Chesterfield diamond anniversary couple celebrate 60 years of wedded bliss

Margaret and Gordon Smith, of Brimington, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on September 30

Margaret and Gordon Smith, of Brimington, now 83, married at Chesterfield Registry Office on September 30, 1961.

The pair met in their early twenties when Margaret, originally from Scotland, found a job in the butchers department at the Co-op store on West Bars and Gordon worked at the cobblers opposite.

As a young couple they loved to dance, a hobby they continue to this day and one which has earned them the nicknames of ‘Fred and Ginger’ after Hollywood’s Golden Age iconic dancing partners Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Margaret and Gordon Smith pictured on their engagement

Despite having a tough start to married life after losing their first child, a son, Margaret and Gordon went on to welcome two daughters, Janet and Lindsay, and have stuck together through the highs and lows.

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Lindsay said: "My dad fancied my mum from the word go but mum was so shy it was unbelievable because she’d had quite a hard life.

"She was an abandoned baby and the people that brought her up were strict so she’d led a sheltered life but my dad had come from Stonegravels and he’d lived life to the max.”

Lindsay noted that her dad helped bring out a confident side in her mum, adding: "He’s loved and looked after her all their life, and he still does now.

"They’ve just loved eachother. My mum needed my dad and my dad needed my mum, they met at the right time and it was just meant to be.”

Aside from dancing, Margaret and Gordon enjoy spending time with their two daughters, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren.

Lindsay said: “They’re so family orientated. When we were younger, it was always about me and my sister and when we started work, they’ve always looked after our children for us and made sure the grandchildren are safe and brought up as we were.

"I just want to say a big thank you to them for everything they’ve done.”

Margaret and Gordon celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary last Thursday with a party surrounded by their family and friends.

They are also planning to visit Lytham St Annes, where they spent their honeymoon as newlyweds.

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