A COUPLE who first met on Clacton Pier in 1955 celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary today.

Both Brenda and Graham Marven were born and raised in Clacton and began courting 62 years ago.

The couple met when Brenda was 16 and Graham was 18.

Just two years later, they tied the knot at St John’s Church, in Great Clacton, on July 20, 1957, and went on to have a son and two daughters – Andrew, Julie and Hayley.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

  • DIAMOND COUPLE: Brenda and Graham Marven

Once married, Graham joined the RAF as a firefighter and in the mid-Sixties the whole family moved to north Norfolk and then onto Cyprus for a further three years.

When they returned to the UK in 1970, Brenda worked at Bocking’s Elm post office until she retired and Graham took up a job as a HGV driver until he was 65.

Graham, now 81, and Brenda, 78, both enjoy going on coach holidays and spending time with their expanding family.

They now have seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren and will celebrating their 60 years of marriage surrounded by their large family.