A COULSDON couple who were married 65 years ago this weekend say "travel, talking and hobbies" have helped keep them together.
Pat and Ian King, who celebrate their anniversary on Saturday, said their marriage has been "mostly very happy indeed".
"If there's any secret to it, we both like to do our own things and come together at the end of the day to talk about it," said Ian.
Pat added: "Somebody said to me the other day, '65 years, how are you still talking?' And I said I've never stopped talking and he's never replied."
Ian, who turns 90 next week, still likes to keep fit playing tennis, a game he took up 30 years ago. He said: "I took it up along with racquetball when I retired and still play at some rather low level. I wouldn't pay much money to come and watch though!"
The couple met on a steam train while commuting to London after being introduced by one of Ian's friends in 1948.
"I liked the look of him because he was still wearing a great coat with epaulets, so I knew he was an officer, and things took off from there," said Pat, 86.
Ian served as a Commando in the Royal Marines during the Second World War, having joined in 1942, taking part in the closing battles of the war, including crossing the Rhine.
"I was going to be sent to Hong Kong, to recapture it from the Japanese, but of course the A-bomb ended the war," he said.
The couple were married in Caterham the year after they met, but didn't have a fancy wedding.
"It was a bit Spartan – it was a very austere wedding because they were austere times," said Pat.
"Our families were not particularly well to do. There wasn't a lot of money to spend on a fancy wedding."
But they made up for it with a romantic honeymoon to Perpignan in France.
"The people there more or less feted on us because it was just after the liberation; they shook our hands and said thank you, it was quite something," said Pat.
They eventually settled in Coulsdon 50 years ago and have lived in the same home ever since.
They're now set to celebrate with a trip to Prague and a party, which will be attended by their three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
