Diamond couple who met at a dance celebrate 60 years together

Winfrith couple Noreen, 83, and Maurice Guy, 85, were joined by a small ensemble of their friends and family at the Countryman Inn, Winfrith, on Thursday, March 24.

They were celebrating 60 years since they were married with a carvery meal and good company.

Mrs Guy, nee Kerly, was born in Winfrith in 1933.

She said: “We’ve got a family garage business.

“Before he started the garage in 1924, my grandfather was a blacksmith.

“I went to school in Winfrith and my husband is from Dorchester.

“His parents were employed at the county council.”

The pair met at the Moreton Village Hall dance in 1952, three years before they were married.

A shorthand typist for the National Farmers Union, Noreen was 19 on the night she first locked eyes with the 21-year-old Maurice.

Lucky for Noreen’s family business – and indeed for Maurice – he was working as a mechanic when they met.

They were married on March 24, 1956, at St Christopher’s Church, Winfrith, and spent their years together in the village.

They took an English honeymoon at the Lindum Private Hotel in Torquay – a hotel now known as the Lindum Lodge on the South Devon coast.

Maurice took up work at the Rainbow Garage in Winfrith, the family business.

The couple have two children, their son Stephen, who was born in 1961, and daughter Christina who followed in 1963.

Stephen and Christina stayed in Dorset, with Stephen living in neighbouring East Knighton, taking over the garage for the family, and Christina living in Wool.

Noreen and Maurice’s six grandchildren have travelled far and wide, including one who has gone to Holland, and they now have one great grandson.

Originally, they were to commemorate their wedding at the Winfrith Village Hall, but changed their plans as their daughter Christina was in Italy.

Instead their wedding anniversary was celebrated this year in a select company of just 13 people, including Mrs Guy’s maid of honour and Mr Guy’s best man.