Celebrations for diamond couple

Anne and Frank Marsden

A ROYTON couple took a trip down memory lane ahead of celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Frank and Anne Marsden, of Rochdale Road, were treated to a day of nostalgia yesterday as Age Concern Oldham held a surprise party for them at Trinity Methodist Church, Royton.

The couple first met at Coop’s holiday camp in Prestatyn, North Wales, more than six decades ago when they were introduced to one another through friends.

On their first day out together, Mr Marsden told his future wife he didn’t want to part with her and so they arranged to see each other again.

The duo courted for 18 months before they tied the knot at Oldham Road Baptist Church, Royton.

The pair ran a newsagents in Victoria Street, Chadderton, for 15 years, and joked: “We have worked together and gone out together so we should be celebrating our 120th wedding anniversary.

“While running the shop, we sold thousands of Chronicle copies, 700 a night. It was very popular.”

The pair, who have a son and a grandson, then ran a stall at Bury indoor market, where they sold everything from stationery to toys.

Mrs Marsden said of their secret to a happy 60 years of marriage: “I think you have to love your husband more than yourself.

“We argued a lot but we never fell out. We also have a lovely daughter-in-law called Mandy, who has been like a daughter to us.”

The pair have been attending a luncheon club run by Age Concern for the past four years.