Beauty queen turned store detective: Margaret’s sparkling life

Resident Margaret Regardsoe is continuing a lifetime of amazing achievements ahead of International Women’s Day with a sparkling contribution to her life at Anchor’s Hanover Court housing location in Hythe, Southampton.  

The former beauty queen turned store detective has a colourful life to look back on and shows no sign of letting up. 

Her varied career has included being a model and a store detective, and more recently her desire to play a proactive role in the community of Southampton, has seen her make many friends since she moved there in 2013. 

Margaret has raised funds for the housing location’s summer house, and other local causes in the Hythe area, as well as winning Anchor’s Design A Pride t-shirt competition. 

When she was a teenager, she harboured an ambition to work in retail and become a Marks & Spencer girl. 

It was a great company to work for, we had a lovely canteen with subsidised meals that were top notch, we were well looked after. 

We had a hairdresser and a chiropodist, we had to look good and being on your feet all day it was nice to have a foot massage after having your toenails cut and removal of that hard skin.  

I was having my hair done one lunchtime and the fire alarms went off, I had to vacate the store and stand outside in my hair rollers, along with my colleagues and customers. We all had a good laugh.

Margaret was then asked by her manager to become one of two sales assistants from the store to audition to model M&S clothes. 

I think the manager chose me as I was a singer in those days and used to being on stage.  I was a soloist but also took part in many stage musicals. I also won my heat on a television talent show. 

M&S were after a team of ten girls to join two professional male models on the stage show. There were hundreds of girls at the audition and Margaret didn't think she would stand a chance, but was chosen to become one of the team. 

This new role meant she travelled all over the country meeting famous people who opened the shows and dancing to songs like Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, Nice and Easy and Summer Holiday. 

We would stay in a hotel overnight and the next morning were off to a new town and venue to rehearse for a show that evening.

It was wonderful - we had a team of hairdressers and a makeup team to help us look our best and there was a stage crew who would assemble the catwalk and see to the music. Then I would go back to Southampton and work in the store on the other days.

During this time, at the age of 21, Margaret became Miss Marks and Spencer 1968 – chosen from a line-up of M&S girls in swimsuits. Margaret laughs:

I’d become a beauty queen!

Then as shoplifting increased in store, an opportunity arose to train as a store detective. This involved a month long course in Birmingham with other budding store detectives and learning how the legal system worked.
 
When fully trained, Margaret became store detective in her Southampton store.  

I once jumped on a bus with a shoplifter who was stuffing the goods she’d taken down the side of the seat by the window.

I knew where this bus was going so I jumped off at the police station straight into CID, we followed the bus by car and picked her up about half a mile away, with all the goods in her bag!

But despite her success as a store detective in the 60s and 70s, Margaret recognises how much the environment has changed in the modern world for people doing that work. 

It’s a different job now, and store detectives have been replaced by security guards wearing body armour.

I still modelled for M&S in between catching shop lifters. I enjoyed my time as an M&S girl, I am proud of what I have achieved and that’s down to my father. 

When I left school he gave me some advice: “Margaret,” he said “When you get a job and go to work you will get paid for it, you must work hard and do what is asked of you and you will get satisfaction from it and be rewarded in some way.

I have lived life to the full and enjoyed every minute of it.  Did my father give me good advice?  Yes, he certainly did!

Anchor’s Hanover Court manager Samantha Jones said:

Since being here, Margaret has been a part of the community at Hanover Court and was involved in raising funds for our summer house which we named the Chatterbox.   

The residents raised around £8,000 for the Chatterbox and it is used all the time, for our coffee mornings, virtual coffee mornings, Be Active fitness classes, games, our summer and Christmas parties and social events.

Last year Margaret beat residents across the country in Anchor's Design a Pride T-Shirt competition showing her flare for creativity and design.

More about Hanover Court

Anchor’s Hanover Court is a development of 24 flats close to the New Forest. It is close to two major supermarkets and the village of Hythe with it's hairdressers, coffee shops and waterfront walks. Find out more here.