More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Teenage sweethearts Janet and David Durell have clocked up 60 years of wedded bliss.
The couple, who met at a cycling club in Wigmore, are celebrating their diamond wedding with a family meal and a bumper tea with friends.
In their early years together David was an apprentice at Chatham Dockyard and Janet worked in the Admiral's office as a typist.
They married at St Margaret's Church in Rainham and moved to their current home in Wigmore Road, Wigmore in 1961.
David completed his National Service with the Royal Navy and went on to work at the nuclear submarine division in Bath before returning to Medway to work at the dockyard
Their life together has taken them to Singapore where David worked in an engineering drawing office and Janet in the Navy office.
David replied : "I married the right person."
Their first son Alan was born abroad in 1965 followed by Ian two years later.
David described their time oversees as a "magical adventure."
They both got into motor rallying and travelled across Asia, including Malaysia to events.
On their return to the UK David got a job as an engineering lecturer at MidKent College based at the Horsted campus in Chatham while she got a job as an assistant to the principal.Kent County Council sponsored him to gain a masters degree and he was promoted to a senior position.
They retired in 1990 and bought an apartment on the Costa del Sol, Spain where they used to spend their winters.
The couple are members of Hempstead Valley Bowls club, and Wigmore Smallholders' Club where they have got to know many friends.
Some of them were invited to a a get-together at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gillingham on Thursday which is their actual anniversary.
They also treated their family to a Sunday lunch at the Rose and Crown at Hartlip.
The couple have three grandchildren Stephanie,21, Christy 23 and Orion, 14.
David said : "We met at Wigmore Cycling Club when I was 17 and she was 16. I was a keen cyclist but Janet wasn't. She came along because at the time it was the only social club around.
"We have had a great life together. We have spent much of the time working together as well as living together."
When asked what was the secret to a happy marriage, David replied : "I married the right person."
