Village helps couple celebrate 70th wedding anniversary

The community joined in the celebrations of a couple who have been happily married for 70 years, despite no instant attraction on one side and the groom nearly missing his wedding.

Joan and Ron Haycock, 94 and 96 respectively, survived an early long-distance courtship (with him making three-hour trips to see her on his motorbike), to now mark their platinum anniversary with the help of the parish council, friends and neighbours.

The couple, from Bere Ferrers, celebrated with a surprise party at nearby Harlings restaurant with members of Joan’s village Thursday singing group.

In another surprise for them Cllr Richard Leithall (chairman of Bere Ferrers Parish Council), congratulated them and presented a bouquet of flowers and card on behalf of the community on their anniversary day, Tuesday, October 27. Cllr Leithall said: “Seventy years of marriage is a truly wonderful achievement.”

Among the cards they received was one from King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The pair met in Birmingham when Joan, a nursery school worker, and a friend took a bedsit below Ron’s.

The couple said humorous banter was one of the secrets to their happy marriage and this was reflected in their recollections of their early days together.

Ron said: “One thing led to another. The landlord ended up with the friend and I ended up with Joan!”

Joan said there was no instant attraction on her part: “Good lord, no! He would turn up with his awful trilby hat.” She later destroyed it by jumping on it. But she “gradually got to like him”.

Joan then moved to work in accounts in Portsmouth Dockyard, forcing smitten Ron to ride 150 miles to see her monthly. Although Joan berated him for riding too fast, it did not stop her joining him on romantic rides as an ‘excellent’ pillion rider.

After a year of courting they married in Fareham, despite Ron’s taxi to the church not turning up and his brother being forced to fetch the groom.

The morning after the wedding the enormity of the marriage sunk in and they both laughingly remembered thinking ‘oh lumme, what have we done?!’

However, summing up their marriage, Joan said: “We’ve always had a laugh.” While Ron added he “could not have picked anyone better”.

The newly-weds lived in Birmingham, (where Ron worked in a tool shop), then back to Fareham, and then Canworthy Water, Launceston, in 1975, where Ron set up as a farming toolmaker and welder.

While shopping in Tavistock, they saw a Bere Ferrers house advertised and moved there 33 years ago.

Ron said: “It’s the best move we ever made. It’s a lovely village. I’ve never known such friendly people.”

He added: “We’ve always been good friends. Everybody has their ups and downs. We’ve had hurdles but we’ve come through them together.”

Reflecting their shared bantering sense of humour, Ron recalls a bittersweet, but ‘happy memory’: “We were having a slight argument one day and I threatened to walk out and leave her, so she gave me the bus fare!”