The Mayor and Mayoress of Keighley, Alderman John Edward Brownbridge and his wife, Councillor Alice Gertrude Brownbridge held a Civic Banquet and Ball held at Victoria Hall in Victoria Park on Friday 3rd October 1969. Tickets cost £2 and five shillings each.
The evening started at 7.30 pm with a reception, followed by dinner at 8 pm. Guests were served smoked salmon, followed by a choice of consomme with sherry or cream of mushroom soup. The main course was roast duckling with saute and creamed potatoes, garden peas and cauliflower. Dessert was a choice of chocolate gateau or fresh fruit salad. The meal was rounded off with a cheese board, and petit fours or After Eight mints with coffee. The evening was concluded with dancing until 1 am, accompanied by Edwin Harper and His Band, and by Lady Jane and the Heatwave.
Guests of the Mayor and Mayoress included their four daughters and other members of the family, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bradford (Alderman E. Newby and his wife), the Mayor and Mayoress of Dewsbury (Councillor N. G. Preston and his wife), the Mayor and Mayoress of Halifax (Alderman J. Liley and his wife), the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Keighley (Alderman W. A. Broom and his wife), and the Mayor and Mayoress of Morley (Councillor R. Parker and his wife). In all, civic leaders from 20 towns and districts were present alongside leading townspeople and officials from Keighley.
The Keighley News wrote up the event on 10th October 1969: “It was a glittering occasion and more important still – an absolute sell-out. The original plans for 280 guests were stretched to accommodate 320 and 100 further applications for tickets had to be refused… Dress wise it was extremely colourful. The Mayoress of Keighley was especially outstanding in a gown which featured a plain black velvet top and a skirt banded in gold and matching black.”
The invitation and photographs are held in a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings, photographs and other ephemera that record the Mayoral Year of Alderman John Edward Brownbridge from May 1969 to May 1970. The scrapbook now belongs to their granddaughter and was loaned to the History Society for scanning in 2019 by David Seeley.
