Brownies, Crusaders and the USS Enterprise '“ carnival time in 1974

The girls were from the 2nd Fishbourne Brownies and their float depicting Crusaders of 1571 earned them the Challenge Cup and the Youth Cup. The third award – the New Entrants’ Cup – went to a gang of Hawaiin hula women who, when they weren’t dressed for the luau, worked for the Metropolitan Pensions Association Ltd. The runners-up to the Brownies had a slightly out-of-this-world feel. They were the Chichester Youth Wing and they treated onlookers to the unusual sight of a steamroller pulling the USS Enterprise. The parade was part of a gala afternoon in Priory Park which was packed with thousands of revellers enjoying that rarest of rarities, a sunny British summer afternoon. The Gala Queen was 17-year-old Julie Greenfield who – along with her attendants Debbie Pulsford, 19, and Susan Barrett, 17 – toured the park in a Land Rover led by an escort of three mounted military police from the Chichester barracks. Certainly a day to remember for the trio! Back at the carnival parade, there were a number of extremely creative entries in the ‘tableaux’ class. Laboratory technicians from Chichester College of Further Education took second place in the ‘musical/humorous’ category with their depiction of the Tour de France, cycling round and round their impressive design, which even included the Eiffel Tower. They missed out on first prize to the Chichester Dog Rescue Society whose entry – Top Of The World – no doubt included some rather cute pooches and puppies. Who can compete with that! Third place went to Mr Gardner and the Wombles whose entry, naturally, was centred around litter. As well as Brownies, Carnival Queens and fictional spaceships and Wombles, the gala was packed with dancers, daredevils, sheepdogs, marching, more marching, pipers and a steel band. The event raised more than £2,000 which was split between 16 local charities. These pictures were fished from the depths of the Observer archive, which is kept safe and sound at the West Sussex Record Office. They were published on Friday July 12 1974 and the photographer was Ken Rimell. Do you recognise any of the people in the pictures? Did you take part in the gala or the parade? Why not drop us a line and share you memories? Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live. Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on. 1) Make our website your homepage at www.chichester.co.uk/ 2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ChichesterObserver 3) Follow us on Twitter @Chiobserver 4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out! The Chichester Observer - always the first with your local news. Be part of it.