A COUPLE from Aldermaston have been celebrating a landmark milestone in their married life together.

David and Marion Canning, who are both 79, recently celebrated their 50th anniversary after tying the knot on October 13, 1973, at St Mary's Church, Burghfield.

The couple moved to Ravenswing Park in Aldermaston shortly after, with the plan to save for a house. Fifty years later, David and Marion are still happily married, and living in the same mobile home at Ravenswing Park.

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The couple met on September 11, 1957, at the opening of Kennet School in Thatcham. David and Marion have been involved with the school ever since, writing a book about 50 years of Kennet School for its fifthieth anniversary and forming the Kennet School Old Pupils Association.

When David and Marion married, David was a signalman at Thatcham Signal Box and Marion worked at Aldermaston Court as a secretary, a job she has had with several companies both locally and away from the area.

Before joining the railway in 1968, David was a press and wedding photographer in Newbury and covered the end of steam on British railways around Basingstoke, writing several books in the process.

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In their spare time, the couple started their own wedding photography business in 1979, making the couple a recognisable duo to many around Tadley and Basingstoke. David said they had attended more than 1,000 weddings throughout their photography career, giving up the business in 2010 for health reasons.

David and Marion also run The Newbury and District Transport group and fundraise for Basingstoke Cats Protection, taking their model railways to shows, and making and selling their yearly cat, dog and railway calendars by post and at shows.

Marion said: "People often stop us in the street now, asking if we photographed their wedding, and in some cases relatives weddings and so on."

David added: "Marriage is a gift we were lucky to have received. We opened it and enjoyed the contents despite a few problems on the way. Hard work and dedication on the part of both of us has seen us satisfied with what we got in the package.

"Hopefully we may find a few more items left over we missed in the next few years. Here's to our 60th anniversary, God willing."