Peter Firmin and wife Joan have celebrated their 60th anniversary after their wedding in 1952 (right)

by Gerry Warren

Peter Firmin had a very special gift for his wife Joan on their 60th wedding anniversary – the diamond engagement ring she never had when he popped the question.

And the children’s illustrator, who helped create classic television favourites like Bagpuss (pictured below) and the Clangers, also paid tribute to her contribution to the characters which became household names.

It was Joan’s skill with knitting needles which created the Clangers and she even made Bagpuss’s feet.

Before they found success, money was in much shorter supply, when they married in 1952 and embarked on a hitchhiking honeymoon.

The couple, who have lived in Blean since 1959, met at the Central School of Art in London where Joan was studying bookbinding and Peter illustration.

Peter, 83, said: “It was a bit of a whirlwind romance, really. But our first date was to some boring exhibition of wallpaper.

“She actually refused my first proposal of marriage but changed her mind soon after when I promised to do the washing up.”

The couple were married in Joan’s hometown of Modbury in Devon but their honeymoon was far from a luxury trip.

Joan said: “We were living in London and didn’t have any money so went hitchhiking down to the south of France with just sleeping bags.

“We didn’t even have a tent, but it was quite an adventure.”

Peter added: “We slept in barns and even a cave beside the beach but sometimes people were kind enough to offer us a bed for the night.

“We were away for five weeks and our only luxury was on the last night when my father arranged through a friend for us to stay in the bridal suite of a hotel in Zeebrugge.

“But what they thought of us when we arrived all smelly in our old clothes, heavens knows.”

The couple have 11 grandchildren and six daughters, many of whom have helped with Peter’s creations over the years.

Their lives had changed when Oliver Postgate came knocking at their door in 1958 looking for an illustrator for his story ideas.

Peter said: “We used to be so busy that we got all the family involved because they were all very artistic and Joan was very good at making things.”

On Saturday nearly 60 members of the family and friends celebrated the diamond anniversary at the couple’s home at Hillside Farm.

Grandson Sam, who works at the Cafe Soleil, and his sister Fran, who is chef at Jo-Jo’s in Whitstable, created a special menu for the occasion.

But the highlight of the day was when Peter presented Joan with a diamond and amethyst ring.

She said: “I did have an engagement ring when Peter proposed but it was black, which I thought was quite trendy at the time, but turned out to be a mourning ring.

“But we had this one especially made in Whitstable and it is never coming off my finger.”