A SPECIAL afternoon tea has been laid on at a Knutsford nursing home to mark the 69th wedding anniversary of a very special couple.

Sharston House resident Dorothy Warburton, 90 and her husband Tom, 91 were joined by several family members for the celebration that included flowers, balloons and Prosecco.

The couple, who most recently lived in a bungalow together in Hartford, have also called Weaverham, Warrington, Chalfont St. Peter and Little Leigh their home during their seven decades together.

They have three surviving children, Diane, Thomas and Alison, another daughter Virginia, sadly died in 1999 and they also have 12 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren.

Knutsford Guardian: Dorothy and Tom on their wedding day on March 22 1952.

Dorothy and Tom on their wedding day on March 22 1952.

The story their children delight in sharing is how their parents first met at a 21st birthday party at the White Hart Hotel in Warrington, where Dorothy inadvertently burnt Tom's trousers trying to put out a cigarette under the table.

"Then they walked back to Dad’s house for him to change, before returning and carrying on with the party," they said.

"And they’ve been together ever since."

Mr Warburton worked his National Service in the Middle East, mainly in Tripoli, Palestine and Egypt, before they married.

After their wedding on March 22, 1952, they honeymooned in Stow on the Wold, in Gloucestershire.

When they returned, Mr Warburton found he had been sent call up papers for reservist training due to the Suez Crisis.

He reported to Bank Quay Station for transport to the training centre in Stroud. Upon his arrival he was classed as being AWOL and was only allowed home to tell his wife, when he explained to the officer that he had not received the papers because he had been on honeymoon.

Mrs Warburton worked as a clerk for Thomas Locker and Heyward’s newsagency, in Warrington, then stayed home to look after her family.

In later life she worked in the Haberdashery Department of Bratt’s Department Store in Northwich.

Knutsford Guardian:

On board the QE2 as they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2002.

Mr Warburton worked as a drayman for Walkers brewery in Warrington when they first married, then for British Aluminium, where he worked for 40 years from 1953 until he took early retirement.

When their children were young they were keen caravanners and spent holidays touring the country, they were especially fond of Devon and Cornwall.

They went on a Caribbean cruise on the QE2 to mark their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2002, which they both enjoyed tremendously.