A COUPLE from Cricklade will received a telegram from the Queen on December 17 as they celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.

Jim Marley, 88, and his wife Brenda, 86, will celebrate their Blue Sapphire wedding anniversary over lunch with their two daughters and their husbands.

The couple, who still live independently, say they cannot remember first meeting each other as it was “such a long time ago”.

They have two daughters Daphne, who lives near York and Linda who lives in South Cerney, as well as five grandsons, a granddaughter and seven great grandchildren.

Mr Marley was originally from London but moved to Cricklade to avoid the bombing during the Second World War.

Mrs Marley said: “All I can remember is that I was at school with his sister. I knew who he was but sadly I cannot recall the first time we talked although he must have made an impression!”

But she does have clear memories of their wedding in 1949 at St Sampson’s Church in Cricklade.

“It was a freezing cold day,” she recalled.

Mrs Marley believes the key to their success is “give and take”.

She said “We have our differences like everyone else but we have learned to compromise.”

Mr Marley, a retired postman said: “We’ve been able to get on for 65 years and I’m not sure there’s a formula to explain our happiness. We just get on.”