Northampton diamond wedding pair story all started from a newspaper job advert

Patricia and Malcolm Johnson will celebrate 60 years of happy marriage this week.

Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Patricia Johnson moved to Northampton after spotting a job advert in her local newspaper advertising a vacancy in Yardley Gobion at Mr Fegan's Home for Boys.

Patricia now 82 met Malcolm, 84, while she was taking boys from the home to the chapel and invited him for tea at a later date and never looked back.

The pair got engaged on Valentines Day in 1957 on a cold evening under a canal bridge and married in July at the Yardley Gobion Congregational Church.

The pair were wed in Yardley Gobion Congregational Church back in 1957.

Patricia said: "We make a train together, we have gone through some dark tunnels, but out Christian faith has kept us on the right track.

"We have interests that we enjoy, but we don't live in each other's pockets, you have to have your own life.

"We have tolerance and respect for each others feelings - we have never lived life just for ourselves."

The pair has four children, 10 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren as well as four great-grandchildren and has resided in Far Cotton since 1963.

After meeting in Yardley Gobion Patricia and Malcolm started a family in Far Cotton.

During their retirement, the pair started to volunteer for the Abbey Centre Baptist Church and are involved with catering for various events and groups, including Christmas Day dinner lonely and elderly people.

The duo are both founding members of the Abbey Community Theatre and between them have acted, designed sets and directed a number of plays, always finding a number of ways to keep busy.

On Thursday, July 13 the pair will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary together on holiday in Morecambe.