At the age of 17 and having completed his hairdressing apprenticeship, Peter followed his father's footsteps by going to
sea. He worked in the hairdressing salon on the Cunard White Star Line flagship liner, the RMS Mauretania – at the time a troop carrier returning troops and service personal home around the world following the end of the Second World War.

In 1946, the Mauretania was restored to her former glory as a luxury Trans-Atlantic liner. Peter (3rd from left) was invited to stay and joined the team in the ship’s hair and beauty salon where the rich and famous passengers, including film stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, were pampered.

After five years at sea and gaining invaluable experience in the styling and setting of hair, Peter returned to land and turned his attention to competition hairdressing, which was very much in vogue at that time. Peter is photographed putting the finishing touches to his model's hair, Daisy Gordon. Daisy was at the time the girlfriend of Peter's brother, Keith, before they went on to get married. 

Within three years Peter had firmly established himself on the competition hairdressing circuit, picking up trophies throughout the UK and in Europe. Success’s included the Criscuolo Cup in Glasgow, the Ost Challenge Cup in London and a bronze medal at the International de Coiffure de Haute Fantaisie, Brussels. This photograph shows Peter being presented with the Jarvis Merseyside Trophy at the Grafton Ballroom, Liverpool in 1951. His model is Hazel Anderson, they were engaged at the time and married later on in the same year. 

Once Keith and Daisy were engaged and were planning their wedding, Peter had to look for another model to enter
competitions with. He chose Hazel Anderson who was a primary school teacher in Liverpool whose short blond hair suited the trend at the time. This elaborate hair style, complete with a birdcage and a bird made from strands of artificial hair soon was Peter’s entry in the fantasy category of various competitions. The photo shows the bird placed on Hazel's shoulder, on the occasion of a competition at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. However, the judges marked the hairstyle down as the bird was not on Hazels head, resulting in being awarded third place. The next competition was in Brussels and this time the bird stayed firmly in the cage, with the hairstyle duly winning first place. 

Following the success of his competition hairdressing Peter would be invited to demonstrate his skills at hairdressing shows and exhibitions. Photographed here with Hazel at one such event in the 1950s.

The publicity received from winning competitions, increased Peter's profile, allowing him to open his first salon in Liverpool city centre. The small salon was on the fourth floor of Hepworth Chambers on Church Street. He employed just one other hairdresser and two apprentices. In its first year of trading over half of the salon’s turnover came from permanent waving. In 1960 a more substantial premises were required which resulted in the salon relocating to the first floor of the same building and with a
considerable larger team.

A staff event in the late 1950s consisting of employees from the Church Street salon and the team from the original Collinge’s salon in West Derby. Peter’s mother, Molly, Collinge is seated on the far left of the front row. On the far right of the same row is Mrs Chang, the salon receptionist. Peter often said the success and growth of the business in those early days could be contributed to Mrs Chang, due to her organisational skills and popularity with clients. On the far right of the back row is John Anderson, Peter’s father-in-law. John was office manager and dealt with all the administration. 

A publicity photo of Peter to mark
the occasion of his salon relocating to larger premises on the first floor of Hepworth Chambers, Liverpool.

An appointment card showing early Peter Collinge branding.

The Beehive was a popular hairstyle in the early 1960s.  The model, for this hairstyle created by Peter, was a stylist in the Hepworth Chambers salon. 

Another interpretation of a backcombed updo, a trend during the 1960s.

Liverpool throughout the 1960s was a very exciting place to be, with the explosion of youth
culture and Liverpool being the home town of the Beatles. The salons throughout this time were not only popular but attracted clients from throughout the North of England. By the late 1960s, there was a chain of Peter Collinge salons within Merseyside. The salon featured in this photograph was opened
in 1969 in the newly built St John’s Centre, Liverpool. 

As the company expanded with the opening of more salons throughout Merseyside, the Peter Collinge Intersalon competition was established in the early 70s. The competition gave the opportunity for apprentices from the different salons to compete against each other. 50 years later the Intersalon competition is still going strong with apprentices from over 100 regional salons competing. 

To keep the salon stylists up to date with trends and techniques, Peter opened the Peter Collinge Hair Study Centre in Liverpool. The
training salon also offered short bespoke private courses to visiting
hairdressers from other salons throughout the UK.

Peter first met Vidal on the hairdressing competition circuit in the 1950s and would enjoy
meeting up over the years at hairdressing events. Both were active members of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing and realised the importance of passing on knowledge through education. 

President of the Fellowship for British Hairdressing. Photographed with Hazel at the President’s Dinner.

As a successful competition hairdresser, Peter was invited in 1951 to join the newly founded Fellowship for British Hairdressing. At the time, there were only a handful of members. The Fellowship for British Hairdressing is the premier artistic organisation in hairdressing, with Peter becoming President of the Fellowship between 1974–76. Peter received a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the organisation in 1992 and in 2012 he was presented with the Fellowship Gold Medal, one of only four recipients in the Fellowship's history.

In 1984 the company was invited to become a Government Management Agent for Vocational Training. The initial training programme, known as Youth Training Scheme, was set up by Hazel Collinge and was soon recognised as the benchmark for NVQ training hairdressing. Forty years on the training division is recognised as one of the leading Training Providers in the UK, delivering apprenticeship training to over 100 hairdressing salons in the North West region. Photographed with the apprentices from the class of ‘84
is Debbie Cooke. Debbie was a brilliant hairdresser and an exceptional educator, who set the standards for the future. 

The Peter Collinge Budget Salon opened in 1986. The salon concept allowed newly qualified apprentices a chance to work in a stand-alone salon whilst being prepared for a position in the main salons. In 1988 Sarah Collinge took over from her mother as Training Director and expanded this concept with the introduction of Graduate salons. name that has stood the test of time and is an integral part of the business today. 

Peter's long and distinguished career was recognised in 2012 when he received an OBE, presented by the Princess Royal, in 2012 at Buckingham Palace. He received his award for services to hairdressing and training. Peter died in 2020 but his legacy lives on.