'Queen Julie's' 22-year reign STRIKE up a fanfare and a let's hear a roll on those drums . . .

For the 'unknown' beauty queen from St Helens, featured in a 1976 flashback photo on this page (April 23) has stepped forward to be identified. Julie Williams, of Dentons Green Lane, was

just 20 when persuaded by her office colleagues to enter the national Miss Rockware contest.

Representing the local base of the bottle-making Rockware company (it vanished from the St Helens scene some years ago) she didn't rate her chances of success too highly.

"I always wore polo-necked sweaters," she cheerfully explains, "while the other contestants were not too shy to pose in plunging necklines."

But natural beauty won through and Julie took the crown. And, as this proved to be a one-off competition, she is, in a manner of speaking, still the reigning Miss Rockware these 22 years later!

Julie, who worked in the firm's buying department, was invited to take part in follow-up beauty competitions run by other organisations. But she was quite happy with her magical moment of fame and politely declined the offers.

In fact, she had almost forgotten that special day in 1976 until that flashback photo was brought to her attention.

Now 42 and employed in property sales, Julie has an 18-year-old daughter, Lucinda, and a son, Jordan, aged four.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.