June was prolific, largely thanks to her association with George Harrison Marks, but she also appeared in many other publications and was still modelling professionally well into her forties for magazines such as Mayfair.
She was born June Margaret Palmer on 1 August 1940 in Bromley, Kent.
As is often the case, there are many contradictory stories about the details of her private life. Researching the past is full of possibilities and dead ends, and there will inevitably be differences of opinion. However, we can set the record straight on some points beyond any doubt.
We know from a copy of her marriage certificate that June was married on 7 November 1964 at the Chelsea Register Office, when she was a 24-year-old photographic model. The lucky man was 20 years her senior: 44-year-old photographer and stuntman Arthur Howell, a fascinating and charming man with an exciting and varied career. He was Michael Caine’s stand-in and a stuntman on several of the famous Bond films, and he was a familiar face on television, appearing in hit series such as Robin Hood and The Persuaders.
June and Arthur set up and ran Strobe Studios in Clapham, South London. It was a respectable business that hired out studio space to amateur and professional photographers alike, and supplied them with models from Strobe’s books, among them Mary Millington (under her married name, Mary Maxted).
June later divorced Arthur, who died three years after the divorce. In 1989 she married David C. Milan in Chelmsford, where she died suddenly in 2004.
June began her career as a topless dancer at the Windmill Theatre, where countless British starlets, actors and comedians cut their teeth. If that name means nothing to you, watch the film Mrs Henderson Presents, starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins.
She went on to appear in all of Harrison Marks’ magazines (Kamera, Solo and others) and in numerous 8mm glamour films made by him and others, before graduating to parts in mainstream films.
She was an extremely good-looking woman, and for me she looks her absolute best in some of the more candid, relaxed shots.
We have recently acquired a sizeable collection of prints and negatives of June, which we believe were taken by the little-known photographer Peter A. Quinn. Many may never have been seen before.
For more pictures and information on June Palmer, visit The Kamera Club and search for “June Palmer”, or go directly to her model page.