Peter Jaconelli

Jaconelli was born in Glasgow[1] on 25 November 1925[2] His father, Richard,[3] was head of a company (founded in 1833 by his Italian great grandfather) manufacturing and selling ice cream which relocated with the family in 1933 to Scarborough. Here the seven-year-old Jaconelli began selling, something he continued to do even when he became chief executive and even after retiring in 1991,[2] being known as the King of the Cornets.[4] When in charge of the company he expanded it from a local company to a national catering one, supplying both ice-creams and frozen desserts to restaurants.[2] At its peak in the 1990s it supplied 2.5 million litres of frozen desserts per year, including exports to Spain, Portugal and the Middle East.[3]

Outside business, he was a Conservative local councillor[5] becoming mayor of Scarborough for 1971–1972 and made Honorary Alderman of the Borough of Scarborough in 1996.[4] He was also chairman of the North Yorkshire County Council planning committee, and on a number of other local government committees.[2]

On 27 April 1972 he ate 500 oysters in 48.07 minutes to establish a Guinness World Record.[6]

He died 15 May 1999[2] and was buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Scarborough.[1] In 2012 his close friend Jimmy Savile was buried nearby.[1]

In 2014 it was revealed that Jaconelli had been charged with Indecent assault in 1972 and with Savile was suspected of being part of a paedophile ring which had operated in Scarborough.[7] Savile's headstone had already been removed, and Jaconelli's was removed shortly after.[1] The title of Honorary Alderman was posthumously removed in 2013.[1]