_The 10 most glamorous flight destinations of the 1960’s
Hilary Derouet (née Farish)’s life as a BOAC air stewardess would not be out of place in an Austin Powers script: she was a sports-car-driving single girl (they were not allowed to marry) and, in the golden age of flying, regarded her career as a glamorous way to see the world, or as the BOAC crews put it: ‘a way of getting from one party to another’ (via the aisle of a 1960s airliner).
After nine years with BOAC, Hilary left to marry her husband Tim, a farmer, and now she’s the unwitting ‘co-designer’ for a new collection by British luggage brand Globe-Trotter. ‘All the crew used Globe-Trotter and put hotel stickers on their cases, but I put mine on the inside to protect them.
Years later, my old suitcase was in the British Airways Heritage Centre at Heathrow when Globe-Trotter saw it and made it the design inspiration for their new spring/summer pieces.’
International View asked Hilary for her ten glamorous destinations to fly to in the mid-1960s. Here are her nominations:
1. Buenos Aires: We stayed at Claridges, we shopped in Harrods and we went to the Hurlingham Club – in some respects it was so British, it was unbelievable. But what I remember the most is the steak – these enormous slabs would lap over your plate, and the meat was delicious.
2. Rio: It was so colourful and exciting, with all the music and dancing. But it was also the only place where I’ve got into difficulties in the sea. I was no distance from the Copacabana beach, but I remember the rip-tide was terrifying.
Above: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
3. Tokyo: The crews used to walk through Ginza in the rain with our umbrellas. The spokes used to get in people’s eyes and everybody would stare at us because we were tall and had different coloured hair. I also experienced my first earth tremor in Tokyo and I was convinced the Tokyo Tower beside us would fall on me.
4. Kingston, Jamaica: In those days, a tan was the definition of glamour and Jamaica was great for sunbathing! I also shot a scene for Dr. No with Sean Connery walking me out of Kingston airport. Sadly, because of some BOAC deal, they reshot the scene with a Pan Am stewardess.
5. New York: British food in the 1960s was terrible, so being taken out to dinner in glamorous New York was amazing. I was once rung in my Earls Court flat by a Swissair captain asking if I was flying to New York that day as he wanted to buy me dinner. I was, and he did.
Above: New York -5th Avenue
6. Bombay (now Mumbai): Such a busy, bustling place. Bombay had prohibition in the 1960s, so we bought these gadgets in Tokyo that let you remove and replace the tops on tonic and ginger ale bottles without damaging the lids. We’d then fill them up with gin and whisky and have parties on Juhu beach.
7. Sydney: Sydney promotes such an outdoor lifestyle and was a breath of fresh air. We used to have such long stopovers that we’d often hire cars and go on trips, driving into the outback. We used to stay in Darwin too, which was amazing because of the Aboriginal culture there.
8. Fiji: The Fijians are the most welcoming people, and I loved going there. There was a desert island we’d go to on a boat for barbecues; it was like being cast adrift. Not many people could afford to fly in the 1960s so we were often among the very few foreigners there.
9. Colombo: During the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 I got stuck in Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] for a week and had a wonderful time, staying at the Galle Face hotel. I went back years later, and much of it hadn’t changed. People still sit in the gardens and watch the sunset with an expensive gin and tonic.
10. London: I spent so much time travelling in the 1960s that when I came home, London seemed a bit like a foreign country. With Carnaby Street, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, it was the Swinging Sixties and a really fun time.
Above: London - Piccadilly Circus