Couple celebrate their 70 years of married life with a party for family and friends

Jean and her huband Roy will be the toast of their family and friends at a celebratory party in the Olde House Hotel, Chesterfield this weekend.

The couple have sons Paul, Chris and Andrew, a daughter Tracy, five grandsons, one granddaughter and several great-grandchildren. Jean said: “Having children keeps you together. I was a stop-at-home mum for most of the time and I looked after all my grandchildren when they were small.”

Roy, 89, and Jean, who is 90, have lived in Wingerworth for nearly four decades, moving there from Loundsley Green where they had a home for 22 years. They spent the early years of their married life living in Hady and Old Whittington.

Originally from Fulham, Roy was an evacuee who moved to Dronfield to live with his grandmother. He first met Chesterfield girl Jean, the youngest of eight children, at the Co-op dance hall when he was 17 and she was 18.

An 18-month courtship led to their marriage at Chesterfield Register Office on February 20, 1954 and a wedding reception in London. Jean said: “Roy’s mum had quite a few sisters and they laid on a spread and a cake at his aunt’s big house in Shepherds Bush.”

When they married, Roy was an apprentice joiner but two years later had to choose between enlisting in the Army or working in a mine to comply with National Service. Jean said: “We had a baby and he didn’t want to go away so he worked at Glapwell Colliery for a few years. He then went back to joinery and did that for the rest of his life; he worked for different people before setting up his own business with a partner.”

Jean entered the world of paid work at Boots the chemist, three days after completing her education at Violet Markham School. She said: “I used to have to wash all the equipment and I didn’t like it so I left after two weeks. I then worked at Woolworths which I loved but the money wasn’t very good. When I had a family, I stopped at home and looked after them and as they got older I did jobs that I could have school holidays off….you name it, I did it!”

In their younger, fitter years Jean and Roy enjoyed holidays abroad visiting Bali, the Dominican Republic, The Gambia, Spain and the Canary Islands. Jean said: “We’ve been going on holiday in England for a long time – our son Andrew has taken us every year for years. I like Norfolk, it is laidback and restful.”

Roy, a past captain of Matlock Golf Club, played the sport up until nine years ago and used to play Crown Green bowls for Matlock. He is a former member of the Masonic lodge in Chesterfield. In her younger years Jean enjoyed swimming, badminton and golf. She said: “I still drive a car and I won’t be giving that up – I’m quite independent.

“We’ve always been happy. Roy is very nice-natured, he’s a quiet person while I’ve got a lot more to say than he has!”