Devoted couple mark 70th year of marriage

Kathleen and David Brown are celebrating their Platinum Wedding Anniversary. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

But 70 years later, David and Kathleen Brown’s love is still going strong as they celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Speaking at their home in Sighthill, the Browns said their secret to a happy marriage was working together through life’s good and bad times.

The great-grandparents first set eyes on each other at a Hogmanay party at a friend’s house on Wheatfield Street, Gorgie, in 1947. David was 22 and in the Navy while Kathleen (née Gregson) was 19 and worked at the Buttercup Dairy in Haymarket.

After 10 weeks of courting, the couple were married at Haymarket Registry Office and enjoyed a small reception at the Chimes Hotel, on Royal Terrace, on March 12, 1947.

Kathleen, 89, said: “I remember when my mum first found out about our wedding, she wasn’t very happy. She thought our relationship wouldn’t last. I don’t think a lot of people thought it would last to be honest, but here we are,  70 years later.”

Kathleen wore a pink top, jacket and skirt to the wedding while David wore a suit. As they had their wedding photographs taken, Kathleen clutched a traditional horse shoe. Their first dance was to Moonlight and Roses, a song the couple still call “their tune”.

Kathleen added: “Our wedding was quite a small event. As it was post-war everyone was using coupons; nobody really had big dresses.

“It was a lovely day, I can still remember it clearly. All our family were there. We went on our honeymoon to Aberdeen and took the train. I remember we got stuck in Dundee for three hours though because the snow was really bad.”

After the wedding, the couple moved to a small house in Downfield Place, Dalry, before moving on to Longstone and then finally Redhall where they bought their family home.

They had four children – Derek, David, Diane and Lorna – and went on to become grandparents of three and great-grandparents of seven.

Kathleen said: “We’ve always been a very close family. When the kids were younger we would go on holidays all over the place.”

Following six years in the Navy, David spent the rest of his years working as a train driver before retiring. Kathleen devoted much of her time to family life, as well as working as a home help.

David, 92, said: “I think the key to our marriage is that we have always liked to do our own things as well as things together – and I’ve put up with her snoring for all these years.

“I enjoy painting and gardening. I still have my greenhouse.

“We used to enjoy ballroom dancing as well.”

This weekend, the couple are celebrating their special day with their family at the Murrayfield Hotel, following a trip to Aviemore earlier this month.

Grandson, Arthur McEwan, 39, said: “To have been married 70 years is an amazing achievement. They are an inspiration to us all and we are looking forward to celebrating this weekend.”