Couple celebrate 71 years of marriage
A Shrewsbury couple have certainly fulfilled their marriage vows by sticking with each other through rich and poor and this week will celebrate their 71st wedding anniversary.
Tom, 91 and 93-year-old Peggy Manning from Minsterley could be the county's longest married couple.
Life was hard for them at the beginning - they had to snare rabbits and sell them at the local market to have enough money to buy groceries.
And this was just one of the obstacles they have overcome in their long time together.
But their relationship almost didn't get off the ground in the first place when Peggy, who met Tom when he worked on a farm in Cheshire, was on their first date.
Their daughter Sue said: "Their first date wasn’t a success and it could have finished before it started when Dad picked Mum up on his push bike to take her to the local concert with her sitting on the cross bar. At first, all went well until he lost control and she was flung off the bike. But she was not put off and they married at Brown Knowl Methodist Church, Broxton and moved to farm in Minsterley."
The couple, who were well known farmers in the county all their working life, are not originally from Shropshire.
Peggy was from Birkenhead and during the war enlisted into the Land Army and was despatched to work on a farm in Cheshire and that is when she met Tom who worked on his father’s farm.
Life was hard. Tom remembers the time when they had to snare rabbits to sell at the local market to have enough money to buy groceries. But they worked together to make a success of the farm and family life. And now, after 71 years of married life they have had four children, 10 grandchildren and four great grandchildren with another on its way.
Sue said: "I asked them 'what’s the secret of a long and happy marriage?' They said it was working together and supporting one another and Dad also added that the key is to always agree with your wife."
Last year Tom and Peggy, who was involved in the Women's Royal Voluntary Service for many years, celebrated their Platinum Wedding Anniversary with their family with a celebration lunch and a card from the Queen. This year they will have a quieter day but some of their family will be popping in along with a neighbour or two.
Do you know anyone with a longer marriage? If so contact the newsdesk on 01952 242424.
