As you all know, the Simply Bows and Chair Covers ladies are a sucker
for a bit of romance! So... in the spirit of Valentine’s
Day Helen McArdle Care have shared with
us some fabulous tales of how true love never grows old...
The beginning of a love story…
Leading up
to St Valentine’s Day, residents and staff reminiscence about how their
romantic love stories began…here’s some of the lovely stories which were
shared....
Hawthorn Court, Hebburn
“I met my husband at Hebburn Ambulance
Hall, after one dance he told me to save the next ten for him”
Joan
Dunn
“I met my Bobby in the army. He was
my first love, even though he thought I was someone else at first!”
Nancy
Bell
“I married my childhood
sweetheart”
Ivy
Lynn
“We met at Oxford
Galleries Tea Dance. He was sitting alone so I went and sat next to him and the
rest is history. We married two years later and were sill together 57 years
later.”
Winny
Kirkup talking about her husband Herbie, both residents at Hawthorn Court
“I asked Bernie to
dance, she was alright and I thought to myself I quite fancy her, so I asked
her to go out with me. She said yes and we are still in love to this day”
Val
Riley talking about her husband Bernie Riley, both residents at Hawthorn Court
Tom and Ethel Husband
The
couple first met one another while strolling along Bede Burn Road, Jarrow, in
the early 1930s. The area was known locally as ‘the hen run’, where boys and
girls had a chance of romantic encounters!
 |
| Mr & Mrs Husband- Married 78 years- the longest in South Tyneside! |
Park House, Guisborough
“I
met my future husband in the blackout, when I saw him in the daylight he was
6ft 6 and more than passible looking! He was also in the Navy.”
Sylvia
“When
I was a teenager everyone used to go dancing in Whitcombs in South Bank and
that was where I met my future husband who was a great dancer!”
Renee
“My
husband and I attended a ball in Middlesbrough Town Hall. I wore a full evening
dress and when we got married our wedding photographs were on display in the
photographer’s shop window.”
Rosemary
“I
remember when I was courting my future husband; I rode on the back of his BSA
motorcycle.”
Barbara
“Unfortunately
I was widowed very young with a small baby. However, one night my friends
persuaded me to go dancing with them. Whilst there a gentleman danced with me
all but refused to walk me home. But on seeing him again I gave him another
chance and we later married.”
Dorothy
Needham Court, Jarrow
“I
met my husband at St Andrews Dance Hall in Hebburn. We were both 21 and loved
going to the pictures together.”
Gladys Johnson
“I was only 15 when I met my husband,
we used to love going to the dance halls.”
Peggy
Smith
“I met my husband when I was only 17.
He joined the Royal Navy and we lost touch for a little while. However, we met
up again mid 20s and later married. We were married in St Peters Church in
South Shields when the war was taking place.”
Molly
Batson
“I met my wife Elizabeth at a dance
hall in Laygate, South Shields. In those days you went without alcohol at dance
all, everyone drank lemonade.”
Jimmy
Pattison
“At the age of 12 I was evacuated to
Maryport in Cumbria. Once the war was over I returned to visit friends and met
my husband. We married in 1952 at Holy Trinity Church in South Shields. We used
to celebrate Valentine’s Day by simply giving a card; people could not afford
much more.”
Audrey
Fielding
“I
met Gordon in 1945 at a dance at Hedworth Hall, we later married in 1947.”
Auriol
“I
met Walter when we were 14 and working in a factory. It was love at first
sight!”
Jenny
Springfield
House, Low Fell
Dr
and Mrs Jones moved into Springfield House on Valentine’s Day 2012. The couple met whilst Ray was working as a doctor
and Jill as a nurse in Hertford General. They later married in 1945 in
Manchester.
 |
| Dr & Mrs Jones- Married for 68 years |
Melbury Court, Durham
Hilda met her husband Alex
in a pub. She never had a Valentine’s card off him. Every year for the last ten
years Hilda has received a Valentine’s card but she doesn’t know who it is
from. Her family deny all knowledge off them. These years arrived yesterday and
it is still anonymous.
Hilda
Isobel met her husband
at Brancepeth science labs where he was studying and where she worked as a
technician. They married in June 1949.
Isobel
Alice met her
husband in the high street. They got talking and started courting. She has
never ever had a Valentine’s card and is 101 years old. She married in 1934 and
then the following year had a mock wedding at Gretna Green. She still has her
wedding hat in her room.
Alice
Ivy met her husband Alf
at the local dance in the Welfare Hall in Shotton Colliery. They married on Jan
18th.
Ivy
Joan was introduced to
her husband Lesley by her sister Mary who was courting his brother John. They
both married their respective partners.
Joan
Gladys met her husband
Fred in the mill where she worked as a weaver and where he worked in the
warehouse. They were married in 1937 and were married for 42 years.
Gladys
