Couple both born and bred in Northampton celebrate 50 years of happy matrimony

Janet, 71, and Bob Molloy, 72, of Kingsthorpe tied the knot at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on Kettering Road back on September 30, 1967 after meeting at the Royal Insurance firm on the market square.

"I had to go and sit on a stall next to her and dictate my notes," Bob said.

Bob was an underwriting clerk and Janet was a shorthand typist at the building more recently known as The Moon on the Square pub.

The couple got engaged almost three years after they met but Janet had to quickly find a new job at Northampton General Hospital because engaged couples couldn't work together.

When Janet was born she lived in Manfield Road in Abington, one street away from where Bob lived with his family.

He was a boy scout before attending the boys grammar school while she was a girl guide before attending the girls grammar school.

The couple, who now have two children and five great grandchildren, have lived in Kingsthorpe for over 45 years.

"It doesn't feel like 50 years, it's gone so quickly," Janet said.

They are both active members of the Kingsthorpe Baptist Church choir, where Janet acts as secretary, and like to walk and holiday together in Guernsey.

Instead of asking for presents for their wedding anniversary, Janet and Bob asked for donations for Great Ormond Street Hospital and have raised £800.