Diamond couple enjoy celebration (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Diamond couple enjoy celebration

10:29am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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A HAPPY couple celebrated 60 years since saying “I do.”

Maud and Fred Huxstep, of Balmoral Court, South Ham, Basingstoke marked their diamond wedding anniversary by going away with their family.

They first met in 1947 at Crosse and Blackwell’s factory in Bermondsey, south London, where Maud, now 79, worked in labelling and Fred, 83, dealt with incoming goods.

Maud said: “He used to keep following me home on his bike and he would fetch things down for me at work. He started taking me out and it went from there.”

They tied the knot at St Anne’s Church in Bermondsey on August 26, 1950.

But putting on a wedding while rationing was still in force, had its challenges.

Maud, who was 19 on their big day, said: “I had to cash coupons for my wedding dress and cake but we managed to have a proper white wedding. And we had a few days away.”

Their first home together in Bermondsey was a one-bedroom house with no bathroom, an outdoor toilet and a stove on the landing.

While living there, the couple had a daughter, Denise, in 1956, and son, Terry, in 1960.

The couple now have four grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

The Huxsteps moved to Basingstoke as part of the London overspill in 1967, after Fred landed a job with Sainsbury’s in Houndmills, Basingstoke, as a warehouse man, where he worked for more than 21 years.

Before the couple met, Fred served as a storeman in the Royal Navy for his national service and travelled across the world to Canada, South African and Gibraltar on HMS St Kitts.

The hard-working Huxsteps lived first in Oakridge and then Popley.

Maud became the cook at Merton Infant and Junior Schools, in Romsey Close, Popley Way, Basingstoke, where she worked for 19 years before taking a job at the Tesco supermarket in Chineham.

In 1997, she transferred to a branch in Bognor Regis so they could retire by the sea.

They travelled extensively and Fred said: “The Algarve in Portugal is our favourite; we have spent up to three months out there and have more friends out there than here.”

But they moved back to Basingstoke in 2006 to be closer to family.

Reflecting on the secret of their happy marriage, Maud said: “You have to give and take, otherwise it won’t work.

“We’ve had our ups and downs but that keeps us going and we’ve been very lucky.”