Lydon

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Shapely Sadie

All the way from Wiltshire comes shapely SAIDE LYDON to sweetly illustrate that the reason why young men still go West is not so much for gold-which is somewhat over-staked, anyway-as for curves. If Sadie stayed on the beach in a bikini all day, be honest, fellers, wouldn't you miss lunch just to keep her continuously in focus? Anyone who wouldn't is a miserable gourmand who marches through life on his stomach.

London may be bursting with beautiful girls, but it's still all eyes on one like Sadie as she trips jauntily down Shaftesbury Avenue to see her agent.

Span No 102 - May 1962

Cleo Simmons

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No Hiding Place

There was all this flowery fauna and flora around, but there still wasn't enough to conceal CLEO SIMMONS when the fox hunters came galloping by just at the moment when Cleo was going to sunbathe. She could have dived for cover into the ferns, but that would have been too ticklish, so there she was, and all the masculine riders were yelling "Tally-Ho, Cleo!" and all the feminine ones were yelling "No, this way, you fools." It was the afternoon the fox got away and the masculine huntsmen all got beaten over the bonce by the feminine ones.

Spick No 186 - May 1969

Sara Cook

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Sara a la carte Cook

Can Sara Cook? think everyone who looks a moment at these pictures will agree that that's a pretty pointless question. She could serve up seaweed and snails' livers and it would taste good, if she served it wearing the outfit, you're looking at now. Who thinks of food at a time like that? But Sara is a cook in case you're interested. Rather, Sara is a Cook. Sara Cook, to be precise. You might say being a Cook runs in her family Actually she does know her Beatons and Craddocks. She's not one of your amateurs who spends ten minutes flicking through the first issue of a weekly cookery supplement before knocking up a bit of Pain Chaude a la Heinz Baked Beans.

You might think that this doesn't matter. But Sara sat like this and whispered to you in a sultry voice, "Why not come and sample my Petits Pois a la Francaise," how could you refuse ?

Relax No 17 - Gadoline Publications (1969)

Rene Haywood

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Who's In Charge?

Not quite sure what's happening - because she's a stranger in the place - is curvaceous RENE HAYWOOD.

One can get into quite a flap when one is face-to-face with strange desks and strange phones and there's no familiar face around.

Rene just came along to see if anyone was interested in giving her a sitting, but not this kind, to wit.

Beautiful Britons No 72 - October 1961