Glorious pictures show Hastings Carnival Queen of 1948

Jean Horsfall was crowned in 1948 and pictures of her in all her finery have been sent in with the help of her cousin, Rosemary Tootle.

We recently featured Reg Dawson as Page to the Carnival Queen in the early 1930s and his widow, Sandy Dawson, tells us that before they were married, Jean had been one of his girlfriends.

According to Hastings Borough Council, the earliest Hastings Carnival on record is 1923 but it might well have been established before then.

The original carnival used to start in St Leonards, come along the seafront to the Old Town, then finish in Alexandra Park.

The carnival as it is now started in 1969. The council at the time stopped it from going into the Old Town that year, so the Old Towners, in disgust, started their own.

The two carnivals ran side by side for a few years but the original one declined in popularity, while the Old Town carnival continued, and still operates today.

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