‘It’s quite exciting that we have reached 50 years of marriage’

Ahead of their golden wedding on April 2, the Waterlooville couple are looking forward to a small celebration, thanks to Covid restrictions, with family to mark the milestone.

Martin, 71, says: ‘We met while we were both living in London in 1969. Our digs were in the same area. I was studying business management and Lee was at teacher training college.

‘I had just returned from living in Australia, so I had long hair and was looking bronzed. My father was in the Royal Navy and although I was born in St Mary’s, Portsmouth, I didn’t spend a lot of time there because my family moved to south Australia.’

Lee, née Irving, is originally from Sherborne, Dorset, and the couple planned to marry in her home town when they were 21.

Lee explains: ‘We dated for a year to 18 months before we got engaged. But our parents were against the idea, they thought we were too young.

‘I proposed to Lee and we bought a ring in Richmond, where there are lots of lovely jewellery shops,’ adds Martin. ‘We got married in April because it was when I finished my studies and Lee was finishing her teacher training that summer.’

Lee says her parents said they would either pay for a big wedding or their honeymoon, and the couple chose the latter. Martin and Lee tied the knot on April 2, 1971, at Sherborne Abbey, Dorset, before flying to Spain for their honeymoon.

Lee, also 71, says: Our wedding was only a small affair. I hadn’t finished my teacher training so I had to come back for another term. We just slotted our wedding in.’

Once they had returned from Spain, the newlyweds moved to a bedsit in Putney. ‘I was working in what they called an educational priority area at Clapham Junction,’ says Lee. ‘Back in the 1970s, it was a very poor area and nothing like it is today.’

The couple soon moved to a house in Mitcham, where they welcomed their daughter Beth in 1977 and son Luke in 1978.

‘We decided we didn’t want to bring them up in London so when they were three and 18 months, we moved to Waterlooville. I had found a job in Havant,’ explains Martin.

‘We moved to Waterlooville in 1981 and haven’t left the area.’

Once they had retired, the couple decided it was time for them to explore the world. Martin says: ‘In 2007, we both retired and planned to go travelling.

‘We both liked the look of New Zealand and did a coach tour across the country. We decided that while we were over that way, we might as well plan to go to other areas so we planned an around the world trip.

‘We went to Hong Kong, to the Cook Islands and then flew to the States.

‘In 2011, we spent six weeks in South America travelling through Ecuador, Peru, the Galapagos and Amazon. We had the experience of a lifetime when we met a tribe. We then finished off in Argentina and Chile.

‘We’re already excited for our next trip and hopefully will go around the UK.’

To celebrate their special milestone, Martin and Lee will be celebrating in their garden with their daughter and two grandsons, who were born on the same day as their wedding anniversary.

‘It’s quite exciting that we have reached 50 years,’ says Martin, smiling at his wife.

Asked what the secret is to a long and successful marriage, Lee says: ‘You need a sense of humour. It’s all about give and take. You must accept that you both have your differences and get on with it.’