Couple reveal the secret to 60 years of happy marriage as they celebrate diamond wedding anniversary

A Shrewsbury couple have explained what makes for a happy marriage after the pair celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

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Peter and Brenda Bennett married on September 18, 1964 at St James the Great CofE Church, in Shirley near Solihull.

At the Wroxeter Hotel where they was a special lunch to mark the Diamond Wedding anniversary of: Brenda (82) and Peter (84) Bennett. Now living in Shropshire but they were wed at St James The Great C of E Church in Shirley on 18 September 1964

The pair met in Birmingham dance halls where Pete, who is originally from Castle Bromwich, used to visit with his rugby club friends.

“We met at a party but I don't think she was that keen on me at first,” Pete said. “She took a bit of convincing.”

“We were at a party in a group,” Brenda added, saying that four couples from the group all got married in the same year and they still keep in touch.

Sixty years on and Peter, now 84, and Brenda, 82, invited family and friends, including daughter Lisa Collins and son Steve Bennett, as well as their three grown-up grandchildren to the Wroxeter Hotel in Shrewsbury on Saturday to celebrate their diamond wedding.

And the Shropshire Star was there to find out from the couple the secret to a long and happy marriage.

Pete, a retired finance advisor and insurance representative, who moved to Shrewsbury with Brenda 10 years ago, said the key to a happy marriage was to find a “forgiving woman”.

“She forgives me for everything I do wrong,” he said. “She is a very forgiving woman."

But Brenda added that “kindness” was central to the success of their 60 years together.

“We both have the same sense of humour and we laugh a lot and Pete is kind, and I like to think I am. We are kind to each other. I think that is the secret,” Brenda said.