Susan Douglas

Also know as  –  Patricia Garland and Pat Garwood (she was married to Godfrey Garland)

Susan was by far the most prolific model used in Town and Country Publications (ToCo). She made her debut at the age of 23 in, and on the cover of, Beautiful Britons 69 in July 1961, under her real name of Patricia Garland. This was after turning up in Staples’ and Hancock’s office to ask if “she would make a passable pin-up model”. Little did they know that morning that this hopeful model would go on to become the undisputed Number One model in their history, making almost twice as many appearances as her nearest rival Dawn Grayson. Her first appearance as Susan Douglas was in Beautiful Britons 75 in January 1962. She was one of the very few models ever asked to write the accompanying copy for a photo series (The Breeze and I in Spick 132 from November 1964).

Susan Douglas was a made up name, an attempt to disguise her true identity. Susan after a friend’s daughter and Douglas coming from the actor Kirk Douglas, whose films she was fond of at the time.

Coming from nearby Bexleyheath, it seems that Susan became an integral part of the office set up at 88 Park Lane, Croydon. When she wasn’t modelling, she was employed to advise other models on their make up and clothes. Susan’s oldest son used to go along to the Croydon office in the school holidays when his mum was working. She also did a small amount of TV work and appeared in a safety film about leaving tablets lying around with her youngest son. Later on, Susan had a small part in a film called ‘The War Lover’ as a WRAF officer in a dance scene.

Susan was a housewife and shorthand typist, who enjoyed dancing, fencing, decorating and cordon bleu cookery. However, it was a rare month when Susan wasn’t featured in Spick, Span or Beautiful Britons, such was her popularity and attraction. Furthermore, she was seen in no other magazines − a declaration made by the editor of the magazines, R.T. Staples, in comment to a reader’s letter in Span 134 (October 1965).

Susan was obviously well respected. She was close to R.T Staples, holidaying with her family at his house in Cornwall. It would also appear that, at that time, Staples ran a sweatshirt printing business based from the Croydon office - Susan was seen modelling sweatshirts for that business in ToCo magazines (See Spick 180)

Susan modelled in directoire knickers and (what was possibly her own) old gymslip and the rest of the St. Trinian’s garb – one of the few sets of her seen wearing fully fashioned stockings. There are some spectacular shots of her in tights – and in Beautiful Britons 139, Spick & Span Extras 9 and 12 she gives a tantalising glimpse of the hem of a girdle.

Perhaps because she was so stunningly attractive and so very professional, Susan Douglas never really came across as the girl-next-door type that ToCo was so famous for. But nobody else comes near her in terms of appearances and covers: After making her debut in the July 1961 edition of Beautiful Britons, Susan was featured in no fewer than 25 magazines over the next 12 months, and was on six covers . In 1963, she was seen in all the main ToCo titles and appeared in every month except January. On average, in her 15½-year career, she was in a ToCo magazine every five weeks.

You will notice when looking through her gallery that Susan is frequently seen with a bangle, unusually worn above her elbow on her left arm, it was her Grandmother’s and was a lucky charm to her, Susan was fond of jewellery and was always one for doing things her own way.

Personal Details  –  Born April 1938, Died February 2010.    36-23-36    5ft 6in (170cm)

Appearances  –  159 (21 covers, 18 back covers), debut Beautiful Britons No 69 (July 1961)

Spick  –  94, 98(bc), 99, 100(bc), 101, 102, 107, 108(bc), 116, 118, 119(bc), 120, 122(bc), 123, 128, 129, 132, 135(bc), 139, 146, 149, 151, 153, 156(bc), 160, 161, 171, 178, 180, 182, 187, 188, 226, 227, 229, 234(bc), 248, 250, 259, 273(bc)

Span  –  86, 90, 91, 96, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 107, 108, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 118, 120(bc), 125(bc), 130, 133, 137, 138, 140, 143, 145, 153, 154, 166, 167, 171, 172(bc), 175, 189, 202, 221(bc), 235, 238(bc), 246(bc), 247(bc), 259

Beautiful Britons  –  69, 70, 72, 75, 76, 77, 82, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 100, 101, 108, 110, 111, 114, 115, 116, 121, 122, 123, 127, 128, 130, 131, 139, 146, 156, 158, 175, 179, 188, 193, 206, 222, 231, 234, 240, 247

Spick & Span Extra  –  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 48, 51, 54, 56, 57, 61