Valerie Susan Holmes representing Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, is the 1969 winner of the Miss International

Miss International

Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...

 beauty pageant. She is the first delegate from her country to win the competition.

Valerie was born in November 1946 to Ernest and Phyllis Holmes of Winchmore Hill

Winchmore Hill

Winchmore Hill is a district in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district.- Location :With the Winchmore Hill conservation area as a focal point, Winchmore Hill is a ward of Enfield borough, bounded on the east by Green Lanes , Barrowell Green, Firs Lane and Fords Grove, and...

, a small suburb of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She won the Miss Enfield contest in 1969. This victory paved the way for her to compete and eventually win the title of Miss Britain, and from that on, to take the crown at the Miss International

Miss International

Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...

 contest of 1969.

Following her win at the international pageant held in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, she toured the globe for a year, ending up back in Japan, in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 to crown the winner of the Miss International

Miss International

Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...

 contest in 1970, Aurora McKenny Pijuan

Aurora McKenny Pijuan

Aurora McKenny Pijuan, of the Philippines, is the Miss International titleholder for the year 1970.She hails from Bacolod and is a graduate of Saint Scholastica's College . A product of the 1970 Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant, Aurora was sent to Osaka, Japan to compete, and eventually win,...

. Holmes moved to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where she eventually married and raised a family.