Former South Tyneside couple share their secrets of success after 60 years of marriage

Amelia and Walter Forrester are marking a milestone 60 years since they married on April 21, 1962.

Walter, 82, first laid eyes on Amelia, 79, when she was 14, but the couple didn’t begin courting until she was 18 and he was 21, when Walter offered to take Amelia out on his motorbike.

The couple hit it off and soon began dating, before they married at St. Peter’s Church, in Harton, South Shields.

Amelia, who was raised at Lawe Top, South Shields, spent most of her life working as a principal officer in local government, while Walter, originally from Jarrow, worked a number of jobs, including in the Navy Merchant and as a shipbuilder.

The couple share son Jeff and daughter Ashley, as well as grandchildren, Callum and Amelia – cousins born within a month of each other both aged 13 - and Miguel, 12.

The pair believe their secret to a long marriage is that, despite what life has thrown at them, they have always cared for and loved each other and maintained a sense of humour.

Amelia said: “Walter is so loving and he’s worked his heart out for me and our children and he’s a very caring man. How many women at 79 can say when they come down the stairs every morning they get a kiss from their husband and he tells you he loves you?”

Walter added: “I’ve never came across another woman that I love and fancy as much as Amelia. She’s a hard-working and good honest woman who’s always been straight-forward and had a mind of her own.”

The pair have travelled the world with their children to Europe, including Austria and France, as well as America and Canada. Their favourite holiday together was to the Falklands, in the South Atlantic, for Antarctic cruising.

Most men gift their wives chocolates or perfume, but Walter built the family home in Fatfield, Washington, they brought their children up in from scratch and which Walter and Amelia still live in today.

Having many family celebrations over the years from anniversaries and special birthdays, the couple decided on a quieter celebration with a three-course meal at Headlam Hall, in County Durham.