Ruth Cavendish

Also known as  –  Adele Romain

A raven-haired stunner from Ayrshire – the place seems to have been full of gorgeous girls. Ruth won Miss Arbroath when she was only 15. She became a cashier in a Glasgow store but had a yen to be a fashion model. Thankfully for us she chose to do a different type of picture.

Her make-up and hair-do were always perfect − always a big grin and big hair, which can often lead to confusion between her and Annette French. She was featured solo on a number of occasions, one of which involved a rocking horse (Rosanne Stuart pranced on the same beast) and paired up in outdoor activities with Scottish models Helen Milligan and Anne Scott, with whom she appeared in some of the most iconic shoots.

And, as is the case with Anne, the photo captions are just silly stories describing silly set-ups (like tobogganing in no snow) in the same countryside and give little personal information.

Funny thing – she appeared in so many mags that she was instantly identifiable. And suddenly, in Span 184, five years after she made her debut and at number five in the Top Twenty, Robin Brewster renames her Adele Romain. Absurd!

Another funny thing − all the Scottish models seemed to wear directoire knickers. Either it is cold in Scotland or, and much more likely, photographer J.B. Fullarton had a thing about them. Ah well, each to his own.

Personal Details  –  Born 1947       38-24-38

Appearances  –  71 (12 covers, 9 back covers), debut Beautiful Britons 100 (February 1964)

Spick  –  124, 125, 126, 127, 132, 133, 135, 138(bc), 141, 143(bc), 151, 154, 181, 205, 207, 213(bc), 220(bc), 266, 267

Span  –  115(bc), 116(bc), 117(bc), 119, 122(bc), 124, 127(bc), 135, 140, 165, 184, 200, 210, 233, 243, 256

Beautiful Britons  –  100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 109, 110, 117, 118, 123, 128, 138, 141, 142, 157, 162, 174, 183, 188, 191, 198, 203, 223, 242

Spick & Span Extra  –  11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,  35, 46, 58, 61